Alba is AMAZING! I have been attending Alba's classes faithfully for close to a year now. Each…read moreclass brings something new, exciting - always full of amazing flavors! Alba's classes are great for all cooking levels and I highly recommend them to anyone who loves a great meal. The classes are well run and I love the hands on approach to her dishes. Overall, Alba is a fantastic chef and teacher who uses simple ingredients to make extraordinary dishes you can easily make again at home.

Really enjoyed the cooking class that Alba gave at Whole Foods. I'm new to cooking and Alba did a…read moregreat job of presenting the material at a level that I was able to understand and learn. Would definitely take another of Alba's classes.

Had a great experience! I did the Homemade Pasta class with my book club and we had sooooo much…read morefun! The chef did a great job of guiding us through the process of making the pasta, the pasta sauces and also making the salad and tiramisu! EVERYTHING was from scratch. They let us play our favorite tunes over the speaker and bring our own bottles of wine which heightened the experience. The food came out great and I can't wait to go back and try more of the classes for date night or girls night

My crepe class with David was packed with fun! The structure of the crepe class was making a…read morevariety of crepe fillings, sweet and savory batters, cooking the crepes, and then eating everything you made as a group. Within the class there were about a dozen things to make. You are divided into 2 tables, with each table making everything. Personally, you make one or 2 things. I was assigned the savory crepe batter and the spinach filling. Then everyone took turns cooking a crepe or 2. In all the class was a blast! There were some minimal drawbacks. To start, I previously posted about them not honoring gift cards. I quickly removed that post and they corrected the problem. I am very satisfied with how that was handled after the fact, but the old gift card was not easy to use without working with the owner. I also had a few times in the class where I could not find items like spoons or ingredients easily. The class had a lead instructor and then a kitchen assistant. It took some getting used to and understanding how the place worked. I almost feel more prepared if I were to sign up for a class again. First hour was not the most intuitive. I recommend these cooking classes. It was fun and a good date morning with my husband.

Chef Matt delivered an amazing experience for 4 people! Our friend has a baby and a toddler and…read moregreatly appreciated a fine dining experience coming to her house! He brought all the ingredients and taught us tips like how to cut an onion without crying and the right way to cut a mango! The best mai tai of my life started us off. Then he made mahi mahi with chutney, and a Caribbean themed main dish of mango sauce marinated ribs and slaw. Dessert was bananas foster due to time, he had other options including flan, but flan takes too long. Generally, it's a 4 hour night with eating at the end, so plan accordingly. The perfect Friday evening hang out with friends and learn something new. Highly recommend, especially as a gift to friends.

9 years after getting a milestone birthday gift certificate I finally cashed it in for a cooking…read moreclass with Chef Matt. What an absolutely fun day! Chef Matt takes care of everything -- the food, the cooking utensils and cookware and the cleanup. All you have to do is select a menu, pick a date for the cooking session in your home kitchen and decide how active you want to be during the class. I chose a Spanish theme so we made patatas bravas, Gambas al Ajillo (Garlic Shrimp), Serrano Ham, Manchego, Pear and Carmelized Onion Puff Pastry Bites, and Vegetarian Paella. I cook and bake a lot, so it was great being able to pick Chef Matt's brain for tips and tricks to improve my skills. If you have a foodie in your life this is an awesome gift/experience for them!

We had such an amazing time during our private sushi class with Yuko! Great communication and…read morebooking in the weeks/days leading up to our event. The class itself was so fun and easy going. The fish and all other ingredients were so fresh and delicious. It was so much food we had leftovers too! I appreciated her going the extra mile for our guest who is celiac. I 100% recommend her services!

Yuko catered our small wedding party, and did a fantastic job. She even created two rolls named…read moreafter us based on what type of fish we both prefer. It became a fun little party question of which sushi roll the guests preferred, the Rachel or the Angela. Yuko's flavor combinations and attention to detail were unmatched and all the guests were so impressed with the quality of sushi. Can't wait to throw another party and have Yuko cater!

I went for the Sip n' Shop event and I was so glad the merchant I was interested in seeing was…read morethere and she was the sweetest woman yet one could meet...so shout out to Ms Cheryl Freeman and her delicious wine jellies she was adorable. From there, we went inside to the wine tasting (for a least a glass) before I headed back however needless to say 2.5hrs later and 10 bottles sacked to go, we finally left. It is always a good time hanging out with Chef Gwyn and her staff. This was my 2nd event at her establishment and I can't wait until I can join in again...If you venture out to the island I encourage you to come join in as well. It's a beautiful experience and the setting looking out over the water and with boats cruising about is just a lovely chill way to spend a Sunday afternoon and evening.

Celebrated our wedding anniversary with a private cooking class, it was a very memorable…read moreexperience. We were careful to read the descriptions and chose something that was hands on and not a demonstration and it did not disappoint! Muriel and Jodie were fantastic hosts/instructors and went out of their way to make this a very special celebration for us. We felt like family! We are hoping to get our family together for a 10 person private class, No Thyme to Cook is a fun and inviting environment!

My husband treated me to two cooking classes with Chris, and I learned immensely at both. First…read moreoff, the space is gorgeous. You feel like you're in such a welcoming and relaxing environment, and Chris is generous with drinks to make people feel at home. Her style is really approachable, and she tries hard to offer tips that will stay with you when you're cooking at home. I've learned so much from her: I use old T-shirts to dry my meat, I never salt my potatoes before roasting them, I crank up the heat real high to roast chicken, and I make my pizza outside on the grill. She has helped me expand my food horizons and feel comfortable experimenting in the kitchen. She's also an all-around amazing individual who has been around DC a long time and has good stories to tell. In short, it's a great activity for a night out with friends or even as a couple, and she offers useful recipes that will make you more comfortable in the kitchen to boot. I wish I still lived in DC so I could take regular classes with her.

If you're planning a small cooking class among your closest friends, look no further than Just…read moreSimply... Cuisine. For my wife's birthday, Chris put together a customized menu with a focus on local, organic, and healthy. Her "slow food" approach has long been a staple in her instruction, long before it became cool to go green. She walked us through a five course meal, teaching new techniques while entertaining topics on food and life. We particularly enjoyed the roasted butterflied chicken with fresh sage. Our afternoon session ended with a simple, yet divine treat of strawberries with balsamic and whipped cream. Just Simply... Cuisine is one of the best kept secrets in DC. Let Chris host you in her lovely home and delight you with recipes that you'll want to try on your own over and over again.

What an excellent experience it was the perfect date night experience cooking together in a chefs…read morehome. We went with chef ali who taught us Sichuan cooking. Food was excellent and she had a great teaching style making it easy to follow allowing for a great experience would go again.

Chef Justin Sushi Making At-Home class was amazing!!! It was so individualized and he really paid…read moreattention to detail to provide a wonderful experience for us. The sushi was high quality, delicious, and filling! I highly recommend Chef Justin -- you won't regret it! I will be booking with him again!

I came here for what I thought would be a great date night to learn how to make pasta. It turns out…read morethe class is very social and not actually all that great for a date night. I thought we would at least have our own stations and be making our own meals--instead we worked as a collective, creating a sort of assembly line for rolling, stuffing, and making sauce, and we could jump around as we pleased. I forgot the instructors name, but he was very energetic, knowledgeable in his instruction,and friendly---making a very delicious focaccia bread for us to nibble on---which was a highlight. The space is also very cute! At the same time, for a pasta making class, I was not prepared to have everyone's hands rolling and cutting the food I would be eating at the end of the night. I tried not to look at what others were doing, as to not ruin my experience, but I do not feel enough emphasis was put on cleanliness to make this something I would want to do again. For example, we were rolling pasta with our bare hands, but some people were drinking their BYOB beverages, eating , and taking pictures. I don't think any hand washing took place in between. Lastly, we made 3 different pasta dishes and only 1 of them was really good in the end. The others were edible, but just not that great and needed more flavor. If I did return, it would be with a private group of people I know to make the experience more comfortable and enjoyable. OTHER GLOWS: -Free parking validation for 3 hours right outside! -10% off at lighthouse for byob drinks before hand (we didnt know this!)

I have now hosted 2 birthday parties at Schola, this last one in March for my husband's 60th. Their…read morenew place has a view of the water and took what was a very good party venue to a GREAT party venue. Schola, what do I love about you? 1. Amy and all the staff have been so helpful and accomodating. 2. THE FOOD - it's all delicious! I didn't think that would be possible, especially when you're having your friends cook it, but the food is really really good. 3. BYOB - makes it much more affordable (we hosted 54 people). Schola provides glasses, buckets. I bring coolers, ice, cocktails, wine, beer and seltzer (they have water in pitchers). 4. Cooking together - nothing breaks the ice for folks more than working together. For folks willing to do the work, they have fun together. If you're looking for a place to throw a party, choose Schola!

We had an amazing time and were so impressed with the value you provide! Your incredible expertise…read moreand passion were so appreciated. It really was a pleasure,  and the food we created was beyond gourmet! Thank you Chef Ben!

The selfish side of me doesn't want to write this review but I have to give major credit and Kudos…read morewhere it's due! Ben, thank you for teaching this very novice cook the initial skills to get excited and have confidence in making this culinary journey. Your patience, extensive culinary knowledge and experience and absolutely delicious meals and are unparalleled and such a rare treat to your students and catering clients. I'm at awe with how amazing my 6 course dinner turned out! Bravo to you Ben, Bravo!!!!

We own a 27 ft Catalina near DC on the Potomac River. We recently started to race her in local…read moreweekly races and we wanted to upgrade our skills. As a Co-owner, I first took the performance sailing classes. We then asked the school if we can hire an instructor for a day to give us personal instruction on both our boat and how to fly our spinnaker. The school sent to us Sean, an instructor with tons of experience with spinnakers of all types. Sean provided us a detailed assessment of our equipment and the role of each member of crew-- the pit person, the trimmers and the foredeck person. At the end of the day of flying the chute, we all felt more confident and are ready to race spin fleet.

Just completed the US Sailing Basic Cruising course on the Chesapeake with coach, Mike Hull. We…read morehad strong winds all three days which made for exciting sailing, mooring, anchoring, and docking. Mike did a great job with pacing the material, adding real-life stories, and letting us do most of the sailing. High recommend JWorld for learning to sail or honing your skills.