Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    Cookies by Em

    5.0 (1 review)
    Closed Closed

    Cookies by Em Photos

    You might also consider

    Recommended Reviews - Cookies by Em

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Ask the Community - Cookies by Em

    You might also consider

    Cook, Cork & Fork

    Cook, Cork & Fork

    4.4(42 reviews)
    31.1 km
    $$$

    II had an extremely disappointing experience with the French Finesse Class…read more The class was to feature Grilled Salmon with Caper Sauce, Grilled Vegetables, and Parisian "Gnocchi." We made the grilled salmon and vegetables, but the so-called "gnocchi" was a disaster. This was extremely disappointing because I was the most excited about making the gnocchi. Instead of making a more traditional gnocchi like you would picture (little dumpling pillows), we ended up with a soupy mess of polenta mixed with milk, butter, and French cheeses. The instructor told us that this polenta mixture would typically be baked in a pan and then cut in little squares like gnocchi (or at least that's what I understood), but in class we just let the mixture cool off and ate it as it is. It was basically eating polenta cheese goop - disgusting, and nothing like the gnocchi I pictured. First of all, the class description should have clearly specified what type of gnocchi we'd be making and if the class would not finish the entire recipe (note: writing "Parisian gnocchi" for the class is not sufficient because just by a google search there are different ways of making it). It's misleading not to clarify this in the description. It makes me wonder about the rest of their classes and what else they mislead people on. Secondly, the class was advertised to run from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. However, we finished (and I mean completely finished like by the time we finished eating everything) by 8 PM. It felt like they were rushing us out. They started cleaning up and doing dishes while we were still sitting at the table. It made us feel like they wanted us out as quickly as possible. If the class had actually run the full time as promised, we could have spent that extra hour finishing the gnocchi properly. Or we could have done the gnocchi first and while it was baking, cook the grilled salmon and vegetables. And that definitely could have been possible (I mean, come on). Instead, we were left with a below average dish and a rushed experience. Overall, this class was a huge letdown. The misleading description, poor quality of food, and the rushed environment made for a frustrating experience. I wouldn't recommend this class to anyone. And with the price I paid, I felt robbed. I do not know how they think this can be okay. To be clear, I would give the staff and my experience cooking everything else 5 stars. But the gnocchi and rushed experience really completely destroyed this entire thing for me.

    I do not recommend this cooking class. The teacher explained nothing about what we were cooking,…read morenothing about the cuisine, the culture, what ingredients are typically used in the dish, why they're used, etc. We chopped common ingredients and put them together in a pan on an electric stove. The recipe looked like it was printed out from google, there just wasn't any thought put into the class. Nothing unique about the dish nothing out of the ordinary, nothing interesting. The food came out fine, nothing to write home about and certainly something that could be whipped up at home. I thankfully used a gift card otherwise, paying $200 for two people for that experience would have been outrageous. I would say it's a nice night out of an activity with drinking but you pay more for drinks, better off at a nice restaurant. Highly do not recommend this class if you're looking for an actual cooking class and a teacher who actually enjoys what they do/cook.

    Photos
    Cook, Cork & Fork
    Cook, Cork & Fork - Work stations

    Work stations

    Cook, Cork & Fork - Adobe chicken thighs, black bean and quinoa salad and spiced cauliflower.

    See all

    Adobe chicken thighs, black bean and quinoa salad and spiced cauliflower.

    Cozymeal - Making food

    Cozymeal

    4.8(37 reviews)
    61.3 kmThe Loop

    I had no idea what to expect other than hoping for as great of an experience as the reviews I read…read more I was a little apprehensive about it being at someone's home instead of a restaurant or business, but it was probably even better I set this up for a work team bonding event. We ended up being only 5 minutes late, but Chef Titik was so welcoming. The only thing should have been a disclosure about having pets and potential allergies. She made us a welcome drink which was very tasty. She told us a little about herself and experience as a chef. We learned so much inclusive of knife sharpening techniques to how to properly cut fruits and vegetables, putting together seasoning, tips and tricks, and some facts about food. She even took photos of us and shared them. She made us feel like family at home having us over for dinner helping cook. It was such a memorable experience and so unique and perfect for my team. We all love food and travel so this is definitely one for the books. We all had a blast and would highly recommend.

    Just an update since I last posted. The owner reached out and made the poor experience right by…read morereimbursing me some money back which was unexpected and greatly appreciated. I ended up getting the recipe emailed to me by the chef months later. I would still recommend Cozymeal and think their chefs are knowledgable (as was mine), hope this doesn't happen again and think it was a one off hiccup.

    Photos
    Cozymeal - Cooking team

    Cooking team

    Cozymeal
    Cozymeal

    See all

    Lake Geneva School of Cooking - Baked stuffed apple with ice cream

    Lake Geneva School of Cooking

    4.8(31 reviews)
    54.2 km

    Chef John Bogan ain't new to this, he true to this. And by this, I mean cooking and teaching the…read moreart of cooking. He has been cooking professionally since the 1970s, and now he owns the Lake Geneva School of Cooking, and teaches hands-on classes for groups and corporate events. I visited with a group of nine people, and we all had a great time. Chef John and his assistants greeted us with a mimosa, and then explained what we'd be doing: help to create a three-course lunch for everyone. Our lunch consisted of a mushroom soup, a beet salad and a baked cinnamon apple topped with ice cream for dessert. Chef John is very much a believer in cooking with the seasons, so the menu will change depending on when you visit. He gets a lot of his produce from the local Lake Geneva farmers market, and other food items from local merchants. Our group split up and tackled one aspect of the meal. I was with the mushroom soup group, and for the most part, the soup was prepared, we just had to put the finishing touches on it and make some cheese croutons to go on top. I would have loved to do a little more of the prep work and cooking, to be honest. But not everyone in my group was as comfortable with cooking as I was. That's the thing with these classes, though: Whether you have a lot of experience with cooking or a little, the classes are informative and approachable, and focus on fun and food. The kitchen that we worked in was well equipped and clean, with lots of room to move around. The kitchen assistants were college kids who were culinary students, which was cool. After we prepared our meal, we all sat down and enjoyed it in the big dining room. Each course was paired with wine. And the best part: The food was delicious! Yay, us! And yay for Chef John, who conducted a wonderful class that ended with a fabulous meal.

    Fabulous food, wine and fun!! My second time and it was so different yet just as enjoyable…read more Looking forward to trip #3

    Photos
    Lake Geneva School of Cooking - Kitchen

    Kitchen

    Lake Geneva School of Cooking - Dining room

    Dining room

    Lake Geneva School of Cooking - Mushroom soup

    See all

    Mushroom soup

    Taste Buds Kitchen - Mexican Hotcake

    Taste Buds Kitchen

    3.6(26 reviews)
    21.2 km
    $$

    This was my first time at Taste Buds Kitchen in Bannockburn, IL. This was part of a team building…read moreexercise that my manager put together for a group of eight people. About a week or so before the event, we were given three options to select from for the menu we would be preparing, so we ended up with pasta. Taste Buds Kitchen is located in a mall, so I had some difficulty locating it, but finally saw it. We were split into teams of four and the meal we were prepping was fettuccini, spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce. Our instructor was Lauren and she was very nice. There were two ladies assisting her as well, responsible for the clean-up and helping with the prep work. Lauren was great explaining all the steps as well as showing up the prep moves. I love fresh pasta but never thought about making it (and still won't do it at home), but I had no idea how easy it could be with the right tools. Making the dough was fun and interesting, with each of us taking turns kneading the dough in preparation to make the fettuccini and the spinach/ricotta ravioli. Making the fettuccini was such fun and so easy if you have the proper equipment. I really enjoyed putting the dough into the pasta roller to flatten it, then into the cutting attachment to make the pasta. We each got turns going through the process, so I can say that all of us made the pasta and sauce. The spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce were also very easy to make. Marinara I have made at home before, but the recipe we used at Taste Buds added a twist by adding shredded carrots for sweetness. Not something I would have thought of, but it really worked. Making the spinach/ricotta ravioli was a hoot. The very first one was a hot mess, but I learned and moved on to make perfect restaurant quality looking ones (IMO). Because we did a morning 2-hour session, tea, water and lemonade were provided for us. What we prepared was delicious and a nice early lunch. Because Lauren and her crew had made dough in advance, there was plenty of pasta for eating and to take home. My only complaint (if there is one) is I would have loved that we had made more of the marinara because it was so good and I would have loved to have taken more home. Overall this was a wonderful experience and the staff was amazing, cleaning up behind us, setting the table, cooking the pasta and ravioli for us. I think this is something I would consider for my direct reports as a team building event.

    What a wonderful experience! We did a chocolate summer cooking camp from 9-12. And it was so much…read morefun. They really made it exciting for the kids and we really enjoyed the treats after chocolate camp. We plan on returning next year. Thank you Taste Buds

    Photos
    Taste Buds Kitchen - Materials

    Materials

    Taste Buds Kitchen - Decor

    Decor

    Taste Buds Kitchen - Milkshake

    See all

    Milkshake

    The Chopping Block - Grilled scallops

    The Chopping Block

    4.3(242 reviews)
    50.2 kmRavenswood, Lincoln Square
    $$$

    I recently attended the "Hands-On Essential Building Blocks" class at The Chopping Block! The 9…read morehours of cooking certainly paid off with some delicious meals! Although I did think the chef in charge was very knowledgeable, and the meals did turn out fabulous, I was a little disappointed with the class structure for a few reasons. 1. For the price of this class, I assumed that we would all be individually learning to cook each component - that was not the case as we were put together into teams of four where we divided responsibilities. So not all building block skills were able to be practiced by all team members. I had chosen this class because I wanted to learn these building block skill hands-on. However, if you're looking to meet new friends this may just be the spot for you! 2. Like I mentioned, the meal we made was super delicious. But in my opinion, it's creativeness / the fact that it wasn't more simple skipped over some of the true basic skills needed in everyday kitchen use. For example, I wish we had learned more about pan use / heating up / etc. And because we had so many components to the meals, some of the lessons felt kind of rushed where we weren't necessarily able to dive deeper into those questions since there were so many people per amount of chef / helpers I do think that this is a great org, but perhaps I would have felt more bang for buck in a more specified topic / shorter class

    I received a gift card for a cooking class for Christmas so decided to use it for a date night last…read moreweek. We chose a Cajun themed meal and it was a really good time. They were super organized. We were split into four groups and each group worked together to create a 4 course meal. Our meal consisted of bbq shrimp, Cajun crab dip, jambalaya, and bread pudding. The chef leading the class was really entertaining and had a lot of great pro tips. There were some other chefs assisting in clean up along the way and taking drink orders. My wife and I really enjoyed our experience and can't wait to come back.

    Photos
    The Chopping Block
    The Chopping Block
    The Chopping Block

    See all

    Cookies by Em - desserts - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...