Christa and her team at Marin Cooking are top notch professionals!…read more Recently, we hosted an intimate dinner party in our home and I wanted the menu and service to really shine for my guests. Christa made wonderful recommendations and gave me plenty of menu options to choose from. She and her team arrived promptly and proceeded to work their magic in the kitchen. The dinner was absolutely sumptuous and the service flawless. Our guests were so impressed and many asked for second helpings! Thank you Christa for making our dinner party such an easy and memorable occasion. Marin Cooking will be catering all of my events in the future!

I hired Christa to cater a small dinner party in my home. Christa was really great working with me…read morein the planning process and providing menu options to meet various dietary restrictions. On the night of the event I was blown away. The food and presentation surpassed my expectations. All of my guests commented on how the food was gorgeous and delicious. You can tell that Christa really loves what she does. Christa truly helped make the evening a special event. I would hire her again in a heartbeat. In fact, I may never cook again for a party!

Everything about Miyoko and the amazing businesses she operates are truly awesome, wholesome and…read moreloving to animals & earth. It's been a while since my wife and I participated in one of Miyoko's Kitchen cooking classes but we follow her on Instagram (@miyokoscreamery) every day. The same type of recipes and cooking instructions are being given out freely by this generous soul. I can't recommend checking them out or following her on Instagram enough. All of the recipes she's posted so far have been excellent and we continue to learn so much, just like we did in her in-person classes. The variety in our vegan menu has benefited greatly as a result of the knowledge Miyoko's been willing to share. We absolutely appreciate her and everyone that works with her companies to bring such amazing vegan products to the market. We love them all. I'm just so glad they're readably available in our area. Thanks to Miyoko all that you do for our planet and animals. You are admired and appreciated every day by my family and all of our friends that we've introduced your products to over the years.

Miyoko offers small group cooking and baking intensive instructional classes. You will be shocked…read moresenseless by the sheer magnitue of her cooking knowlege. Vegan dishes are the focus yet the food just tastes great. It tastes great for everyone's palette. The food doesn't taste like something is missing and the non-vegans in your family will love the food as well. You can visit her on fb of course. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miyokos-Kitchen/174585105913598 The baking class was an intensive look at vegan baking; 6 each day for 5 days in row. At the end of each day, the students happily retreated with doggy bag filled with treats. You won't be dissappointed if you attend her class. Even the seasoned home chef will learn from Miyoko's tips and tricks. Miyoko Shcinner is a vegan author and owned of 'Now and Zen' restaurant in San Francisco. The since closed restaurant popularized the 'unturkey'. Miyoko is now working on her cooking show called 'Miyoko's Kitchen' that can be seen on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLPkUphyUaA and you can read her blog at www.miyokoskitchen.blogspot.com.

I wouldn't call it a cooking school, for the class we attended was more of an interactive culinary…read moreexperience. The class isn't designed to ensure that everyone get equal instruction/ demo or time interacting with each dish. Many components were already prepped, so I did a lot of asking to get caught up to speed as to what the ingredients were and how they were prepared. Tim, the head chef was fantastic - friendly, accommodating, and an overall great host. Snacks and beverages were available upon arrival, which was nice because we waited at least 20 minutes after the start time to actually get started. Tim then gave a brief introduction and some cooking tips. We then dispersed to different stations. For the next hour or so, we bounced from station to station to learn about different dishes and participate in making them. Sometimes there was chef instruction, sometimes not. I wish there was a chef at each station to get our money's worth. I noticed a lot of people wandering aimlessly and looking a little lost. I was sad to miss out on learning a couple dishes. Overall, for the price, I wish it was more organized/efficient. If you're looking for a casual cooking experience, then this is a lovely place to go if it doesn't break the bank. For me, it was too expensive for me to confidently recommend to others.

FANTASTIC cooking experience at Cavallo Point Cooking School!…read more The theme of our cooking session was "New Orleans Crawl." The menu consisted of: Jalapeno Biscuits Eggs Sardou Crab Cheesecake Shrimp & Grits Chicken Gumbo Beignets Max is 18 students in a session; a cozy fit around the dining table. Tim was our main chef and a wonderful host as were his two assistants. This class is interactive as much as you want it to be. If you're intimidated to participate or not comfortable being around the kitchen, that's ok. Feel free to listen and watch but these classes aren't cheap. It wouldn't hurt to get your hands dirty. Realistically, you won't be able to participate in preparing every dish; choose the dishes you're most interested in. When all is done, the students sit around the dining table to share the meal. There was plenty to go around more than once. My favorite was the Shrimp & Grits, Jalapeno Biscuits, and Beignets. YUM! The room is HUGE, clean, and beautiful. They offered a delicious charcuterie board but the drinks were extra to my surprise. I highly recommend arriving half hour early to find parking. Valet parking is available. The location is GORGEOUS. After class, you can sit outside on their porch and enjoy the sun, have a picnic on the grass, or walk around the area and take pictures of the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate. It is stunning when the sun is out! A wonderful experience!

I recently took the basic cake decorating class with Hands on Gourmet…read more The instructor was easygoing yet skilled, made instructions easy to understand, encouraged exploration and de-emphasized perfectionism, and gave customized tips based on the variety of experience levels among all participants. The whole experience was so fun! If a class series became available, then I'd enroll in it in a heartbeat! Parking at the location is not easy, but it's no issue if you plan ahead and don't mind a short walk.

Came here for a tofu and tempeh cooking class, and got to meet some amazing, new people. The…read morebuilding itself was spacious with a great view of the horizon at sunset from the 4th floor. Chef Cassandra was very knowledgeable about showing us the five different recipes. It was fun cooking the food together, and then enjoying what we had made. Highly recommend a class here if you're interested.

We had a great time at our Burmese cooking class with Chef Sara. The Kitchen was a wonderfully…read moreorganized and open space. She was a great chef and engaged all 11 of us in the cooking action. We felt like we learned a lot, can make the dishes at home. We enjoyed the cooking and the feast afterwards. Highly recommend!

Terrible customer service. I came down with a bad flu and they refused to let me reschedule. She…read moretold me to show up sick if I couldn't find someone to take my spot. Really terrible customer service. Will never book through them again.

I took a holiday sweets class that included chocolate truffles and three kinds of cookies. It was…read moremy first time here, and I really enjoyed it. The owner, Jen, is so sweet. The kitchen is beautiful and well equipped. It was a joy to cook here. I will be back!

This is a gem of a find. Immaculately clean, each participatory class is lead by a gifted chef…read more I've been to several, the most recent centered on pomegranates. We made several recipes, were given copies to take home along with some pomegranate molasses. Our meal together was splendid.

My nephew started the program he was on time engaged and really enjoying the experience almost…read morecompleted until they dropped him from classes saying he was not vocal enough to work in a kitchen. Really dropped from classes because not vocal enough. Don't recommend unless you don't mind being let down.

Great food, local celebrity chefs, good company, supporting local do-gooders, cooking class/demo,…read moreFresh Starts Culinary Academy graduates cooking in the kitchen while guests watch and are entertained by chefs doing their thing in the demo kitchen. Proceeds from the cooking demos go to support the nonprofit Homeward Bound. "I am your chef, not your doctor," Chef David Lawrence from 1300 on Fillmore was friendly welcoming funny and great at creating tasty French English Jamaican Southern comfort food. Traditionally prepared with island spice, southern warmth and lots of heavy cream and butter. He started with his signature Shrimp and Steel Cut Grits. That was creamy heaven in every bite. He then followed by another of his signature dishes, the Maple Syrup Short Ribs. With these he made a sweet dry rub and then seared the meat, added the mira poix, sautéed until caramelized, added broth, and some special ingredients and viola... (3 hours later if cooking at home). He finished with a Sweet Tea Pana Cotta. Between each demo Chef Lawrence walked around the room and answered questions, talked to guests and made for great company. The only thing that I would comment less than positively about the whole event was that I was scolded by the busser when I attempted to help by stacking my and my guests dishes. She said in a frantic whisper "don't stack your dishes I will get penalized". I don't know what that means but I wish her the best and hope she doesn't get "penalized" for my needing to get my plates out of my way.

We used it for a recent meeting. Great service, great facilitate, good price and AWESOME mission…read more Keep up the good work.

We hosted a small after wedding brunch at the Key Room and the experience exceeded expectations in…read moreevery respect. Darby was a gem to work with and helped make the event planning go so smoothly. The event staff during brunch was outstanding. They were efficient, friendly, hospitable and so very accommodating in every way. And the food was amazing. All in all the Key Room experience was better than the wedding venue. In fact, the food at the Key Room was much better! I would not hesitate to hold another event here. The icing on the cake is that all proceeds from these events go to support Homeward Bound of Marin in their mission to provide housing and build employment skills for the homeless and people facing crisis. You won't go wrong having your event here. Ten stars!

amazing, learned so much. I would recommend to anyone who wants to advance holistic health…read moreunderstanding or get into the field

It has been several years since my experience at AIM and I am still grateful for all of it. My…read moreprimary care physician is a graduate and speaker there and so is my osteopath who still assists there. Both are important friends to me. The unkind and judgmental words---directed at me personally---from John B. of Oregon in his AIM review indicates the lack of empathy, sympathy, or understanding that another human being can have for another. I do not hold anyone at AIM responsible for the cruel attacks attempting to discredit another person's experience. I am happy that most students benefit greatly from Francesca's program. She has built noteworthy institutions in both the Academy of Intuition Medicine and Energy Medicine University. I admire her accomplishments and even mentioned her university favorably in my novel series. Something that could help others be more sensitive to and possibly grow in knowledge in is the misconception that the human ego is somehow negative or bad---as John B. chose to denote. In my experience, ego is an essential part of our being and absolutely necessary for soular development and eventual spiritual ascension . . . with a refined ego. I am sorry that my observations and personal experience triggers anger in some to the point where they feel berating and putting down another is the right course of action. It, of course, is not. Making assumptions based on ignorance hurts people. That would be the second thing a healer should know. The first . . . kindness helps people. John B. and Jean T. of Fairfax, who both wrote defensive reviews that misconstrued my words, who do not know what happened, who do not know me at all, made substantially wrong conclusions about my intentions and my actual statements. It is as if they didn't read my review at all and produced some alternate interpretation to exhaust their resentment to my experience which differed from theirs. The teachings and curriculum are just fine. Nothing cultish there. It is the cult-like devotion I witnessed every class meeting by the teaching assistants telling me all the various ways Francesca knows what is going on with each student---even in their private lives. I have always and continue to be open to any opportunity to learn . . . from any source. The large quantities of e-mails, materials, and coursework I received at the Academy was fascinating and I read everything I was provided. Learning for me is not mutually exclusive . . . it is a way of life to gather knowledge, to learn all there is to learn. It would have been nice to receive my MIM diploma, because I like to finish what I start. But, I was not given that choice. Francesca told me many times that "you are too advanced for this program." If anyone knows Francesca, they would know she never patronizes nor says anything she doesn't think is true. And, how many of you have ever heard Francesca repeat herself many times in the same conversation? That was the first and only time I've witnessed it. It saddens me that people didn't accept that Francesca might be right in her assertion about me. Somehow, some think the very notion of being too advanced is impossible ergo a white lie said to pacify a rebel egotist. According to several AIM graduates I've bumped into after my Yelp reviews came out, some things did in fact change at the Academy. This was my reason for the review, to help create positive change. It is good to hear that John B's class benefited years later. I imagine a world that does not merely tolerate differences. I imagine a people who see the pain of others and offer a space of kindness where true understanding can flourish. I had made an error in assuming AIM was one such possible haven. Consequently, I was the one who had been hurt back then. Quite a few people have written to me via Yelp commending me for my reviews of AIM depicting their same experiences accurately. I was well liked and respected by my fellow classmates. It was one teacher assistant and the instructor who resented me for asking a few innocent questions. I was openly punished and told, "if I don't trust her wisdom then I'd better leave." So, I accepted her punishment, kept quiet, and opted to willingly comply . . . yet, I was still eventually expelled. I was later called by my AIM mentor and told to ingratiate myself and beg to be reinstated to earn my spot back in the Masters program, because the same thing had happened to him and that was what he did. His apparent transference involved belittling me and invalidating Francesca's statements about my being too advanced for the Masters program. If John B. represents even a tiny percentage of how AIM people think and feel, it is case in point for my disappointment in the discovery that some intuitive healers are not spiritual, at all. Which I suppose is the main talking point the others are making---AIM teaches energy medicine, not spirituality. This happens to be my exact same point as well. Update 0019 Feel.