Great class and experience! I booked a cooking class as a team building night and it was such a fun…read moreway to work together in a new way. We made three different types of empanadas and all were delicious! As a novice cook myself I feel much more confident in the kitchen with the skills I learned at the class and I can't wait to book another one! Thank you Chef!!

From the owner: Welcome to Chef Prep Kitchens! We are a cooking school and event planning service dedicated to…read moresharing culinary knowledge. With over 10 years of experience in professional kitchens, we are a brand led by a Culinary Institute of America graduate and proud member of the American Culinary Federation. Join us for hands-on cooking classes or let us help plan your next event. Together, we can make your culinary dreams come true!

Our team of engineers from Meta had an incredible experience with Chef and the entire team. From…read morethe very beginning, communication was effortless--they were responsive, flexible, and made organizing our team event completely stress-free. The venue was warm and welcoming, creating the perfect atmosphere for a team gathering. The hospitality was exceptional, and everyone on our team felt genuinely taken care of. The food was outstanding, and the entire experience struck a great balance between fun, relaxation, and team bonding. One of the highlights was the generous surprise of complimentary wine served by our host, which made the evening feel even more special. It's clear they truly care about creating a memorable experience for their guests. If you're looking for a unique venue for a corporate team event, offsite, or celebration, I highly recommend this place. Our entire team left with nothing but great memories, and we'd absolutely love to come back!

Had the absolute pleasure of taking cooking classes with Chef Teena's team for our Corporate…read moreHoliday Team Event. The whole experience was so pleasant and smooth, from registering, to fixating the menu (that met our team's dietary needs), the location, etc. Parking was super convenient, the space was super clean, and the team was very friendly, organized, and professional. Each dish was super fun to make, and it was the most rewarding feeling when we all sat down to eat together and enjoy the delicious meal we all cooked. To top it off we also received a complimentary dessert which was the best!!! Thank you Team CurrySutra for such an amazing team bonding experience. We can't wait to be back!!!

I can't speak for the entire school, but I had a very bad experience trying to enroll in a night…read morewood working class. I had previous experience in woodshop classes I took at Mount Tam high school in Marin, so I wasn't a novice. I paid the fee and enrolled in the class. However, when I met the teacher Ray, he decided not to let me take the class. I think he just didn't like me. Disappointed, I tried to get a refund but the school wouldn't give it to me, so I had to open a dispute with my bank. None of my calls or emails to the school or the teacher were ever returned regarding the class or the possibility of taking future classes. It felt like the class was a private club not open to outsiders. Its this kind of elite snobbery that gives rich cities like Palo Alto a bad name.

I am all about learning something new. I have taken classes from financial, to building your own…read morewater fountain to a basic sewing class. Classes are mostly held at Palo Alto High School on Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real across from the Town and Country Shopping Center. They follow the semester system. I get a hard copy catalog in the mail. You can register online, by phone, by fax and by mail. How easy is that? Classes are very reasonable and can range from $35 on up to $200 depending on how often it meets and the types of supplies you pay for. Geared toward the adult, so evening and weekend classes. They have arts and crafts, cooking, financial, computer, language, music, health and fitness, birdwatching, dancing, acting, CPR and first aid, ...you name it.

I have been wanting to take my kiddo to a caregiver and me cooking class for a while now. She is…read morefinally old enough and I felt like she was ready. I booked a Tuesday evening class during winter break. You get a confirmation email and that's it. I was worried about prep but they prepare everything for you and thought up everything as well. Small parking lot. They had us wash our hands when we arrived and then each kiddo had a color sheet with crayons. Nice touch but defeats the purpose of washing our hands first. The two of us shared a table with another mom with their toddler. Each toddler had their own set up to make 6 cookies. Everything was pre measured and it wasn't too messy. We were able to bake 6 cookies and use whatever toppings - she got to choose between chocolate chips, m&ms, white chocolate chips and these dried fruits. They read a book to the kids and then made milk shakes as a group. Each kid got a small cup and to place chocolate chips/m&Ms in. The cookies were really delicious and my child loved the milk shake. One thing is that you can't stop other kiddos from touching your items/food. Would return.

Great experience for people watching/interacting, and cooking without having to prep or clean!…read more Booked a shared table for 2 (4 people at a table) for an adult cooking class on a Saturday night. Pros: The shared table experience was great for meeting new people and having extra sets of brains for multitasking. Cons: Seating is random and the experience is shared; ie: one burner for 4, and the end products are shared. Our dish ended up being over-salted, and our experience was halved in interactive-ness due to the luck of the draw of seating. Never have I had a spoon or spatula taken away from my hands so fast before. And most certainly never have I had someone critique the knives and actively give the duller knife to us. This shared table experience was essentially a fight for all (for us). BUT this is just dependent on the attendees and who you're seated with. The other shared tables didn't seem to have such issues. For a more interactive learning experience, I recommend the private table to avoid the risk of randomization. On the bright side, we got to see how other couples interact, whether it was actively taking items from their partner's hands because they were doing the task wrong (ie: mixing eggs wrong??) or the couple next to us taking cute photos of each other and sharing drinks while enjoying their time together. The structure of the class was decent, organized, and well-paced. All ingredients were measured and prepared. Baking, cleaning, and chilling items were taken care of by staff. Prepping the dish (ie: battering items, mixing ingredients) and active cooking were the only things needed to be done. The instructor would explain the ingredients provided and the instructions during the instruction period for the dish at hand. Following the instructions, prep/cooking occurs while the instructor supervises and provides aid or guidance as needed. All in all, I had a great experience. The staff was nice, especially the instructor, and I felt taken care of during my cooking class experience. Would return for pasta night-- most definitely for the private table experience.

My wife and attended the Art of the Wok cooking class. Orange chicken, wok fried rice, dry-fried…read moreSichuan green beans, and Cantonese steamed milk pudding are a lot to cram into two hours. But all nine students participated and seem to have fun. We look forward to attending more classes. We learned more than just the recipes, such as where to place the cutting board, holding a knife, and the proper technique to fillet a chicken breast. I can certainly carry these tips to other recipes. The instructor was friendly, helpful, and attentive. Previous reviews gave Elaine a bad rap. Either this is a different Elaine or she has improved her courtesy.

My wife and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary by taking a date night cooking class here…read more It was hard to find a seat because of all the flies that were flying around on the food. Absolutely disgusting experience! I had the courage to walk back into the pantry only to be confronted by Lord of the flies and half empty used bottles of old vinegar. As for the instructor, she seemed quite new to the world of fine cuisine. It almost seemed this class was geared for children learning to cook, as most of the instructions were geared towards the mind of an eight year-old. As every day cookers, my wife and I learned absolutely nothing except to ensure a clean kitchen before starting meal prep. Obviously, we will not be returning to partake in anymore classes and I highly recommend others to look elsewhere. Sur La Table really needs to get their act together if they want to be taken seriously. Just a few suggestions for those that work there and read this review: 1) every group should get their own ingredients to prepare their own dishes 2) people should wash their hands before starting to touch any of the food which did not happen for our class, especially when you see them picking parts of their body that are quite unsanitary 3) should probably hire a real chef to teach the class so that we actually learned something about proper culinary practices 4) should probably clean the kitchen in between classes so that the number of flies in the kitchen does not rival that of a Porta potty at a heavy metal concert. Quite disappointing to pay $100 for meal that is equivalent to my worst day of cooking. Tata, David

The cooking classes with Chef Steve at the Adult Community Center in San Carlos are great. About 8…read morepeople per class, all different themes, on Wednesday nights. You can sign up through the San Carlos rec catalog. My husband and I have gone to a bunch as date nights and really enjoyed them. There's one every two weeks about. We started with a knife skills class and have done Cajun, Brazilian, Dim Sum, Moroccan, Greek, and Caribbean. All have been fantastic! We have learned so much and used the recipes at parties to much acclaim. Plus - they are only $42 per person for residents - what a deal!

Chef Cindy and Amy were wonderful hosts for my daughter's birthday party last summer. They put in…read moreso much care and effort to make sure every child had a meaningful role in preparing the food, which made the experience both fun and memorable. The party was a great success! Thank you as well for accommodating three different recipes--including a Michelin-star one. Highly recommend Chef Cindy!

Cindy's cooking school is top-notch. Both of my daughters REALLY enjoyed her classes and camps…read more They are fun and informative and they learned to cook! My younger daughter even tried out for Master Chef Junior when she was 12, fueled by the incredible confidence and skills obtained while under Cindy's tutelage! I also took a few of her adult classes and they were great too!

Jillian prepares and presents meals that are extraordinary! Her reputation is legendary because she…read moreplans ahead to make sure everything you consume is aligned with your larger intentions. I could eat her meals everyday and live in bliss

Jillian is an amazing chef and a natural teacher. Love her!read more

Robin made my birthday cake this year. It was exactly what I wanted and absolutely gorgeous. Great…read morecommunication and fair prices. I will absolutely go back to her for future baking needs. I took one of her classes also (scones, biscuits, breakfast baking) and it was also awesome. I rate this transaction 453/10.

Robin is a master cake baker. We ordered a dark chocolate birthday cake. Cake was moist and…read moredelicious. Cake size was enough to feed double the number of guests. We have already placed our Christmas cake for this year.

I had been thinking of purchasing a camera for a while and had my research independently, and…read moredecided down to a Fujifilm XM5 or XT30III, but I struggled to make that last decision because I couldn't tell how the cameras would feel in my hands. I saw online that they had the two cameras in stock (although, if you are particular about whether there are kit lenses or not, you should call ahead) so felt pretty good about dropping in on a Saturday. There were a few people speaking to all available staff so I did wait a bit, but soon enough I was able to speak to two separate staff members. The first may have been a manager and was able to tell me upfront what was in stock and what was in the area (other location or in their warehouse - would need to be transferred). I asked if I could hold the cameras, either with the showroom cameras or whichever way. They had an XS20 on display (similar weight) and pulled an XM5 from the back. Just from the weights, I could tell that the XM5 was the right choice for me. The other salesperson was able to pair me with a Fujinon 27mm pancake lens that would keep my unit light and compact and a UV lens for protection. I will say that anybody coming in should do their research - the suggestions were helpful and already in line with what I had been planning to buy, but there are other options that are more budget friendly that they may not offer. I mentioned that I was going on a cruise to Alaska soon and asked about rentals, and he recommended that I call a few weeks in advance to see what they had in inventory to rent out. I will definitely do so! He said to aim for a 50-200mm and mentioned lensrental.com if they did not have what I needed in stock. Overall I was very pleased with their service. I would definitely come back for my other camera needs.

1 star; absolutely terrible experience…read more I called Mike's Camera ahead of time to confirm that a specific camera was in stock. The employee confirmed it twice and told me they would reserve it. Based on that assurance, I drove 50 minutes to the store. When I arrived, the entire staff seemed completely confused. Nobody knew about the reservation, they couldn't find the camera, and they kept asking one another who had reserved what. Eventually, someone remembered the phone call and brought out the "reserved" camera..only for it to be the wrong model. Despite confirming twice that the correct camera was available and wasting nearly two hours of my time driving there and back, nobody even apologized. They simply said, "Yeah, we only have this model." This store is disorganized, careless, and completely disrespectful of customers' time. If you call to confirm inventory, apparently you still cannot trust the information they give you. I would never return or recommend Mike's Camera to anyone.