My 13 year old daughter did a week of summer camp here and LOVED IT. She's pretty shy and tends to…read moreget anxious about trying new things, so I was worried that she wouldn't like the cooking camp but I was blown away at 1) the fun she had every single day, 2) the skills and concepts that were taught to her in a way that kids could comprehend, and 3) the dishes she made. The summer camps are a little pricey but I think was worth it, because the kids not only get to cook and eat good food but they also went home with their own apron, knife, and digital recipe book! My daughter now has more passion and confidence to cook independently. Highly recommend!

Wonderful experience working with Blue Ribbon Cooking. They catered my wedding and every step of…read morethe process was exceptional. Everyone we dealt with there was friendly and kind. They were very understanding of any of our concerns and requests. We originally went to an open house they were holding so between that and the tasting we had with our contract, we got to try a variety of their food and it was far better than the food we had at other caterers we were considering. They also took all our guests' food allergies and restrictions seriously (unlike another caterer we visited who offered us a "vegan caesar salad" that was made with anchovies...). Also we chose the option to hire our day-of coordinator through Blue Ribbon and working with David Short was a dream. He got our unconventional wedding concept from the beginning and was excited about it and happy to collaborate with us on it or talk through ideas. He was very supportive at every turn and such a kind and calming presence on the actual wedding day. He tried wherever possible to take stress off of us. He let us drop off decor and things to him in the days before the wedding so we wouldn't have to worry about how to get it there. When I realized we hadn't put any thought into the decorations for the ceremony itself he came up with a lovely design repurposing lanterns and greenery we we had gotten for the tables later in the evening. And he brought us a variety of appetizers for me and my spouse so we'd have something to eat after the ceremony while we were signing the paperwork. I would highly recommend Blue Ribbon Cooking for any event. We will definitely be reaching out if we're planning future big events.

Victoria is a master cook and teaches in a very hands on method. Her commercial stove serves as a…read morecenter point next to her large butcher block island. Each student gets her recipes, a pencil for notes and an apron. She explains and then guides you through the preparations. Participation is expected but not required. When ready we move on to the huge stove where we cook the main dish. She usually adds an accompanying side dish with possibly a sauce. The finale is we all sit at her extra large table and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Each student can get direct supervision if the need arises, or asked for.

Victoria is a great teacher of all types of cooking. I have taken the Ramen Noodle class and Dry…read moreRub for meats. Both were loads of fun and left the attendees with a new set of knowledge and skills. I will be signing up for more!

We just learned that there is a Hot Stove Society weekly live radio show/podcast hosted by Seattle…read moreCelebrity Chef and Restauranter extraordinaire Tom Douglas. The show is broadcasted on KIRO radio and streamed on YouTube. You can also listen on a podcast. It is filmed in the industrial kitchen at the Hot Stove Society Cooking School in downtown Seattle. The best part for us is that we learned you can buy tickets to attend a taping of the show and it includes a freshly made breakfast. We immediately signed up and attended the one this past Tuesday. It was so much fun as we were treated to freshly made sticky buns, Shakshuka and Greek yogurt with granola. All of the food was delicious. The show being recorded was also fascinating to watch with lots of behind the scene activity capturing our attention. The guests on the show were informative and entertaining and some door prizes were given away to some audience members. After the taping, we got to take photos and talk with Tom, his staff and the guests. We really enjoyed ourselves and were well taken care of (and well fed!) by the staff. I recommend attending one of these shows for a great behind the scenes look and informative discussions about food and cooking from some local experts.

My wife and I had a great time here, so this review rating is a bit unbalanced. Being spectators to…read morea live podcast production was really fun and educational. Tom Douglas and his daughter were great hosts and their guests were engaging as well. We enjoyed the food that was served as well. What bothered me to the point of dropping 2 stars was being offered a mimosa when we were seated, without being told it was not included in the price of our experience. I was not prepared for the steep charge for the drink when we were getting ready to leave at the end. Had I known in advance, I certainly would have politely declined the offer. It just really left a bad taste in my mouth which took away from what was otherwise a great experience.

Our experience with Young Chef Academy and Chef Deb has been absolutely fantastic! Chef Deb is…read morepassionate, knowledgeable, and incredibly engaging. She creates a fun, supportive environment where kids can learn essential cooking skills while having a great time. The lessons are well-structured, hands-on, and full of valuable tips that even parents can appreciate. My children have gained confidence in the kitchen, developed a genuine love for cooking and broadened their palate thanks to Chef Deb. I highly recommend Young Chef Academy to any parent looking to inspire their little ones and teach them lifelong skills in a positive, nurturing setting. Five stars all the way!

My oldest is 9 and has always had a thing about helping in the kitchen. His stepmom happened to…read morecome across an ad for this summer camp at Young Chefs Academy and we jumped on the opportunity to sign him up. For us it was an hour drive each way but it was totally worth it to see the smile on my sons face. What I loved about here is that everyday after class they got to eat what they made so my son was always very proud and they teach kids how to really cook! Everything is made from scratch which even in Highschool classes I remember most things were always made from a box or jar. This summer program ran Monday-thur and at the end of the week they were given a cookbook with all the recipes they made during the week. It is a tad bit pricey but really sooo worth it.

Chef Joni is a pro!! What a wonderful evening…read more From fresh herbs for our ragu from her garden, music reminiscent of Italy and pasta made from scratch - it was a perfect night! And also our latest night out since New Year's #2020. We started off munching on appetizers including rosemary almonds and some delicious cheese and crackers while we made our dishes. The last time I made pasta from scratch was in my seventh grade cooking class during which I was always worried about being late to the next class period since the teacher never left us time to clean up. And I had to bribe my Spanish teacher to not mark me late by giving him my finished product. Needless to say I did not remember anything and this time was a much more pleasant experience. The pasta machine is super cool and I won't share the secret to the best alfredo sauce...you'll just have to take the class and learn it yourself! Then while we let the pasta sit we worked on the ragu. Veggies galore and Joni is great at ensuring everything can be vegetarian and working with your dietary preferences. Joni shared many different techniques and also the science behind the making of the food. For example, reasons that cooking a veggie a certain way provides more flavor. For dessert, tiramisu. Honestly, we were stuffed but always leave room for dessert! Anything you don't eat you can take home! Joni is super organized and was very accommodating of my wild schedule. Her kitchen set up is outstandingly beautiful with high end appliances and also ensuring COVID-safe measures. Plus the candle-lit dinner and recipes to take home are just a few of the wonderful detailed touches. Plus LEFTOVERS FOR DAYS. Like leftovers for a week. Of it all! A great date night in Italy!

I found Chef Joni Sare on Cozymeal and booked her for my team offsite as my 3 other team members…read morefound her Master Italian Classics Cooking Class to be a fun learning experience. Boy were we right. If you don't read my full review, all I can say is that Chef Joni was an EXCELLENT instructor and my team members and I had such a good time. We were smiling ear-to-ear the entire time we were there. Highly recommended from this Yelp reviewer. Detailed review below: Communication (5/5): We used the Cozymeal platform for everything and found their interface amazing. Chef Joni was very pro-active and communicated with me several times before the event date on January 17, 2020. What stood out about this communication was that she really wanted to know us. She asked good questions like "Why did you choose this class?", "What do you hope to learn from it?", "What are your goals?" etc. Really appreciate this since she can cater the class to exactly your needs. She was also very accommodating when I told her that one of our team members was a vegetarian so she made sure she had a vegetarian option on hand during our class. Finally, before the event, she gave us extremely detailed directions to the location of the event (including a picture) and what to expect. Really outstanding communication here. Location (5/5): Her location is in her house located in Sunnyvale near major highways. Lots of street parking once you arrive so no issues on parking. The inside is well decorated and everything seems to be remodeled including her kitchen which was very modern. See pics to get an idea. Food (5/5): The Master Italian Classics Cooking Class contains the following menu: 1.) Antipasti - Cheese, crackers, almonds, pepper jelly to snack on throughout the whole meal while you are there 2.) Handmade Fettuccine Alfredo 3.) Ragu (Mushrooms, many vegetables) - Our protein was lamb for the meat-eaters and tofu for our vegetarian team member. 4.) Tiramisu - for dessert. I don't want to spoil too much of the class but I'll share some of the highlights for me at least. Preparing the Fettuccine Dough from scratch including folding it, kneading it, was a really fun experience. Also running through the dough through the pasta machine to stretch it and finally cut it into actually the noodles was such a cathartic experience. I'm really happy I got to experience that. The Ragu was so delicious and so healthy at the same time as we barely used any vegetable oil and we put in so many vegetables. Finally, the tiramisu making was actually pretty easy but delicious at the same time. Now that I have been through how to make Tiramisu, I am confident I can make it for a party without issue. Also, if you can't finish all the food you make, Chef Joni gives you take-out boxes to bring home so you can enjoy the food again! Our group also had leftover uncooked fettuccine and we got to take that home. Chef Joni (5/5): Last but not least Chef Joni was an excellent instructor. She was so bubbly and easy to talk to and really put the group at ease very quickly. She was masterful on dividing up certain tasks in the kitchen so we can all participate in the cooking journey and made sure we were doing the steps properly. We asked her so many questions during our time in the class and she happily answered every single one of them without being annoyed. It was nice to finish the class with all of us including Chef Joni eating at the table. Chef Joni's passion for cooking really shines through her class and we had a great time! Our team can't wait to come back. Thank you Chef Joni for a great class.

I recently took a group cooking class with the Primal Chef at the Miele studio in Bellevue. It was…read morereally fun! The recipes were super tasty and we created some outstandingly delicious food. I do think some of the recipes could have been vetted for more clarity though, especially as they build off each other. So you made this sauce and then it goes into this other recipe, etc. My only other comment (and why not 5 stars) is that honestly the class felt rather disorganized. We broke up into 3 groups and each made 1/3 of the recipes. I understand you cover more ground that way, but it was also a little disappointing to literally have no clue what the other groups were doing. You had to make time to walk around and ask questions, which I guess is OK but hard to do when you are also supposed to be planning and cooking your designated items for the group. I also felt like there could have been more structure to what each group was doing and more guidance. Although Chef Gil was very helpful, he was only one person. There were a few sous chefs around, but we had to flag them down to ask questions. I think a little more direction, a planned order to make the items and some more organization could have taken this class from great to amazing.

If I could give higher than a five star I would! Coming in to town last minute, unannounced on…read morebusiness and requiring not one, but two private chefs for not just an average day but Fourth of July DAY and NIGHT, Primal Chef completely came through! Fara & Kai showed up professional, prepared and not only cooked amazing meals, but quite literally took great care of our group for the entire day. The food was phenomenal to say the least and my team and I have, without question, saved their contact information for our next trip to Seattle! Thank you Primal Chef for going above and beyond!

I had been experimenting with eating more of a plant-based, raw food diet when I came across an…read moreoffer through Living Social for a two hour educational class on the subject taught by Pamela. I loved the way she presented her knowledge and I came away from the class with lots of useful information. Whether you are concerned about your health, preservation of the environment or the suffering of animals for food this is a great place to stop in. I will be taking more classes from Pamela! Oh, and did I say that we made ourselves a delicious lunch!

I have really enjoyed Pamela's Raw Cooking Class today. It was very interactive, packed with…read moreinformation and lots of practical advice. The small class size really allowed everyone to get some individual advice and recommendations, whether they were new to healthy eating, already highly aware or just wanted to learn about quick and easy food preparation. Because health is such an important topic, we owe it to ourselves to get better educated and make smarter decisions for our families. I recommend Pamela's class as a great way to help in this journey to being and feeling your best self. I will definately be looking for an opportunity to take more of Pamela's classes.

Had a really fun sushi making class. We were so full at the end we couldn't eat everything we…read moremade. It was well attended. Appreciated the option for a glass of wine or seasonal housemade soda drink. It took three hours, which was in part because it was a little disorganized. That's long time to sit there. The room is beautiful and well equipped. I would go back.

For anyone seeking a cooking + tasting experience, I totally recommend checking out The Pantry!…read more At The Pantry, there are a variety of cuisine you can learn, cook and eat. For my friend and I, we signed up for the Puerto Rican Pantry class. Overall, class was fantastic! Our instructor, Gino, did a great job leading the course. We learned how to make 4 dishes, 2 sauces, had yummy wine along the way, and learned some new skills/tips on cooking better. Experience wise~ class had a nice mix of hands on activities (ex: food prep), learning and watching, and towards the end, eating all the food we made. The food made was super yummy and so so filling. Plus, the cozy kitchen made it a much more immersive feel for the class. Overall, had a blast with the class and definitely coming back for more of Gino's courses :) Additional Tips ~ The course we took was around 3 hours long, so would recommend eating a light snack before class. Parking is limited to street, so come early before class to get a spot.

I've never written a review for anything before, but had such a bad time, feel like I need to…read moreshare. So here's your warning: if you go with a group of friends or family prepare to not be able to talk to each other. All she did was yap the whole time (some of it informative but most of it was her just talking about her life). When I tried to have a quiet side conversation with my friend she shushed me! I paid a lot of money for a private class for my friend's birthday thinking it would be a fun light-hearted experience, but I felt like I was in a college lecture instead. Not only did I find the whole experience to be unpleasant, but I also left very hungry! We didn't get to eat all the food that we made AND PAID FOR because she put it away. The food was good but nothing about that experience was worth the money

I had a chance to check out Diane's artisan food class with 5 app and 1 dessert (all vegetarian!)…read moreand found Diane to be super entertaining. I don't think of Diane so much of a chef but much of a friend who doesn't intimidate you with fancy chopping and cooking skills...but rather more like someone who you can feel free to enjoy talking about food and its origin, helping prepare a healthy meal right in the kitchen. What I like most about Diane's style is that her food contains at most 4-5 ingredients. I also appreciate that Diane tried her based to source her ingredients from local producers...(e.g. vote and put your money where you support!). They are simple, health focused, practical and easy to prepare, especially for someone like me who doesn't have as in depth kitchen skills. She didn't intimidate me at all with all the stuff I didnt know what to do or how to use around the kitchen. Overall, I highly recommend Diane's class. I wouldn't say its full blown madness of cooking involved, but rather more light coming and entertaibment of the party you are taking your class with! If I had another chance, I would definitely love to take Diane's class again for sure! P.S. I also appreciated she followed up and sent us information about the local vendors that we can get the ingredients we used in the class and the recipe of the dishes we made that day.

This school is a paradox and I can't imagine being anywhere else. It's a seminary. So, if you are…read morelooking for a secular institution you won't find that here. What many who have embraced this place have found it to be, is a place for individuals who have been wounded by 'the Christian church' or their more fundamentalist upbringings but who are not necessarily wanting to abandon their faith. This place is by no means conservative, in fact it really does occupy the space right between the point of secular humanism and Christianity which is why you see some of the extreme reactions from both ends of the spectrum in the reviews.--conservative Christians who expected TSS to be a traditional Christian seminary are deeply uncomfortable and sometimes even enraged by its not being 'christian' enough, and then there are those who come to a Christian seminary who are not Christian and are deeply offended that professors engage their own Christian faith (which by the way is completely different for each of them: another thing some more conservative students have a hard time with. Understandable considering many of us are raised being taught one or another denomination is more accurate than the other) and ask students to do the same for themselves, mainly for the purpose of challenging students to deeply consider and define for themselves what they believe and why. For those who are deeply guarding their evangelical roots, this place will likely feel like a challenge to their beliefs, as professors discuss some of the origins of those beliefs, present alternative voices and perspectives, and ask students to deeply wrestle with how their beliefs have historically been used to oppress, control and turn away from marginalized communities. So, students who want this place to: 1. be like their particular conservative church growing up, 2. Or are not comfortable with being asked to wrestle with why they believe what they do, and/or 3. are expecting this place to only talk about faith from the perspective of a secular institution but not ask you to personally wrestle with or engage Christian theology as it relates to your life, then you might find yourself challenged here. But, this tends to be a place where students find that they can bring their anger and their questions and their dissatisfaction with God, the church, how Christians have traditionally acted out harm throughout history and in their own lives. This place requires counseling students to take a few theology, bible and spiritual formation classes but they are engaged in ways very different from conservative seminaries--inviting you to engage your body, your sexuality, the ways you've been silenced and have silenced others, the ways patriarchy and racism have informed our view of self, faith and others etc. This school is def a place for students who are clinging more tightly to a desire to live out their faith in a way that feels more congruent to the practice of love, than they are with their faith maintaining the particular boundaries or structure that they came to the school with. This school isn't perfect. None of them are. But more than any other institution I've been at, they seem to desire to grow and are constantly asking, listening and being changed because of their engagement with students. This is a quality that is so unique to this school. I have so much more to say but this is already way to long. To sum it all up. What it boils down to is, whether you are a Christian, humanist, or anything else, if you want to stay comfortable, or are clinging so tightly to your particular worldview that you cannot or do not want to be challenged than this might not be the place for you. However, if you want to ask hard questions, be challenged to look inward at yourself in a way that will be deeply uncomfortable, yet profoundly transformative in how you engage yourself and your future work with others, this may be a place worth checking out.

This school has many aspects of a cult and is a money-making racket…read more I gave one star because I have to and I met some well-meaning people there. 1. The admissions people promised me that the program would take 2 years, it is the main reason I joined. Once I started at the school I found that almost no one completes the program in 2 years. 2. I was told by admissions that the program is very spiritual, not religious and there was lots of space for people who are not religious. In this I was totally misled. see below: 3. The founder of the school leads one of the first required classes. The class consists of (mainly) him ranting on and on about Jesus. I had a very orthodox Christian girl who was part of the "Christian purity movement" tell me: "YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO DRINK THE KOOLAID TO SURVIVE THE PROGRAM" during that class. 3. The founder preaches that students must dig into our own inner suffering to heal ourselves to become good counsellors. I had a meeting with the dean of education and specifically asked her if students were supposed to dig deep and hard into their darkest sufferings, to come out on the other side as better people (as he suggested). She answered with a definite "yes" that this was how the program worked on students. I fundamentally disagree that one needs to suffer through a program to heal and be a better therapist. *** AND, I later talked to a client of mine who had attended the school and come down with a serious illness due to being in the program. She said she would have warned me to avoid the school. (She completed the program). 4. The founder went into a graphic description of his own rape at age 12 without any warning to a group of 120 of us. I asked why there had been no sensitivity to the nervous systems of those of us who might not be able to handle hearing graphic rape stories. I was told that these are the tactics to get us to suffer (and come out healed etc). 5. You meet with a group of 8-10 people weekly in a small room. You tell a story about something difficult that happened to you. The other students in the room respond to your story. So you bare your soul and have unqualified people passing judgement on what they see in you based on what you shared. Other schools are shocked when I speak about this practice. I was told I was not vulnerable enough and ostracized. 4 other women who I'd noted as strong capable people were too. 6. I found out later that about half the people that started the program left by the 2-3rd quarter. = money making scheme. Be very wary of this program. I wrote a letter of complaint and asked for my money back, they have not responded. I'm taking my case to the WA state attorney General. (https://carm.org/signs-practices-of-a-cult).