I've known Barbara for years. Awesome chef/cook/teacher/host and wonderful person, too!! You're…read moregoing to love meeting and working with her!!!

I purchased a cooking class at Viva Cucina for my family of five, hoping to give all of us an…read morealternative to the usual boring restaurant food, ordering in, etc., and get us cooking for ourselves. We had a wonderful experience with Barbara. She is a dedicated "foodie," clearly loves the process of cooking and is a great host. Her love for cooking is contagious! We were all swept up in her positive vibe and enthusiasm. We chose the Filet Mignon as our main course along with garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, etc. and Bananas Foster for dessert. Really delicious! It was a great lesson in the science and art of cooking that we are putting to good use at home and will come in handy especially when preparing meals for the holidays. Top notch!

Chef Bruce's personality and his fun jokes are the highlights of the event. His instructions are…read moresuper easy to follow. He's attentive and very observant of our cleanliness, our likes/dislikes. He's personal and his thorough teaching helped us make a delicious meal! Laura is chef Bruce's best assistant. She's a female lead yet at the event took a step back into behind the scenes. Without her preparations, we would not have anything to cook with. She's friendly and caring. She took pictures for us throughout the event and send it to us promptly. The experience was wholesome. We had great laughs, delicious pesto gnocchi, delightful tiramisu and genuine conversations. It was a wonderful experience. Thanks a nicest bunch, Laura & Chef Bruce! Van Nguyen (Calyxo's Supply Chain cooking event)

I recently attended a cooking class with my work team, and it was so much fun. Pans on Fire is a…read morekitchenware store, with a room on the side for cooking classes. The store itself is really cute, with useful gadgets and cute towels and knick-knacks. I was part of a group of 12 for the Express Spanish class. There are many different cuisines to choose from, and different durations (e.g., express-1.5 hours, standard-2.5 hours, ultimate-3.5 hours). What made this class run so smoothly is all the prep work that was done ahead of time. Each member had their own apron with their name on it. The cutting boards, ingredients, and tools were laid out around the kitchen. Bruce, the owner/instructor, first gave us demos on knife technique, garlic crushing, and juicing with a fluicher (flat-juicer). Many of these tools are available at their store. Then we worked on different parts of the menu in teams of three. Some of us cut tomatoes, while other crushed garlic. As far as actual cooking on the stove, only 2 members were hands on. After cooking, we sat down at their dining table and ate our meal together. Menu: Gazpacho, Garlic shrimp, Pan con Tomate, Manchego y Chorizo Tostada. Everything tasted good, but my favorite was the garlic shrimp. Hygiene was very important throughout. Longer hair had to be tied, and once we washed our hands, we were no longer allowed to touch our phones. However, Bruce did a great job of taking plenty of pictures for us. Overall, a very fun way to socialize while making something together. I highly recommend this for a team building experience.

I took a flower and gum paste class... which I felt was pretty unorganized and extremely rushed. In…read moreclass she taught or tried to teach too many flowers for the short time we were in her GARAGE/classroom. The supplies she gave us to use in class were subpar and very very cheap. I had a piece of pvc pipe for my rolling pin. 2 students asked to pay and leave an hour early out of frustration; I made myself continue on but left feeling even worse. I asked in class and then again in email later if I could PURCHASE samples of her work of the flowers she had taught, she replied she sold them to another student. April claims she is some top of the line, one of the best flower designers and that her customers are all the Food Network stars. That they want her flowers... but yet she refused to make or sell to me. I simply wanted to PAY for 1 each of the flowers she attempted to teach us. I feel so very cheated... $60.00 for 3.5 hours, no book or hand out, nothing other than the few flowers you attempted in class that definitely were not assembled. The take home recipe given for pastillage did not work at all when I tried it at home. When I emailed for help...April's answers were not helpful and avoided my question. Her recipe is just water, gelatin and confectioners sugar. Her suggestion was that I added too much shortening!!! Shortening isn't even in HER recipe. When I pointed that out she said she was just suggesting a problem and couldn't know what I did wrong... what the hell... 3 basic ingredients... how wrong could I have gone...seriously!! She demonstrated how to make pastillage in class and let us touch it and then she gave us a different batch all together to work with. Something she prepared before we got there. April knew before I took the class that I am also a cake decorator and instructor, and THIS is how she treats her colleagues! Her business is a lousy cold garage that is crammed with crap, boxes, and product and is definitely not worth what she charges. If you need to go to the bathroom, you have to walk through her messy house and dirty kitchen. Not what I expect from someone claiming to be a professional. She ran in between the house and the garage and made it well known that she was watching a tennis match inside on TV. She also offers Wilton courses on her website, however Wilton claims she is in violation of the teaching agreement and is not an authorized instructor. Go to Michaels or JoAnns and save the frustration, time, and unprofessional-ism! I really feel that April is a cheat and probably discourages first time decorators. I would not recommend her class to anyone!!

This place is AWESOME! I came here for a week of baking classes and a chocolate class. She teaches…read moreit from her garage, which she has converted into a complete cooking area. Coolest garage in the world! Everything that we made came out delicious, and anything the teacher made for us was super good as well. The owner of this business, and the teacher of the class is a really friendly lady named April. She showed the class tons of new techniques, like icing cakes, and how to make royal icing, how to pipe etc. We made tons of cookies. I remember these jam shortbread like bars, and these pinwheel cookies. We also made biscotti, and a banana cream pie. Everything tasted really good! And we were able to take home usually more than 1 treat each day. For the last two days of the class, we made a red velvet cake from start to finish. We made the batter, lined the baking pan, and then made the icing, sliced the cake, iced the cake, decorated it, etc. I learned tons of new techniques. The chocolate class was very fun as well, and very informative. We made many different kinds of truffles, and we made chocolate mousse, and chocolate cups, and a few kinds of edible molding chocolate decoration! This place is awesome! Not only can you take cooking classes, you can order cakes and cookies for parties. The cakes here are really good! I really like her carrot cake, and her red velvet cake! YUM! The cookies here are really good too! For my brother's birthday, we planned it last minute, and called her about a day ahead, yet she was able to put together a cake for him, so that was a huge plus! But if you're able to tell her a week or more in advance, all the better, because you can get it more to your preference, and you'll probably like your cake a lot more. Overall, a great place for baking classes and cake decorating classes for kids, teens, and adults. And on top of that, a great place to get a cake for a party.

Craving their carrot cake and headed here. I came at a good time cause it wasn't as busy as other…read moretimes I've been here. The person at the bakery was very nice and helpful. Picked up me a slice of their carrot cake, a tiramisu cupcake, and grabbed a pack of mini carrot cake cupcakes. Should have known I'd prefer their carrot cake over those mini bites. My son enjoyed the tiramisu cupcake. The cashier that rung me up was pleasant. Always experienced a great experience here.

I decided to visit Draegers because it was closing and I heard they had 40-50% discount on food and…read morehome goods. I came a day or two after the news of the closure sale, there were still plenty of perishable and non perishable foods to pick from. Some popular high ticket items like tea and coffee were more scare but there was still some items that remained. The home goods items were picked over. I bought a bunch of salsas and hot sauces that would have been $10 a piece without the sale. The food here at regular price would have been too expensive for the average person tbh. Nice store but expensive for today's times.

With my sister back in town, my mom booked a mooncake workshop class for us to have some mother…read moredaughter time!! Miggi was such a friendly and welcoming teacher- and the workshop was easy to follow. I'm going to be keeping track of her next classes to learn the next one!! We also learned how to make black pepper pork buns, which was our lunch :D

A fun, interactive, and incredibly well done "Travel Around the World" Smart Cooking and Wine…read morePairing Event. My team and I had an amazing experience at Miggi's Kitchen. We learned to cook with the Thermomix while working in teams at different stations, preparing dishes from around the world. It was hands-on, interactive, and a lot of fun - every dish turned out delicious. Miggi is a fantastic teacher: clear, detailed, confident, and incredibly knowledgeable. She explains techniques in a way that's easy to understand, and we all walked away genuinely better cooks. We also paired the experience with wine tasting and learned how to taste and appreciate wine properly, which made the evening even more memorable. On top of that, Miggi's fun, warm personality really brings the whole experience together. My office team loved it and is still talking about it. Highly recommend for team events or anyone looking for a unique, engaging culinary experience.

Nidal is amazing! Everything from his communication, service and his food! So so so good! I was…read morelucky enough to have his food twice, different varieties and all just so delicious. Every guest said how amazing it was and felt like eating at a high end restaurant! His chimichurri I have to say though is one our top favorite sauce over his steak! You won't be disappointed if you choose Nidal! And you'll hope you will have leftovers for yourself hahaha

I was introduced to Nadal from a family friend. I decided to hire him for a 50th birthday party…read moreabout a year ago with about 75 guests and everyone loved the food. I used him again last week for a graduation party with 65 people and once again we were not disappointed! Very professional, great communication and easy to work with. The food was delicious, and we received many compliments. I will not hesitate to use him for my next party! Thanks Nadal!

I found this Pop-up event & thought its a nice idea. I t was a delightful evening, hands-on class &…read morethen we had dinner. The event held in the Chef's beautiful house & everything was well organized, well prepared & extremely flavorful! People at the group were very sweet & enjoyable to cook with. I highly recommend any event with Chef Mashav. She is really professional & knowledgeable!

What a fantastic tour by Mashav (the owner and the chef of Le Couloir)! Richmond neighborhood in SF…read moreis known for its mix of cultures, but Mashav masterfully uncovers all the hidden secrets and gems - Secrets only someone who lives in this community is familiar with. And she does that through food and hand-picked dishes that you will never uncover without a guide. Even though locations may change per tour, our group tasted a mix of cultures and got some stories behind the dishes, the restaurants, and their owners. Few examples - * Russian cuisine - Herring with a pickled onion on fresh bread * Indian street food - I was surprised how much I enjoyed this vegan street snack - I would have never ordered anything without meat, and I dislike spinach, but the fried spinach snack was mind-blowingly good. * Mexican - Quesadilla with plantain. Again, no meat but it was soooooo good. * Chinese - Glazed Pork and pork-filled bun I won't spoil the surprise for some of the other locations. And more, and more - Total of about 7-8 places. You won't stay hungry, guaranteed. The walk itself is not challenging; there are no hills to overcome, even though it's San Francisco. Don't wait - Just go!

Adam Small and his team were recommended to us by a family member who also used his services for…read moreher wedding. We could not be happier with the recommendation as the appetizers and entrées were absolutely stunning -- both in flavor and aesthetics! Our biggest difficulty was choosing dishes from his diverse catalog of offerings since they all sounded delicious. He was also very accommodating and made various adjustments to account for particular food allergies that some of our guests had (without compromising on flavor at all). For appetizers, we chose: - Pepper-Crusted Seared Ahi Tuna (Seka Hills EVOO, Sicilian Pesto, Herbs) - Ratatouille Tarts (Puff Pastry, Seka Hills EVOO, Parmigiano Reggiano) - Pistachio Flatbread (Onion, Burrata, Honey, and Chili Oil -- this one was a extra-huge hit with all guests) For dinner, we started with a Local Harvest Salad (Farm Vegetables, Fruit, Vinaigrette, Cheese, and Nuts -- plating was particularly beautiful for the salad), and had three entrée options: - Wagyu New York Steak (Imperial American Wagyu, Roasted Vegetables, Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, Potato Galette, and Red Wine Jus) - Signature Duck (Mary's Crusted Duck Breast, Hind-Quarter Confit, Potato Cake, Charred Vegetables, and Duck Jus) - Roasted Butternut Squash with Cannellini Beans (Charred Vegetables, Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, and Saffron-Rosemary Broth) Throughout our entire wedding and afterwards, guests were telling us how impressed they were and that it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding! He and his team arrived right on schedule, set up (including silverware and plates) cooked and served outstanding food, provided extremely attentive service, and then cleaned up, leaving the kitchen absolutely spotless (while also deftly navigating a brief power outage!). We cannot recommend Adam Small Cooks highly enough! His food, attention to detail, and service are truly next level. Thank you again for making our wedding so special!

Chef Adam was amazing!!!…read more We celebrated a friend's birthday with 6 people at an Airbnb in Sonoma. We had a six course menu (see below for details) that was excellent! For the vegetarian in the group (me) he was able to whip up a wonderful dish when everyone else was eating halibut. Every single dish was a stand out and the group was so happy with how everything turned out. This was a wish of the birthday girl - to have a private chef and to spend time with her girlfriends. She was blown away by the experience. The 6 course meal included: Fried Baby Artichokes: lemon aioli, herbs, chili oil Flatbread: preserved truffle, pistachios, onion, burrata, honey, chili oil Ash Roasted Beets: kimchi honey, pistachios, ravigote, feta Charred Zucchini Agnolotti: fried sage, brown butter, lemon, pepper, parmigiana Seared Halibut: fennel-potato salad, herbs, haricot vert, preserved truffle champagne sauce Under-Baked Chocolate Cake: Italian meringue, Luxardo cherries, cocoa nibs Also, our kitchen was left spotless! Thanks again Chef Adam for giving us the perfect first day of our trip!