I stumbled into the shop this weekend by accident. It was a very pleasant surprise! The selection…read moreis fantastic. It is well curated and there are so many cool cookbooks I've never seen at other stores. They even have books that aren't cookbooks, like children's books about food. I picked up two! I only had about 30 minute to spend but I could've spent at least an hour perusing. They have a small sale section. They also have staff recs and explanations about the books highlighted. The person working was friendly and kind. I'll definitely be back!

This place is the sacred ground for food and book lovers!…read more The staff is super helpful and friendly. I ended up purchasing a few handmade cards by the front register cause they were fun, funky and within my budget. The front count bottle necks a little bit by the front door but overall such a fun and positive experience.

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.

Culinary Essentials is the perfect name for this shop because they carry everything you need and…read moremore for your cooking needs at every level! Tons of cute items and many practical items at reasonable prices. I could spend all day in the store but due to COVID, they're requesting you limit your browsing to 30 minutes or less. Luckily they're extremely friendly and I was able to get all my questions answered from the variety of coffee related products to comparing the soda stream options. Especially with this year and the holiday season approaching, I highly recommend checking out Culinary Essentials for any dining related gifts or kitchen upgrades as the personal attention is so valuable and to support local businesses!

We stopped by this store to brouse the aisles with no real intention to buy anything. The aisles…read morewere crowded with high quality cookware of every description. A delight for anyone who enjoys cooking. We spotted several items that would be great gifts... After talking with the very nice owners, I decided to buy my son (who lives in Ballard) some Christmas presents. We presented them with the problem that we would be returning to southern California, where my son will join us for Christmas. It didn't make sense to fly stuff down that he would then have to fly home. They suggested that I could buy the presents, I could give my son a card and the gift receipt, and he could collect the present when he came home. Genius! The owners put my gifts into a gift bag, topped it with crumpled purple tissue paper, and put it into the back to await my son's return.

My Sister and Brother-in-law first had us over a few years ago to experience Chef David's cooking…read more WOW!! He food is delicious on so many levels. Being a picky eater I was a little hesitant, but I loved every dish!! The combination on flavors are exquisite! Once again David prepared another FABULOUS birthday dinner party. Mmmmm mmmmm, tasty. The thought, love and experience in each of his dishes are on point.

Chef David made our small wedding unforgettable with his unique and delicious cuisine!…read more He was personable and easy to talk to while he was cooking and he was happy to talk with our guests about the food and techniques. He also connected us with an waiter who helped with serving so that we didn't have to do a thing. It really made the evening easy and most of all, really special. Thank you Chef David!

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!

We reached out to Laura for a private chef for our son's wedding dinner. We had a zoom meeting with…read moreLaura to go over some of the details and start a menu, that went very well. Chef Michael then organize the menu with my son and his fiancé. Chef Michael showed up and started his prep, he was very professional and approachable. His organization in the kitchen was amazing. We had 10 adults and three grandchildren at the tables. Chef Michael treated the kids with respect and described each dish as it came out. We had five appetizers, a couple salads, and the main with two sides. Everything was exceptional, we are still talking about it. We will remember this meal forever. Chef Michael packed up leftovers, and clean the kitchen immaculately. We couldn't be any happier with the service and the food that we received. The grandkids favorite course was the grilled octopus, amazing! We would definitely recommend and would do this again in a heartbeat. Thanks to Laura and Chef Michael

Chef Laura catered our small, family-style wedding brunch at a private residence…read more From start to finish the process was easy and efficient. The menu selection/communication beforehand was great and I made last minute changes to plans that were easily accommodated. Setup and cleanup were fully taken care of and it was a seamless process that made my wife and I's wedding that much better. Finally, the food was incredible and there were plenty of leftovers. I'd recommend Honest to Goodness and Chef Laura to anyone.

Gretchen hosted us at her kitchen for my daughter's 8th birthday. It was controlled chaos with the…read moremax number of guests, but she managed to get all our friends to the finish line and everyone was so excited about the treats they prepared. My daughter loves to bake, so she had a blast baking her treats! Gretchen helped keep everyone on track and made sure they all had fun throughout the party. I definitely recommend Grettie's goodies for parties, but if I did it again, a smaller group would be more ideal.

We had so much fun baking with Gretchen! My daughter is 11 and loved making cupcakes and whoopie…read morepies with me (mom) and two friends. Gretchen and her two helpers were so sweet and patient with the girls. She took music requests, gave them snacks and involved them in the whole process. And we all got to take home yummy desserts!

Have had their tacos a few times at the Ballard Market. The chicken one today and have had the…read morelonganisa breakfast ones made with housemate longanisa. Love all the textures with the veggies got it spicy so tasty. Always fresh ingredients. Also had the seared butter mochi today. So delicious seared.

Worst food salad experience yesterday at Columbia City Farmer's Market…read more $17 for the Mazemen salad that did not even come with a protein option. While the workers were friendly, the food was highly underwhelming. As a traveled foodie and appreciating local chefs, this is one place that you can definitely give a hard pass on. Mediocre greens coupled with dried-out ramen noodles and a ginger sesame dressing left me longing for anything to get over this sad culinary un-experience. I know constructive criticism is tough, but I'd rather be authentically honest. Patrick :-(