2.5ish ? Warning, I'm going to be very thorough because I've taken baking/cake classes before and was incredibly disappointed.
TLDR: The $150 class felt rushed, with instructors packing up 30 minutes early. Some other organizational/functional issues added to the disappointment. Overall, not worth the price and wouldn't recommend.
Full Review:
The Good:
- The instructors were knowledgeable and hands-on in helping during the instruction (even though the pace of the class felt rushed).
- The cake and frosting themselves are pretty tasty!
Main Critique:
- The instructors began packing up 30 minutes before the class was supposed to end, creating a rushed atmosphere that didn't allow us to fully use the time we had paid for.
- I didn't have enough frosting to finish my cake, and by the time I realized it, everything was already packed away. The doors were open, and participants were basically being ushered out, which made it uncomfortable to ask for more supplies--even though I'm usually not shy about speaking up.
- My friend, who was waiting for me, also noticed the instructors seemed impatient for me to finish, even though I should have had 20 minutes left. She observed that other participants appeared to feel rushed as well.
Medium Critiques:
- We used the same frosting that we had spent the last hour practicing piping with as the filling and the crumb coat, which seems unhygienic.
- The colored frosting for decorating was then served to us in the same cups that we had just used for crumb coating. It basically defeated the whole purpose of using a crumb coat and got pieces of the cake mixed into the frosting.
Minor Critiques:
- We had to request fresh pastry bags after practice, as the ones we had were messy.
- We were meant to be give 20% off coupons for future classes/purchases and they thought they had run out of them which felt disorganized. Asking for them to find one felt awkward. (I assume that they would have found a way to provide me with the coupon if they did run out but it just seemed strange that they had to go searching for one).
- Water wasn't automatically offered and had to be requested by other participants. At other classes, this was a given curtesy.
Last Note: While this is not an issue, I do think It would have been nice to have access to more frosting colors for decorating instead of just having to choose one. The picture for the class does showcase monotone cakes, so I understand that this is more of a personal preference/ recommendation rather than a critique.
Overall, the class felt rushed and lackluster, leaving me disappointed. Some of my minor critiques may have been easier for me to dismiss but feeling rushed out left a really bad taste in my mouth. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend the class and likely will not return. read more