What a great evening we had with Adamo and Vita!! We had a team building work event here and the experience was so fun and very conducive to building greater connection amongst our group. Fabulous food, too, and we made it ourselves! Amazing! Thank you guys so much!! read more

I'd gone to a Chef Upstairs event a few years ago, and always kept them in mind as it was a great experience. They offer various services and events, and I recalled as well that they also do kids camps. Over the past couple years, my daughter has taken a big interest in cooking. And not just a fleeting interest, but consistently enjoys watching cooking shows and wanting to participate in cooking at home. As we were planning summer camps this year, I thought we should try to finally give her a chance to live her dream a bit and attend a week here. She's gone to a city-run one before. Though she quite enjoyed it, it was fairly simple. At The Chef Upstairs, they are in a full commercial kitchen with gas stoves, deep fryers and a whole bunch of other things you'd expect from a real kitchen. They have a firm belief that kids can learn safely - in fact, the safest thing is to expose them and provide proper technique. And they're not just making things like a deli meat roll up wrap, but full-on multi-course meals (they make breakfast and lunch) and from recipes from all around the world. You should look at the menus they post on their site for the kids camps. It was a bit of a sacrifice for us as we do not live nearby. That said, they have two locations, so a number of people are well-situated if near Vaughan and midtown Toronto. It's also a bit more money than many other kids camps - though its apparent with the food costs and the high staffing ratio that it's still good value. Ultimately, it was well worth it. My daughter loved it and truly lived out a dream and learned a lot. The highlight for her was the week long prep leading up to the Iron Chef-esque competition where they planned their own full menu. I'm thrilled that The Chef Upstairs lived up and even exceeded our already high expectations and truly made a lifetime memory for our daughter. read more

The Chef Upstairs - My daughter with Chef Julian. - Cooking Classes Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

Came here for couples cooking glass. Made 4 course dinner over 3.5 hrs, drank on the job and had fun while learning new skills. Chef is professional, environment is clean, vibe is chill. Our 4 course dinner included: calamari, fennel citrus salad, gnocchi, and limoncello tiramisu. Will come back and found out they do children camp and parties too. read more

I purchased 2 tickets to an adult cooking class as a Christmas gift for my mom. We were both very excited to go. Then a winter storm hit!!! I called 2 days prior when I heard about the incoming storm, and asked to reschedule. I was unable to reschedule and instead told to "drive safe." (our drive to Vaughn was considerable) $300 down the drain!!! They were well within their rights as their policy is to give 7 days notice to reschedule (I gave 2). But seemed very unreasonable to me! Finding 2 people to go in my place wasn't realistic, given the weather. I shouldn't have to choose between my safety and loosing $300. But I did. On the evening of our clas, environment Canada said to "consider postponing all non-essential travel." I wish I read through the Google reviews more thoroughly. Disappointing customer service. There was a really lack of listening and understanding. We are very conscious about food waste. If the ingredients were already purchased, we gladly would have picked up the day before/after and tried to recreate the meal ourselves although we weren't emailed the recipes. The exact same class also ran the following day. Just feel a lot more could have been done. read more

The Chef Upstairs - Extreme storm warning-not just a regular Canadian snowfall - Cooking Classes Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

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My daughter and I had purchased a cooking class at the Vaughan location and were looking forward to a lovely evening! A couple of days prior to the event, environment Canada called for a huge storm on the day of our class and said that all unnecessary travel should be avoided as conditions would be treacherous. I called the Chef Upstairs to ask whether we could attend on a different date because we would be driving a long distance and the roads were not going to be safe. The woman that I spoke to said DEFINITELY NOT. There were no circumstances under which we could reschedule. She then spoke to me as if I was a child.....well just be careful and drive safely and slowly and leave plenty of time. She then suggested that if I wasn't happy, I could contact the owner and provided an e-mail address. IT TURNS OUT THAT SHE IS THE OWNER!!!!!!! She provided her own e-mail address. I was absolutely shocked that she would outright LIE to me! She also said that they are able to cancel the class if they choose, but as a paying customer I cannot. I FEEL CHEATED! My daughter and I were looking forward to a lovely evening together but did not risk the drive so she lost $300. read more

We've always wanted to take a cooking class, and last night (Apr 11 2020) we finally did, but not in the traditional sense. With all the self isolating as a result of the current (as of this writing) COVID-19 situation, The Chef Upstairs is offering online classes and we signed up for the "Rome at Home" class. The event was conducted via online video meeting software which meant that we weren't simply watching Chef Julian put together the meal, but we were able to interact with him AND the other participants, making it the next best thing to an in-person cooking class. The menu consisted of a Rustic Caesar Salad, Pasta Carbonara, and Balsamic macerated strawberries with ice cream for dessert. There were a couple of ingredients that I normally don't use/like. Dijon mustard in the salad dressing, and eggplant in the main course. However, this IS a cooking class, and I am participating to try new things. Let me just say that both of those items brought each dish to a whole new level for me. Even the balsamic vinegar, which I have traditionally used only in salads and roasted vegetables, was something that I never would have thought to use in a dessert. Again, I was not disappointed. In all, my family (four of us) were not disappointed in any of the dishes. All were flavourful and with Chef Julian's patient, and easy-to-follow instruction, turned out perfectly. This is something we will definitely do again, and when the COVID-19 restrictions are over, we are looking forward to participating in a class in person. Thank you Chef Julian and The Chef Upstairs team for a wonderful in-home experience during these interesting times! read more

The Chef Upstairs - The Chef Upstairs - Chef Julian - Cooking Classes Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

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I was tasked to organize a team event for work as the team wanted to do a cooking class of some sort. So I looked around and found this place in Vaughan (they also have location midtown). I started with contacting them via email and phone to ask for detail and my contact was very helpful with quick responses. First I secured a date and time and places a deposit, then the hard part was selecting the menu as there were a lot to choose from on their website but good thing they have some set menu that I was able to quickly narrow down the choice. At the time of the event, we have 16 people, was greeted by the host and a staff that serves us drinks and making sure everyone has a great time. Once we have everyone, the chef came in and start to explain to us what to do. It was a fun 2 hours to mingle with the team while cooking. Everyone enjoyed the time there. The reason I gave 4 stars was our scallops potatoes was a little undercooked. Overall, it is a great experience and I would definitely do it again as they have a lot of dishes to choice from! read more

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My husband and took our first virtual cooking class with the chef upstairs on valentines day and our experience could not have been better!!! We received the emails explaining the procures, fresh products on our door the day before the class and after noticing that some products have not been delivered we contacted Danielle who kindly and promptly arranged to get them delivered in time for the class. The experience with chef Julian was incredibly fun and the final result delicious. We'll definitely do it again in the near future read more

I cannot believe that such an amazing place exists north of the city! My mom took my sister-in-law and me to an Italian night Cooking Class led by Chef Julian. Julian was funny, knowledgeable and entertaining as he guided us and the rest of the guests through the preparation of the meal. My mom is such an amazing cook and even she learned some new tips and tricks. The food was absolutely delicious and I look forward to going back for a different menu. read more

What a wonderful evening! Relaxed, entertaining, informative and great food. Our chef, Chris, kept us busy in the kitchen (though always without stress), while drawing on his vast knowledge of the secrets behind great cooking and juggling all the tasks needed to bring our delicious meal together. Bring your own wine (there is a nominal corkage fee) or chose from the beer and wine on offer. Regardless of your level of experience in the kitchen you will leave having learned something and with the leftovers (in our case, fresh pasta, orange wafers and raspberry gelato which was greeted in my house with 'YOU made this?!). read more

A friend and I attended the cooking class on June 11th at the Rivermede location. It was the most positive experience in every way. The chef was very engaging, energetic and was able to keep us all doing the right thing with a calm and happy demeanour. We met some great people, had some great laughs, learnt some very useful and helpful cooking tips and enjoyed a meal together. I would definitely recommend it and we plan on signing up for another course. I give a great deal of credit to our chef - she made it the amazing experience that it was. read more

Thank you for a great experience! We had a wonderful time, yet again, cooking at The Chef Upstairs! :)

Had a great experience creating a delicious 4-dish Thai meal with Chef Lisa! The evening flowed easily and according to schedule, Chef Lisa was an absolute delight and easy to follow, and best of all - the meal was delicious and much easier to prepare than we had expected! Such a fun activity to do at home, especially these days when we can't go out. Highly recommend this class, and will definitely take another in the future! read more

I was at the same event as the review below. Ive been in the food industry for many years and this restaurant was a disappointment. My wife and i both did not eat and we were still charged $240 - completely overpriced to say the least. The meal encopassed appetizers and costco crackers and they ran out of wine. The best part of the meal was the undercooked chicken skewers. I had to ask the waitress to recook my skirt steak as it was blue not rare. If you are looking for good food, this is not the place..if you are looking to learn to chop onions, you found your spot . Also, a comment in response to the owners comment on the other review, giving constructive criticism is far from human indecency...and if you know the person who held the party, maybe you should offer to rectify the situation rather then insult the customers. read more

Considering Chef Julian Pancer from The Chef Upstairs? Early January 2018 we had him to cater a private dinner party & he is AMAZING! It's not just about perfectly prepared EVERYTHING...it's a menu any way you want, with anything you can imagine, handled by someone who loves what he does and it shows. No detail is overlooked. From planning everything to providing servers, setting your table (for whatever the occasion), tremendous input and execution every step of the way. He arrives on time, is well prepared, he's a super nice guy, takes control of his operation and my wife and I got to be guests at our own party. Drinks, cocktails, appetizers, dinner, dessert and coffee all served professionally and the finale - I hate the sink and counters filled with glasses, cups, plates, platters and cutlery after a great party. With Chef Julian catering - you will want for NOTHING and the kitchen is completely spotless before he leaves. Leftovers refrigerated, everything cleaned & dishwasher loaded...I think at some point he may have even walked our dog! In all honesty, this was our 2nd experience in 2 months and we're already planning the next event. Thanks again Julian!! Adam & Lisa read more

I recently planned a friends birthday party here and was overwhelmingly impressed. It was an interactive evening, where my friends and I prepared our meal, with Chef Julian guiding us through from start to finish. Everyone got to participate, contributing a task or two, to bring the meal together. The space is beautiful and warm, the staff friendly and fun and the food was delicious. I will certainly be back and recommend this to my friends. Thanks again to Danielle, Chef Julian and team - you are all wonderful! -M. R. read more

While our instructor was very friendly and knowledgeable, we left a bit disappointed. We had signed up for a 'couples class', and I was intrigued to learn the difference between this and an adult cooking class. I had been looking forward to cooking and creating something together, as we had assumed this would be part of a couples' class. Turns out, there is no difference at all between classes, as our instructor informed us. As for the actual cooking lesson, it was chaotic, and we walked away feeling very uninformed. With a few people doing different parts of each dinner course all at the same time (and us kept on rotation to have everyone involved), we didn't know what was going on with anything other than the small bits that we did. The food was decent, but I'd suggest lowering class numbers, having couples work together (if you're going to offer that) and working on one thing at a time, so we learn! I recognize that recipes were sent out after, but this defeats the purpose of an in-class, hands on experience. read more

We hired the Chef Upstiars for Christmas Eve, Personal Chef and two servers . Chef Elyse, Ashley and Stephen. They exceeded our expeditions! Danielle was the orchestra leader, who helped me every step of the way to organize this 17 person sit down dinner. She answered all of my millions of questions with grace and patience. She accommodated every need. I was quite nervous as I never had caterers serve at any party. Let me tell you, I'm going to hire the Chef upstairs every time . The time and energy that I saved was worth every penny. When Chef Elyse , Ashley and Stephen arrived ( two hours before event) they took care of everything ! They really took care of me the host to reassure me to relax and be a guest . I have never done that before. Coming from Italian background, we have never hired caterers before. My mother said " you have opened a door that we never knew we could use". The guests were delighted to be pampered and have their host to themselves as opposed to always tending to other things. Thank you all for a job well done! read more