Everyone should experience Arizona Culinary Institute's professionalism, great service, quality…read morefood preparation and presentation. I'll return and bring my friends every chance I get. Thank You for a very pleasant experience.

The Institute is in an office complex. The buildings are numbered. The Culinary Institute on your…read moreright on the protruding right side of the building as you face the building. When you exit from Shea Boulevard, it will be the very first left you can make on 114th St. From there on in you will be in the office complex. Just follow the numbers to where the institute is. The complex may be new and the maps have not changed. You may get proper directions when you. Just keep this in mind. Have a safe trip. The institute is a school, and you will be served food by students prepared by students. At the end of the meal you will get a short form asking your opinion of the meal and service. The school has its own way of doing things. Please be patient with them, they are students. For example they will not seat incomplete parties. You can be less patient with established restaurants that do the same things. The service is fine the students personable. Despite our group ordering almost one of everything, the execution was timely. No one complained that any of it was bad. We were served, without choice a seared Tuna appetizer. Some in our party did not care for anything close to raw, and were unhappy. Soup followed, of which the Gazpacho, (a cold soup) was excellent. They served a Pasta dish of bucatini: with heavy cream and panchetta. It was done to perfection, with the pasta being almost aldente and the pancetta lightly browned on one side. Other selections were chicken, short ribs and salmon. Prices varied but not very much. Expect to pay $30 plus tip and drink. Some items were a little less. The meal included a dessert of German Chocolate cake, which was thick and dark, permeated by coconut and abounded with a thick frosting. Coffee is served on request. What's served is what I call "ingredients food": it's flavor come from the ingredients themselves. Little technique is required. although technique was required for the Gazpacho. Salmon or Short ribs need steady cooking, and they had no adornments. You must know how to cook them. The how is simple, because baking is the one method. This is a really good place to go. Aside from having a very good meal you help others. Life as a Guinie Pig is not so bad at the Arizona Culinary Institute. Lunch anyone?

Ok first off it's no wonder she's highly rated and tops yelp for "cooking classes for couples" - my…read morewife had asked about doing a cooking class for a date night so I did a little research. We had already attended the frys on shea baking night making scones where we just helped the chef... It was more an informational class to sit across the bar because I suppose their insurance doesn't allow you to really get involved there. Other courses in the valley are larger scale classrooms with more students where you won't get as involved and you may as well watch a video online for free. I have to say when I talked to Maggie about how the structure was and if we cooked or helped, I was happy to hear that her response was "oh, I give you an intro and sample how to make things but you're doing the prep and the cooking." She gave an intro that is great for beginners and culinary experts alike. Pay attention during her review of recipes though, because the rest of the class will be sharing your dish when you are done preparing it. The kitchen environment allowed for plenty of room for six people in our class to both cook and move around safely as well as plenty of preparation knives, cutting boards, measuring and mixing bowls, A beautiful set of all clad cookware and a gorgeous Viking 6 top gas grill. If you're concerned that it needs to be a professional kitchen for classes I'd say she and her husband setup the kitchen in a professional manner. My wife and I absolutely loved our date night, the prep work together and with the other classmates, and the food to top it off was awesome! My advice to this : Be hungry- there will be a ton of food to enjoy! Bring wine :) Take notes so you can make the dishes again at home. Thank you Maggie!

What a great experience!! My 13 year old daughter and I took a cooking class for Not So Traditional…read moreThanksgiving Side dishes. Maggie has such great life experience in the food industry. She taught us not just how to cook, but how to prep, basic knife handling, and an interesting way to prepare garlic. The first part of the class we all sat with our recipes and watched Maggie in the kitchen while she explained everything. Then we split into groups of 2 and tackled one recipe for each group. When we were done, our reward was the amazing food we cooked! Every dish complimented the others spectacularly. I cannot wait to make these again at home. Thank you Maggie for a lovely evening!

Absolutely recommend! We did the pizza making class. Sharon was incredible! She shows you how to…read moremake the dough & then you make your own pizza. She's so knowledgeable and personable. Comes with wine or beer, salad, pizza, dough to take home & a nice affogato and biscotti. Will be back!

The facilities were clean. Everyone was friendly…read more Accommodations were made for special needs. The only things that really took this review from a 5 star experience to a 3 star experience is how the instructors interacted with one another. My husband leaned over to me at one point and was like "are they married?" I thought the same thing because they were bickering like a married couple the entire time we were there. It honestly made the whole experience awkward. We did make the best of it and baked 63857473836 cookies and cupcakes, ha! My husband and kids LOVED the results from the baking we did. So the product result is great, you just have to deal with some "heat" in the kitchen. Ha Ha.

Best authentic Mexican in Mesa! This is a hidden gem! The green salsa is to die for! It's easy to…read morefill up on chips and salsa because they are delicious. But, save room for food. My husband and I split the large combo plate. It was excellent! We chose Christmas! Good choice! Servers are kind and efficient. I have already referred several people there. Feedback was a huge " thank you " because they all have enjoyed it.

Just left Chef Leo's Food Lab and we had so much fun! Highly recommend for a date night, a…read morecouple's evening out, girl's night out, team building or just because you want to experience something new. Chef Leo and his assistant were very nice and were always nearby if you had a question or needed help. EVERYTHING was delicious! And you get to take the recipes home. We did the Cooking with Bourbon class - a MUST. My husband and i plan on doing a Date Night class or the Seafood class. BYOB - that's a plus too.

I'm so impressed by this summer camp! My two boys, ages 10 and 12, absolutely loved cooking and…read morelearning new recipes. They even created the cutest croissant restaurant! Every dish they made from scratch was delicious. It was amazing to see my picky eaters try new foods and flavors with so much excitement. Thank you for creating such a fun, educational, and memorable experience for them--we can't wait to come back!

My family of four had a great experience! Thank you and highly recommend for those families looking…read morefor a fun learning activity!

My family enjoys taking cooking classes and so I've done a handful. Like those others, this was a…read morefun experience learning from and being in the company of a great chef. Unlike those others -- I am still regularly making this recipe 2 years later!! I appreciate that Isabelle developed a simple yet DELICIOUS baguette recipe and is so good at teaching exactly how to execute that recipe. Chef Isabelle was a joy to learn from and I look back so fondly on the afternoon we spent with her. I cannot recommend this class enough!

Isabelle was incredible! What a ray of sunshine and full of energy FUN! I spent my birthday with 4…read moreothers at her place learning how to make a baguette with perfection. The interaction was SO much fun! She taught me how to open a champagne bottle with a crazy Knife. The forte has a french name, I'm forgetting. In any case while the baguette baked, we shared stories sitting by the lake drinking champagne. Isabelle then served us lunch with cold cuts, french cheeses, and yummy homemade butter that we had whipped up. Oh I forgot, the morning started with her homemade crepes and some coffee. This was a birthday to remember with my closest friends and family. Isabelle made it SO special, and was our personal photographer to capture the days memory. I highly recommend this experience as something you MUST do!

Chef Lori is a master in the kitchen! Her Chili is to die…read morefor...literally! She crafted a mouth watering breakfast casserole that kept me coming back for more. I can't wait to see what she has in store for me next!! Definitely keep Chef Lori in mind if you want to make mealtime easier, she has definitely elevated much stress from my life with her fabulous meals!!

Fantastic doesn't seem like enough of a compliment for Chef Lori! She had clear and quick…read morecommunication from the start. Her food was all amazing. She catered to what we wanted for our wedding and everyone raved about the variety and taste. She prepares your specific food, cleans up and puts all leftovers together. No need to worry about anything because Lori thought of it. Highly recommend. Very professional and reasonably priced. Thank you Chef for making our special day perfect!

Chef Michael & Chef Annie prepared a fantastic New Year's Eve meal for a family gathering in…read moreScottsdale (14 guests). They were fantastic to work with, every step of the way. We appreciated their open communication, their willingness to work with us on a custom menu and, of course, the quality and attention they put in to each of the dishes. Every course was delicious and Michael & Annie couldn't have been easier to work with. Lil' Leto Catering exceeded our expectations and we would definitely work with them again in the future. Thank you, Chef Michael & Chef Annie, for helping make our NYE celebration so memorable!

Chef Eric, Chef Annie, and team did a wonderful job for my birthday party this weekend. We had…read moreabout 100 folks and it was no sweat for them. The food looked and tasted great. The servers & Tia the bartender were polite and on top of things. Our kitchen and outdoor kitchen were the sparkling clean when they left. The best part was that my wife and I had no worries and could spend time with our guests knowing that everything was being handled very well! We will definitely call on Chef Eric and his team for our future catering needs.

We had a great time at Taz's cooking class learning to make Korean food! To be honest, I'm not a…read morehuge fan of some Korean food - I'm just not used to some of the flavors (kimchi is a little odd to me). I do, however, love Korean BBQ. I was looking for a fun date night and stumbled upon Taz's cooking classes, which all seem to focus on different Asian themes. Mark H. and I have tried repeatedly to cook Thai and Indian curries without any success, so I signed us up for the Korean BBQ night. Little did I know that we would be cooking a Korean BBQ FEAST. We cooked for about 3 hours. Each recipe independently seemed manageable, but who eats a single item at a Korean BBQ? My favorite dishes ended up being the Korean potato salad and, of course, the meat. At the end, we sat together family-style and devoured massive quantities of delicious food that we'd all cooked together. Looking back on the night, there were so many recipes and tips and tricks that there's no way I can keep it all straight. Luckily Taz sent us home with a mini cook book of the recipes we had created! One of the biggest pluses of his course is that he focuses on the ingredients and where to find them - turns out our curries probably weren't going so well since we were getting all our ingredients at Fry's or Safeway. 10/10 will go back again for another night. Can't wait to learn how to cook a good Thai dish!

Had a fantastic afternoon where Taz taught us the secrets to cooking our favorite Thai meals at…read morehome. We had Covid tests prior to the class, Taz purchased all the necessary ingredients, he arrived on time with color printed recipe instructions for us to keep, and he expertly showed us the ropes. We had great conversation throughout the class, he graciously shared the culinary knowledge he's acquired through his world travels, and we enjoyed an absolutely delicious meal while Taz washed the dishes. He's a down to earth amazing chef, he's professional and courteous, we'll schedule another class with him, and he has our highest endorsement and recommendation. A+++

Joni is very accommodating and professional. She is such a great instructor and very passionate…read moreabout cooking and what it takes to be a perfectionist. We took Knife 101 and learned so much about knives what a treat, can't wait to take another class.

We did a group cooking class with Joni last week and absolutely loved it! She let us help design…read morethe menu we wanted to learn to cook and when we arrived she had everything set up beautifully! The cooking process was a ton of fun and very informative. Joni is an excellent chef and a wonderful teacher! At the end of the cooking portion of our class got to sit down and enjoy our work, which turned out amazing! We can't wait to come back and learn to cook something else!!