Great venue offering cooking classes as well as pre-made and kit food options from local small,…read more independent vendors. The class we attended was a ravioli making class where we did the full recipe from start to finish. There were two lead chefs and an assistant helping to pass out small apps, distribute tools, and clean up. There is a bar area that if self serve and at the end you're asked to pay for what you consumed. It would be nice if prices were posted, but drinks are about what you'd pay at any local bar. Overall, subtracting the food included and what it would cost at a restaurant, the class was about $35-$40 for a three hour experience. Afterwards they emailed out the recipes for what was made. I'd definitely try another class there as it was a fun time and great for couples or larger groups.

Tonight we thoroughly enjoyed the Tribute Show & A Neil Diamond Story, featuring Denny Svehla at…read moreChef Pam's Kitchen. For about $80, before tips, we were entertained by Denny S as he sang so many Neil Diamond songs. And if you were not looking, you could hear Neil singing in his wonderful voice. The music was presented between the incredible 4 courses, and allowed for conversations over the delicious dishes that were freshly prepared for us. Start with a nice variety of beverages (for purchase) with a bruschetta appetizer. Follow this by a light salad with fresh bread, and then to the entree of chicken breast with Prosciutto in a lemon sauce with mashed potatoes and sauteed carrots. Finish the meal with a light lemon cake with whipped cream, and not only was my appetite satisfied, but so was my appreciation for perfection in presentation. Chef Pam's Kitchen is a multi-use spot in downtown, serving special event dinners, cooking sessions, and offering locally prepared treats of all kinds. Local pastry chefs have access to the well-appointed bakery area. With all the food prep areas open to view, it is highly impressive to see the cleanliness and exceptional equipment in use. Our evening of entertainment and dining was wonderful. There are many more events planned here, and I recommend watching their offerings, especially if you like to have fun and great food!

Chef John Bogan ain't new to this, he true to this. And by this, I mean cooking and teaching the…read moreart of cooking. He has been cooking professionally since the 1970s, and now he owns the Lake Geneva School of Cooking, and teaches hands-on classes for groups and corporate events. I visited with a group of nine people, and we all had a great time. Chef John and his assistants greeted us with a mimosa, and then explained what we'd be doing: help to create a three-course lunch for everyone. Our lunch consisted of a mushroom soup, a beet salad and a baked cinnamon apple topped with ice cream for dessert. Chef John is very much a believer in cooking with the seasons, so the menu will change depending on when you visit. He gets a lot of his produce from the local Lake Geneva farmers market, and other food items from local merchants. Our group split up and tackled one aspect of the meal. I was with the mushroom soup group, and for the most part, the soup was prepared, we just had to put the finishing touches on it and make some cheese croutons to go on top. I would have loved to do a little more of the prep work and cooking, to be honest. But not everyone in my group was as comfortable with cooking as I was. That's the thing with these classes, though: Whether you have a lot of experience with cooking or a little, the classes are informative and approachable, and focus on fun and food. The kitchen that we worked in was well equipped and clean, with lots of room to move around. The kitchen assistants were college kids who were culinary students, which was cool. After we prepared our meal, we all sat down and enjoyed it in the big dining room. Each course was paired with wine. And the best part: The food was delicious! Yay, us! And yay for Chef John, who conducted a wonderful class that ended with a fabulous meal.

Fabulous food, wine and fun!! My second time and it was so different yet just as enjoyable…read more Looking forward to trip #3

FEED Kitchens is a blessing to our community -- this commercial kitchen space is being used to…read moreteach job and life skills, thanks River Bakery!!! It's a foodie/small business visionary's dream-come-true --I wouldn't have been able to start Phase II of my business without FEED (they save us time AND $$$!). They even rent to the public -- group canning, cooking class, or just getting a bunch of folks together to bake and decorate tons of cookies for the holidays, parties, wedding .... and SO affordable too! we L-O-V-E the FEED Kitchens!!!

From the owner: We are a food business incubator. We rent commercial kitchen space to Commercial and Casual users…read moreto operate their businesses out of, do larger scale cooking for family and friends or work on fundraisers and good works.

I did a private cooking course with 5 others on pasta. While I wasn't too keen from the get go, I…read morecan say that I HIGHLY recommend taking a culinary course here. From the beginning, we had an appetizer that I can't recall but the tomato jam that was featured on it was definitely a highlight. They offer a small drink paring of wine or beer with your appetizer. We did a 2 hour course on puttanesca and gnocchi with a brown butter sauce. While you might ask how you could complete teaching these two dishes in 2 hours, it was quickened with the chef doing some of the work ahead of time. As individuals, we made the sauce for the puttanesca and rolled out pasta/gnocchi while the chef ended up making the pasta/gnocchi, brown butter sauce to go with the gnocchi and cooking both. The puttanesca was flavorful, but the gnocchi was a real hit amongst the whole group. I devoured all of the gnocchi and was able to save the puttanesca for delicious leftovers. The head chef is filled with a plethora of knowledge on food which made me appreciate food on a whole new level. He talked about how they do a semester course at Braise which is something I hope to do in the future! Some of us who went to this plan on recreating the dishes we made at home next week. I've been recommending this to the rest of my family as something to do and would use this as a great gift idea for the future. That's how much I enjoyed my experience!

Chef David Swanson has come up with a great idea. Take an outstanding local product and put a…read moreclass together in an interesting location to teach people how to use that ingredient. He's an entertaining, energitic, fun teacher that has interesting and unexpected ideas for food. Class prices seem high, but it's absolutely worth it. You learn something about a local company and get to learn from an excellent chef in a small, informal classroom type setting. And be hungry when you arrive, lots of food to be sampled! You take home the recipies that he demonstrated. Mine was filled with notes I wrote since he shares his secrets (that are not printed on paper!) that help elevate your cooking skills. Makes a great gift as well. I've signed up my mom and myself and we went together, which was fun.

Cooking a meal with chef Rodney Schultz was one of the most fun and educational things that I…read moreexperienced while visiting Elkhart Lake. If you like to eat and want to learn more about how to cook well, then you need to take a class at the Osthoff Resort Cooking School. Just do it! First of all: How neat is it that there is a hotel in Elkhart Lake that offers cooking classes? It's super cool. Even better: the instructor, Chef Rodney, really knows his stuff. You will learn from an experienced cook who will teach you tips and tricks that you can take home and use in your own kitchen. The cooking class that I signed up for was an Italian cooking class, so we made chicken marsala with mushrooms, asparagus risotto, roasted zucchini, and strawberry cannoli. That's a lot of delicious food! Chef Rodney shepherded us through all of the steps, and kept us on task as we made our way through cooking up the menu. At the end, after almost two hours, we had a delicious meal that we shared among ourselves. I can honestly say that the chicken marsala that I made here at the cooking school was the best chicken dish that I have ever made. Chef Rodney is a delightful person, and I loved taking his cooking class. I could tell that he really loves food and teaching people to love food as much as he does. I left Chef Rodney's class with a belly full of delicious food (that I cooked!) and skills that will make me a better cook at home.

Friendly service and attentive, yet the server's etiquette was not standard due to beginning with…read morethe men instead of the women when taking an order. Server explained the menu and items not on the menu. Aome items were not available that were listed online (creme brule.) Salad was crispy and the ranch dressing had lots of dill in it, but still tasted refreshing. The bacon on the salad was not skimpy; my kind of salad! Others at the table had ordered the chicken tortilla soup, which was creamy and not super spicy, and the French onion soup, which had a lovely sweet broth and lots of cheese overflowing the cup. Service was fast to bring out each course. Bread was house made and had different types of herbs encrusted into the crust. The butter was smooth and spread easily onto the bread. The BBQ ribs fell easily off the bone and the sauce was a sweet smokey apple BBQ sauce. The corn was sweet and crunchy. The Panko-crusted onion rings were done well and had a nice crunch to the breading. Others at the table remarked on their dishes: the Mahi Mahi was bland, dry, and flavorless; the chicken piccata had a salty and vinegar flavor underlying the sauce from the capers; and the sirloin steak was done properly, was juicy and a little cordy but they expected it due to the type of meat. The chocolate flourless cake was delectable and dense. It also came with pistachio ice cream. The walnut tart with carmel sauce was nutty and had mixed reviews st the table. I enjoyed the compact nature of it but others found the dessert too bitter. I would like to come back and try them again since they have a different menu every week.

Great place to try out, and let's students prepare for real world experiences. The students spend…read moretime in every aspect of the the field from front house, waiter, bartender and chef. I enjoyed my meal and would consider another visit. Only sad part was the lack of Creme brûlée

Overall, I had a pleasant experience at The Classic Room. As a forewarning, you must make a…read morereservation. Not because it gets busy, but because that is how this restaurant operates. Given that this is essentially a learning lab for the culinary students at WCTC, you need to schedule a time beforehand that aligns with the students' schedules. As far as I know, The Classic Room is only open on weekdays. The dining area itself was beautiful. Lots of tables, a piano, and lovely views. Our table was set up near a picture window, so we had a beautiful backdrop while we ate our lunch. In terms of food and drink, there were some aspects that were great and some that were far below average. The blackberry iced tea was watery and didn't have much flavor. The Arnold Palmer was exactly what you'd expect - the perfect mix of tea and lemonade. A warm basket of bread was delivered with a couple sausage rolls tucked inside. It was a nice touch. I ordered the New England clam chowder to start (not pictured). It was flavorful and piping hot. The other members in my party ordered the minestrone and cream of mushroom soup and they enjoyed them as well. The entrées were not as delicious. One member of my party ordered the ribs. According to her, the ribs themselves were fantastic and tender but the potato and asparagus were ice cold. I ordered the poussin and it was not good. Parts of it were incredibly undercooked (which is NOT okay when it comes to poultry). The rice was well seasoned but lukewarm. Another member of my party ordered the bison meatballs and she thought every part of her entrée was average, but warm and edible nonetheless. The REAL star of the show was the dessert. All of us ordered the chocolate decadence and it was incredibly rich. The sauce and berries cut through the density perfectly and the dish was so well balanced. The presentation was nice, even though it kind of looked like a meatball. If you've been curious about trying out The Classic Room at WCTC, I'd give it a shot. But do keep in mind that these students are still learning, so don't expect Michelin Star quality.

WCTC' culinary students creations are sold at a small store located on the first floor of the…read morebuilding. You can get some AMAZING food at really reasonable prices. I nabbed a huge portion of lobster mac n cheese that was just fabulous!

Had never been to this small size farm and Café/Farm market in Lake Forest. Went for breakfast and…read moretook a nice walk around the property. You can sign up to hang out with the goats, and there are also chickens and ducks. The food and my lavender latte were yummy. I will definitely be back over the summer just to walk in the beauty of nature.

Went to Elawa Farm for a community dinner; truly farm to table. Chef Lee prepared a delicious…read morechili, green pepper/onion/rice, jalapeno corn bread and a plum cobbler. This was the first chili I had made without tomatoes and beans. Local meats were used. The green peppers were picked this morning. Elawa Farm has the best community dinners. They also do cooking demonstrations. Highly recommend looking into this amazing place.

I loved how juicy and refreshing the chickpea no tuna salad was! I especially enjoyed the pickles…read more I'm so happy to see Plant Joy at the holiday pop up shop. I got walnut mushroom burgers and walnut pesto. The burgers cooked well in the oven. I liked the little bits of crunchy walnuts. The walnut pesto also had a crunch! It was so aromatic and tastes amazing. I would buy some more of both!

We had our first order at North Ave Market today. It was delicious! We ordered each a meal and…read moreshared a soup. You actually can take one of the meals and make it into to as well. Very delicious, very fresh. It's nice having this vegan option in Tosa.

I signed up online for a class here on a somewhat rare weekday off…read more Finding the studio was a mild challenge because the building has multiple entrances, but I saw someone walking in with a mat and that gave me some direction. As requested online, I brought my own mat, and props (blocks and blankets) were available in the studio. My weekday morning class was small, about four others, but the flow ended up being just right after a stretch without any organized yoga classes for me. I have been watching their calendar for more classes that fit with my schedule.

Karen at Abundant Joy leads very effective, approachable, welcoming classes for students at all…read morelevels. I always enjoy attending a class when in Ocon visiting family. Fabulous studio!