Pastry Training is located on Renfrew St near Adanac St…read more Chef Marco Röpke has over 30 years pastry experience and he worked at different world class hotel as head pastry chef. I love bread and want to make my own bread. That's why I would like to take his class and learn his secret of making bread. He's great and his class is well-organized. The class was pretty intensive and we had to make 7 different breads in 2 classes. Further, I never bake so..... It's challenge to me! I had learnt the below Asian breads in his class. Purple yam and tofu bread - the color so beautiful and sounds so healthy Japanese green tea and red bean paste bun - it's so delicious Panda bear bread - So much work but it's so soft and cute Japanese shiso and seaweed baguette - I like baguette and taste good Hokkadio milk toast bread - it similar to brioche, it so soft and pretty bland Black sesame buns - it's absolutely my favourite, the bun pretty soft and black sesame paste pretty strong favourite. Chinese coconut buns - My hubby gave me 2 thumbs up and probably good tho... Just be expected - Knead is the major process of making bread. NO stand mixer or bread maker in the class. Highly recommend his class to any bread lover.

I have been on the lookout for a good chocolate making class for a couple years now. As luck would…read morehave it, I was going to be in Vancouver the same time Marco Ropke was offering his chocolate training course so I jumped at the chance. For a good measure, I signed up for the cake decorating class 1 as well. What the heck right? Let's broaden my pastry horizon all in one go. Now these classes aren't cheap. You pay between $195 and $215 per two-day class, and a full course can run 8-9 classes and a deep hole in your pocket. You do get a discount if you buy the whole series, but not if you mix and match 8-9 different classes (e.g. mixing pastry training with chocolate and bread.) Doh. :p Was it worth it? The real proof will be when I buy all the necessary equipment and try it out at home, but so far I feel like it was time and money well spent. Before class, I'd tried making truffles and pâte de fruits and they didn't turn out well -- I mean they didn't turn out at all. My pâte de fruits was a soupy mess and my truffles were, uhm, let's just say I served them frozen. Sometimes, there's more to making something than the recipe says. And these little tips you learn in Chef Marco's classes. The classes are fully hands on. Class size caps out around 12 people. For each technique and recipe, you first watch Chef Marco do a demonstration up front, and then it's your turn working in teams of two. What I like really like about these classes is that there is plenty of opportunity to practice. Don't feel confident about tempering your chocolate? Well do it again. And again. Now have to temper your chocolate at least 4-5 times in a two day class. Now practice hand dipping 60 chocolates. The opportunity to do this with the guidance of an experienced instructor is why taking an in-person class still trumps watching a YouTube video 100000x over. I still feel like I have a lot to learn, but at least I got a head-start honing the techniques. :) Let's talk about Chef Marco's pedigree. How does a background as an Executive Pastry Chef at the Ritz Carlton & JW Marriott Hotels in Beijing during Beijing Olympics sound? Or the fact he's a 4th generation baker having started back when he was 6? Sometimes experience and talent doesn't translate to instruction, but here you definitely get the benefits of someone who's, as Chef Marco says himself "done this a few thousand times." It sure says something when you find among your classmates pastry instructors from other local schools! Classes fill up fast -- some of them book up months in advance, so if you're interested, don't wait! The course availability on the web site is a bit slow to update, so it's best to call in about signing up. For now, I'm content to get home and start practicing, but I look forward to a future trip to Vancouver for future technique classes!

I highly recommend Cefa Willowbrook! I just moved here from Calgary and decided to enrol my son at…read morethis location despite all the negativity surrounding the Cefa name. Mainly because I know the Cefa locations are franchises and this one has gotten best of the best for 5 years. Anyways, I cannot believe how much my 2 and a half have grown and learnt in a week and a half. They teachers are very passionate and caring and they also serve very healthy food with big portions. Lol, I was creeping up on them. Definitely check it out if you are looking for care for your children.

Great location already but the new owners are fantastic. Really care about the place. This is our…read morelast year (moving to grade school) but wish they had been there the whole time. Regular updates on our phones and email, communication on events or disruptions. These owners have started sending pictures of each kid doing an activity to their parents every day's. They email the menu for the week to all the parents. Besides the new owners being great, the place was already stellar. The meals are made on-site by a chef. No chef-boy-r-dee garbage from a can like other places. The food is cooked from scratch and made fresh daily. The kids get great meals everyday. They have the chef come by each classroom once a week and the kids make their own foods as well. This is the meal plan for this Monday as an example Morning snack : rise and shine veggie hash, served with milk and fresh fruit Lunch : beef (or tofu) and broccoli stir fry, served over wild rice Afternoon snack : carrot banana flax muffins, served with veggies and dip The location is right on the highway exit so you can drop off and get directly onto to the highway. Early dropoff @ 7am pickup @5pm no extra charge. They occasionally have date nights so parents can drop off their kids and enjoy a night together (i believe they charge 10 dollars for the evening which is very reasonable) The curriculum is amazing, very focused on the kids learning new things and having a wonder to the process. The teachers all take the time to focus on your child. Teachers know your kid even if they aren't in that teachers class. Learning is very hands on. There is an emphasis on physical activity and the playground is well equipped. We were worried initially but our kid,loved it there and has been there since 1 year old till 4 years old. All the kids are very well mannered and you can see that they are taught to be gracious to each other. Great place, the cost is a bit higher but in line with what you get in return. Teachers that are engaged with your child, fresh nutritious meals, extended hours, daily updates on your phone, web cam to peek I'm on your child in the day, amazing facility, playground and a vested interest in your child's well being. Love this place, hope the rest of my kids schools are even half as good.

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Always happy to help and offer advice. Had my sewing…read moremachines serviced/fixed at Castles and they always do an awesome job for a very reasonable price. Great classes to keep sewers inspired too Lots of parking too

I've bought and taken my machines to Castles for over 10 years now. Never a complaint with any…read morestaff or service. the fabric too! Especially the sales!

Tried their nutella latte on their seasonal drink menu and I enjoyed it but there wasn't much…read morenutella flavour. The service was fast and they had the most gorgeous ambiance with lots of items to be able to be purchased as well.

Foxglove is what I imagine my dream cafe to be. It's so beautifully decorated with bold colourful…read morewalls and so many flowers and plants. Everything inside feels thoughtfully designed and I love it so much! There's plenty of parking and seating both indoors and outdoors. They even have a misting machine outside to keep you cool. Their cafe menu is also very reasonably priced and they have the cutest glassware if you stay for your drink. We ordered a blueberry matcha and an espresso tonic and enjoyed both very much. Definitely recommend this place if you're visiting Abbotsford!!

Prices are great and the lady who works there is so funny and sweet. Highly recommend!read more

Pottery, glass making, paint classes - This is a wonderful place to relax, get away and spend hours…read moreat. I wish there was more of a selection for pottery but overall a great experience for yourself or for a gathering.

I attended to my family's birthday party and I had mixed feeling about this facility…read more Positive part : the clerks pay attention for safety very much. Using microphone, they warn the kids directly. If the kid doesn't listen, they will point out what he/she is wearing, what eating, what in their hand. I guess it's embarrassing for the kids, but following rule is more important. : very tidy and clean. The clerks walk around often and check the garbage bin following recycling rule. Much elder people are also working and they are very friendly. : Adult can have fun. The rechargeable play game is very convenient, and tickets (how much you won) added into the card digitally. No expiring. You can use the card for next time. Negative part : maybe 95 % of guests take off shoes at entrance. Some adult still wear them. Maybe because they won't play. The problem is going to public bathroom only with socks. When you think about hygiene, it was disgusting. I wished I had shoes. : I hope they have variety of prizes.

Fun and frolic for the family!…read more The place is a saviour for me and my husband on weekends when we r super tired! We get our 3 year old here and he enjoys every moment of it. Ball Pits, climbing, jumping, scooter area, arcade games are great for that super excited little boy. Me and my husband have a coffee date. They have a limited menu but the prices are super affordable. I have also carried my own food for the kid before. This place is always full of birthday parties but it has never been disruptive to other non party members. Cost on weekends is almost 11$ but you can stay from starting time to closing time if u want. The max we have stayed there is 4 hours coz the little ones get exhausted from all the playing!! Recommended for kids years 6 and under. Service: 3/5 Ambience: 4/5 Food : 3/5

My daughter has been taking music lessons here for 4 years and it's been consistently of high…read morequality. It's been great to see the improvement over the years. The instructors and the staff are all very professional and experienced. Our daughter's teacher is a good fit. The class structure is very rigid. Do not expect any credits if you need to skip a week. On the flip side, the instructors are allowed to cancel with short notice for their own personal reasons. Our daughter's teacher has musical commitments a few times each year and this she misses out on lessons 4 or 5 times a year. The actual spaces can be hit and miss. Our daughter is in a small room in the basement, with very poor acoustic control, immediately adjacent the early learning room where very young kids clang and bang loudly on instruments including pianos and other loud instruments. Not very condusive to a quality private lesson environment for our child. In general we are happy.

Place des Arts is wonderful! They have courses for children as well as adults in everything from…read moremusic, dancing, drama, visual arts and more. I have taken three courses here (two spinning classes and a weaving class, as well as a short felting workshop) and have loved them all. The instructors are so knowledgeable and experienced that even in a beginner class you come out of it feeling like you can take on any project. If you are interested in the arts, this place will surely have something for you. And one of the best things about them, other than how incredibly affordable the classes are, is that they offer most of their programs in the evenings as well as during the day so those who work or go to school can still go.

Drop in splatter painting was fun for my toddler. He enjoyed getting paint everywhere…read more girls at the front were nice

I would never bring my kid here again…read more I bought a 1 hr drop in session through livingsocial and I thought it would be fun for my 4-year-old. Since it was advertised as a class, I imagined there would be activities or enough supervision to satisfy a child for one hour. NOOOOOOO... they basically gave us one piece of paper and paint, then go ahead, do your thing kid. No instructions, no activities, no prompts. For extra paper or canvas you have to pay extra. That didn't make sense to me. If you were to advertise it as a one hour class, then it's a one hour class. Enough activities to fill up an hour. If it is an art session for one painting, then it's a session with supplies included for ONE painting. That wasn't the worst thing though. We came back earlier than the one hour mark to check up on my girl. We found her wandering around the foyer area with absolutely no supervision. It was a completely open area from the back to the front so any child can just wander off, or worse, any person can walk in and just grab a child. Their staff should have done something to keep her inside. Scrap paper, crayons, play dough, ANYTHING. And for that matter, even if they couldn't handle her, ISN'T THAT WHY WE LEFT THEM TWO CELL PHONE NUMBERS?!?!! When we picked her up, no one noticed, no one acknowledged us. If I were a kidnapper, Kidoodles is the place to go. That was completely unacceptable and the staff were completely irresponsible. NEVER again.