My boyfriend and I took the curry part Indian class as a birthday celebration and we had so much fun. Chef Joe embodies San Francisco energy and is a hoot and a holler! We had so much fun learning from him and cooking a dish that we never would have usually. We learned some new knife skills and chef Joe was very educational about the food we were cooking and ingredients we were using. I left the class with a full belly and a lot of energy. The atmosphere is very lively and friendly, I can tell he really responds and reciprocates the energy that's brought to him. I'm excited to come back here again, and I'll definitely be recommending this place to all my friends. This is such a great experience and we are so lucky to have it in our neighborhood!! read more

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Chef Joe is a delight. Had the best time learning knife skills from him. The three hour flew by.

Chef Joe was warm and welcoming. He is definitely a San Francisco character, having lived in the city for decades. He was funny and knoweldgeable. My sister and I took the Tuscan cooking class with 3 other couples in their early to mid-30s. Everybody seemed to really enjoy the experience and the meal. My 60-year old sister is a terrific cook herself with decades spent in the kitchen and she remarked on learning new things with Chef Joe's help. I think Chef Joe offers something for experienced and novice cooks. There was a very friendly assistant there to help Chef Joe, clean dishes, and keep the sink clear. As I said above, Chef Joe is a character with a great sense of humor. I'm shocked to see any negative reviews here at all and assume that his dry wit and tongue-in-cheek remarks might confuse folks. His humor is part of the package and all his guests were laughing throughout the class, not just my sister and me. I'm planning to return for another class with more family soon. We're all looking forward to it! read more

Our family had a fantastic time in their pasta making class with Chef Joe. Excellent experience combining hands on learning with a master chef! Small class size. Friendly and welcoming. Fun and informative, followed by a great meal. Highly recommended! read more

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon - Cooking Classes Near Me - San Francisco, California

We took Joe's Knife Skills Course in early April, after booking it a few months in advance. I'm currently taking a break from my corporate job and wanted to use the time to pursue some new hobbies, including cooking. After several slices to the fingers during chopping, I realized I needed some help in the knife skills department. My boyfriend and I decided to take the class together, and we were both really looking forward to it. This is the description of Joe's culinary classes provided online: "Whether you are a novice or an experienced foodie there is something for everyone at Chef Joe's Culinary Salon. Classes are warm, fun, and welcoming with Chef Joe." Unfortunately, the opposite is true in real life. We left the class a third of the way in because he berated me in front of the class when I didn't grasp a knife technique on my second try. At first we tried to stick it out, but he was short tempered with other members of the group as well, which overall just created a tense and uncomfortable environment that wasn't conducive to learning. It's a very small, narrow room with only about 8-10 people, so everything said is heard. When I got home, I searched the Culinary Salon on Yelp and filtered by the negative reviews to see if anyone else had a similar experience. Belittling, rude, disrespectful, passive-aggressive, demeaning, and dismissive are all descriptions used to describe Chef Joe by other past patrons. I understand that different people respond to different styles of teaching, but if he doesn't have the patience to work with novice-level cooks, he should market his classes differently so you have a better understanding of what you're signing up for. A day or 2 after the class, I sent Joe a very reasonable email detailing our experience and why we left early. I explained why I require knife education at this juncture and asked politely if he would consider any sort of refund so that I could use the money towards a different class more suited to beginners. It's been nearly 3 weeks and he never even bothered to respond. Apparently he's no more professional outside of the kitchen than inside. If you're a glutton for punishment, this might be the class for you, but if you're looking for a warm and welcome learning environment, seek elsewhere. read more

Cannot recommend Chef Joe enough! I have done 2 of his classes - knife skills and chicken class - and can't wait to go back for more. He is incredibly knowledgeable, fun, and a great teacher. I feel so much more confident in my kitchen using all of the tips and tricks he teaches me. Chef Joe is the best in SF! read more

Got to go to one of his cooking classes as part of a work event. The food turned out DELICIOUS and the recipes I will definitely keep and reuse. I also learned a ton about when to use different ingredients, and techniques for using raw onions in food. Overall an excellent class that I took something away from. One star removed in agreement with some prior reviews- chef joe has a great sense of humor but sometimes takes it too far in the class setting and, especially when folks were asking questions and receiving sarcastic responses, it can feel antagonistic at time. Don't think he meant harm from it, but doesn't foster the best learning environment. He does also do a significant portion of the prep, but I felt like I got to do lots of the hands on work. Overall a great class, but a little rougher around the edges than some others I've been to. Would definitely consider trying another though especially given how delicious everything turned out. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed the knife skills class. I've been cooking and baking for 40+ yrs and still love learning and learned lots of new tips and tricks and skills in this class. Joe showed and then we practiced and he helped if we couldn't figure it out after the demonstration. New things I learned: how to hone a knife (such a useful skill since usually I just regularly sharpen my knives), more efficient ways to chop an onion, how to box a vegetable to julienne it (so much easier compared with how I've been julienning vegetables for years), and the best one was learning how to cut through scallions better (we practiced on a different vegetable and I realized that skill was what I needed for slicing scallions). All in all a really enjoyable evening of learning and gaining even more confidence for my daily cooking. read more

Let me just start by saying I dont write reviews, ever. This was bsuch a bad experience I felt the need to make it known. Do not waste your time here. This man is one of the rudest humans I've ever met. Did this class with my partner and a couple we're friends with, my initial impression was how chaotic he was at the start. So disorganized and unprepared and horrible at explaining whats happening, all while telling you about his super successful 15 years of business. He aggressively micromanages the cooking, ripping utensils out of your hand and intensly berating you and snapping at you in front of the whole class, and on top of all of this tries to make you do 100% of the cleanup work and literally said "im not your slave" while he had a "student" helping him with dishes he quite literally treated like a slave and yelled at him the whole time, including accusing him of doing drugs in the bathroom (this friend was an absolute angel and the biggest help and definitely not doing drugs, it was weird). He made several very racist comments about Indian people (it was an Indian food class). And to top it off when it came time to eat he serves himself and eats first, and tried to make us leave some leftovers for him. It was such a strange encounter theres so much more I cant even put into words, it felt like the dinner party episode of the office. Please dont waste your time or money. Just look at the other 1 star reviews here to know im not making this up. read more

We had the pleasure of experiencing Chef Joe's cooking class for one of our best friend's birthday. Wow, Chef Joe is a talented and knowledgeable chef and artist! We all had an awesome time cooking, learning, chatting, sipping, and eating! It's so easy to learn how to cook authentic Italian food from chef joe (even with a group of seven chatty best group of girl friends who haven't seen each other in forever!). Yes, there were times some of the girls had to be hushed due to chatting over him and yes, there were times when we were ignored (we asked to sing happy birthday with a cake we brought and he acted completely oblivious even though we asked him point blank to his face, lol) - other than that, Chef Joe is provides a fun environment to learn how to cook Italian food. After working together as a team (taking instructions from Chef Joe and watching him bring out some items he already prepared to save time), we all sat down together to eat our delicious food. We made a four-course meal called "La Trattoria Italiana," which included: 1). Asparagi e Peperone Rosso Asparagus and roasted red bell pepper salad 2). Conchiglione Farcite Pasta shells stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach, baked in tomato sauce. 3). Bocconcini di Pollo Chicken breast roulade with sage, proscuito and fontina cheese. 4). Tiramisù Coffee-soaked ladyfingers layered with Mascarpone-whipped cream-Zabaglione, dusted with cocoa powder. There was a decorated room to place all your bags and coats, and his art (he used to make art and had a showroom) is all over this kitchen. We love that he hires local high school students to work for him and gain experience. The 15yo girl who helped clean dishes and the floors was so sweet and fun to work with. Very nice of him to offer opportunities like this to high school students as I would've loved to learn and he around this atmosphere at 15yo! Something a little odd was Chef Joe took a lot of photos of us and that just felt a little weird (we wanted pictures taken with our phones for our own memories)... maybe he wanted a collection of guests who have cooked with him and taken his class? We never signed a waiver or anything. He had many pictures posted on the walls of his younger self, family and friends - very artsy. My favorite was the stuffed pasta and asparagus salad - yummy! We also enjoyed listening to Chef Joe's authentic Italian music list - we felt like we were in Italy again! read more

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did Chef Joe's Spanish tapas class yesterday. It was very well done, and also extremely tasty. Joe lead you through the general instructions for four separate dishes, and then everyone in the class actually creates the dishes, learning and asking questions go along. At the end, you all sit down to assumption us of what you all have prepared, and you have a real sense of ownership. Aside from the enjoyable experience, it's very impressive how Joe manages to take a class full of novices, and leads them through multiple parallel preparations, so that they all come out at the same time, successfully, so that you down and eat together. Previously had taken the classes on three different preparations for chicken, and for Moroccan food. HIghly recommended. read more

Oh my gosh, what a great way to spend an evening. We took the fish cookery class so we used three types of fish to poach, pan fry and bake using parchment paper. With each one, we prepared a different sauce or side using fresh herbs, grilled peppers and veggies. Each one came out perfectly and I feel ready to try them at home. Chef Joe is wonderful and charming, and fun was had by all. He's running a professional kitchen, and you're about to eat the food you have prepared, so you must be on your toes and not screw around! There's plenty of fun to be had, but at crunch time, you'll want to be mindful that there is a seriousness to cooking. I highly recommend Chef Joe's school and look forward to taking several more! read more

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My partner and I took the knife skills workshop. The content covered was fairly elementary, could be helpful for teens learning to cook for the first time. However, the learning environment that Joe creates is not the most pleasant.. There were countless awkward moments created by passive aggressive or just downright rude comments from Joe used to talk down on various individuals in front of the class. Without even considering Joe's faux pas, the experience did not feel worth the price. I can't comment on the other workshops. read more

A very belated THANK YOU to Chef Joe! My friends brought me to his French Pastry class for my birthday and it was a treat! At the beginning of the day I have to say I had little faith we would get through the many, seemingly difficult desserts he had planned (tartes aux fruits frais, macarons with mocha cream, chocolate eclairs, and palmiers). But we did! And it was so fun. and he was so fun. Go see Chef Joe! read more

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon - Yay! Homemade Macarons:) - Cooking Classes Near Me - San Francisco, California

So I was making my wife a spinach soufflé for Mother's Day brunch today, and I realized that I couldn't have done this a year ago. Then a few months back I went to a soufflé class at Chef Joe's. It was a great experience! Chef Joe is warm, funny, and not at all pretentious. He treats you like family...and he's throwing a kitchen party for the family. I'm a decent amateur chef and confident in the kitchen, but I had never tried soufflés because I thought they were too complicated to pull off correctly. But Joe is a great teacher and he made it all really easy! He explained the steps, demonstrated everything, and gave students plenty of hands on practice. You learn several different techniques, and several recipes for soufflés, e.g. spinach, grand marnier, and individual chocolate soufflés. In a few hours the whole class (there were about 10 of us at very different skill levels) was turning out professional quality, light-as-a-cloud goodness. You get a recipes booklet to take home, and I have used that and the skills learned that day to make soufflés several times since then. To me, one of the tests of a good cooking class is whether it stands the test of time and becomes part of my regular skill set. As the attached pictures show, I've had pretty good luck making the souffle's since then, and I'm hearing no complaints from family and friends who've tasted them. Come to think of it, my wife got me that class on a gift certificate. It was a Father's Day present. I'm beginning to think she had this planned all along... read more

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon - Cooking Classes Near Me - San Francisco, California

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My mother and I hosted a bridal shower at Chef Joe's and from the start he was belittling, rude, and unwelcoming. I could write a laundry list of passive aggressive snipes and disrespectful comments spewed throughout the entire class but instead will just say that Chef Joe does not foster a healthy or efficient learning environment. I consider myself a pretty thick skinned 20 year old girl who has dealt with a lot of immature men but I would say that this experience really wowed me. I do not recommend Chef Joe's nor will I be returning. This was my mom's third class with him and it will also be her last. read more

I have noticed the storefront for over 10 years. We were excited about this class. I love to support neighborhood proprietors. Chef Joe may be a great chef. But I will never know. I came with my wife as a birthday present. As we started the class I received a urgent phone call from a doctor on behalf of a loved one where I had to make a proxy medical decision. That call was extremely rare, and as close to life and death as I have ever experienced. I took the call in the back room out of earshot so as not to disturb the class. Before he knew the nature of the call, Joe said to my wife that he was upset at the disruption, and that I was outside of the public space and that he was upset that he would need to repeat instructions (even though he was not asked to do that). Returning, I explained the situation succinctly. However Joe struggled to see beyond his own experience of disruption. He grabbed a paper from my hands upon which I had written vital medical information. He reiterated how much he doesn't like disturbances. There were no raised voices but we decided to discontinue the class because of the vibe and situation. On the way out Joe made it clear there were no refunds or credit. I cannot recommend Joe as a teacher. read more

My daughter had a private group class at Chef Joe's for her 11th birthday party, and her glowing review is below. From my point of view, I loved how easy it was to make the arrangements and to pay, how truly funky and old-school San Francisco the space is, and how flexible and conscientious he was in accommodating a child with a severe nut allergy. From the birthday girl: Chef Joe's Culinary Salon is amazing! I had a birthday party there, and it was my best birthday party ever! It was a french pastry class, and we made everything from soufflé to palmiers. It was awesome! read more

We had a wonderful time with chef Joe! He was a joy of energy and a great teacher! Would definitely do his class again as well as refer friends. read more

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Chef Joe is *amazing*. And so is his class. I was a bit weary about 3-hours of cooking. But the entire evening was action packed and educational! I am a beginner chef in every way possible (I didn't even know there was a proper way to chop vegetables). While there were more experienced chefs in our class, I never felt embarrassed or useless. Joe taught each of us to our level-- and gave everyone a hand in preparing the 3-course meal. The best part was the last hour where we enjoyed our delicious meal. By this time, the wine was flowing and everyone was best friends. It was truly an awesome experience, and I highly recommend signing up for a class! read more

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon - happy chefs! - Cooking Classes Near Me - San Francisco, California

I've taken 3 classes with Chef Joe and cannot recommend them enough. First, Chef Joe is brings many years of experience (he's a treasure trove of global culinary knowledge), skill, creativity and a hefty dose of humor to every class. And because it's an intimate environment, you get to participate in all the dishes and can really learn. The best part, though, is that you leave his classes with more confidence. You watch him do the hard stuff, he explains how and WHY, then you try with his guidance. He teaches you to experiment and be creative and how to fix mistakes. It's impossible not to get swept up by his passion for culinary arts and run home to try out your new skills!! Lastly, Chef Joe's Culinary Salon with its humble store front in the Duboce Triangle, cultivates community in a way the big cooking schools cannot. It's a true SF gem. read more

My husband and I took the 'gourmet fish cookery' class and we had a GREAT experience. There was a total of 4 students plus Chef Joe and his right-hand-man Eric in a homey studio in an actual home-home, which made for a comfortable, intimate experience. You're not gonna learn a ton from one class, but for me the idea was to get close one-on-one time with a serious pro and watch the nuts and bolts of a complicated dish get assembled... and the best part: you can ask questions!! What can you learn at Chef Joe's Culinary Salon that you can't learn from youtube? Probably not much, BUT: to be there in person and savor the aromas, the camaraderie, and the FOOD made all the difference. Wear comfy shoes because you'll be standing for a few hours, and bring your appetite. read more

Came here with my coworkers to celebrate out birthdays and had a FANTASTIC time. I LOVED all of the decor and installation pieces Chef Joe has created. It really added to the charm of having a private class to learn how to create dishes. We came in on a global hot pocket class and learned how to make empanadas, pierogis, and samosas. We were a bit rowdy, but Joe was very patient and pretty hilarious. We learned lots of new techniques and ended up creating really amazing food! It was a blast! read more

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon - Cooking Classes Near Me - San Francisco, California

I attended an awesome class last night, Gourmet Fish Cookery. It was a small intimate class with an absolutely delicious menu. Chef Joe and his assistant Eric were fabulous. I'll be back for sure. Highly recommend! Thank you Chef Joe. read more

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I love to cook and for a long time have longed to take cooking classes but they always were totally inconvenient or way too expensive. Enter The Culinary Salon! My friend heard about them and asked if I wanted to take classes with him. I jumped at the chance! The location, right near Duboce Triangle, couldn't be more convenient for me and with the variety of classes and prices I could easily find something in my price range. In fact I signed up for Thursday night classes the entire month of September! I have taken two of my classes and both have been excellent. There are only six people in each class so you are sure you get a hand at all tasks. You also get personalized attention from Chef Joe who is not only an amazing chef, but a delightful person. Each week we prepare a specific menu, but these are not random menus. They are well thought out and not only allow you to make a fabulous meal, but teach you invaluable cooking skills. However, the proof is in the pudding. Can you make these dishes when you get home? You betcha! The weekend following each class I try my hand at the entire menu and I have just had two weekends of fabulous eating. I could never have whipped these meals up with such ease and perfection had in not been for Chef Joe. So, if you love to cook and want to have some fun while improving your skills check out The Culinary Salon. I promise you will be really happy you did. read more

Joe was very well prepared and very patient with me and my newbie questions. He has a great sense of humor and an "Auntie Mame" type personality. I felt relaxed and right at home from the moment we started. The wine, which flowed freely, sure didn't hurt. There is some amazing whimsical/surrealistic art in the space, made by Joe, which added to the pleasure and interest. Be aware that you will be standing for several hours, but that is what chefs do. Joe is a smoker, so if you are extremely sensitive to second hand smoke, be aware of this. He did all his smoking outside and I didn't smell any smoke inside the kitchen. As noted by another poster, you get a full meal at the end of the class. read more

Chef Joe is incredible. We took a pizza making course on Saturday, 2/5, but it was so much more than just cooking pizza. We learned how to make amazing toppings (roasted cauliflower brushed with olive oil or fresh cooked mushrooms with wine reduction or eggplant baked w/splashes of homemade balsamic vinaigrette). And each of these toppings could be used for a pasta or chicken dish. We learned how to make white and red sauce and tips for ensuring that it stays fresh. I would 100% recommend Chef Joe's cooking classes to anyone. And at the end... there was enough pizza to feed the city. read more

Knife skills! How did I think I ever knew how to chop? I learned to maneuver & use the entire knife. And own it. Keep your knifes sharp, learn to properly use a honing steel. Slice, dice, julienne, feather cut, oblique, chiffonade & mince. Learning to mince and puree garlic was the neatest little trick for me. Class size was intimate & everyone had their own workstation. Chef Joe is welcoming, engaging, has jokes & a real treat to learn from. read more

I decided to immerse my fiance and myself in Chef Joe's 'Mediterranean Odyssey' cooking series. We're foodies at heart and have decided to expand our cooking repertoire. We've dabbled in several cooking schools, primarily in Chicago, however we were pleasantly surprised to find a cooking school that tops them all. So far we've made our way from Greece to Turkey (with a Mediterranean street foods class in between) and have to say that classes are a blast :) Classes have been intimate (8 students fill up each class) with lots of personal attention. His eccentric studio and kitchen create the perfect ambiance for an entertaining dinner with new friends. We've met several corky personalities in his classes. However, there is no match for Chef Joe - he is a no-nonsense professional chef with years of experience in some of San Francisco's most prestigious kitchens whose wit and ability to banter will have you laughing :D Just don't take yourself too seriously! I've learned a great deal in classes - not only how to make yummy Greek/Turkish/Mediterranean meals/sauces, but he also teaches basic knife skills, use of spices and cooking techniques. Along the way I've also learned interesting historical information pertaining to food. I have no qualms giving the Culinary Salon 5 stars. I'll be back for North Africa and Morocco this month! read more

This being my first cooking class experience, i can claim no authority - however IMHO - it was awesome. Joe is a warm, kind and very humble chef who delights in passing his deep knowledge on to laypeople like me. He started with a brief but informative history lesson on the region's cuisine, spices, etc and proceeded to demonstrate skills such as chopping, emulsifying and how to tell if a mussel is good or not. Each participant chose a part of the menu to prepare while Joe ensured everyone was supported and at certain points gathered everyone's attention so we could know what was going on with each others dishes so to capture a sense of the whole meal. It would have been a great experience had it ended there, however we continued to a sit down meal to feast on the results - which were really amazing! Only sweetened by the fact that we all made it! If you are looking for something new that involves food, maybe happen to like watching foodtv, think you might benefit from some renewed confidence in the kitchen, etc - then i highly recommend a meal with Joe. Thank you Joe and see you soon! read more

Seriously I'm such a fan of Chef Joe. I've done the corporate cookie-cutter classes, and these classes with Chef Joe are so much more fun and engaging. The classes are like learning inside tips from your amazing friend, and both times I've done the class I have come away with new skills and confidence in my cooking abilities. I'd tell anyone to give the classes a try, and 100% will be back for a third class before too long. read more

A friend of mine arranged a private class (6 of us) for his birthday. The menu was Spanish tapas. I'm a pretty good, experienced cook, and I've cooked a fair amount of Spanish food, so although the class wasn't a revelation for me, I did have a lot of fun. Chef Joe is very personable and knowledgable, and his recipes were absolutely delicious. His assistant, Paula, is great, too. The setting is charming - a storefront in a residential part of the Castro/Duboce, filled with all sorts of art and cooking equipment. I'd definitely come back for a class with some friends. (FYI, he books private classes for up to 10 people.) OK, so there was one revelation for me: tossing fried calamari with vinegar and mint is over-the-top delicious. read more

My husband bought me a class in the Marrakesh Express cooking series that Chef Joe taught in December last year. This was the first ever cooking class that I'd taken and it was a completely delightful experience. I cook on a regular basis and am pretty comfortable working in the kitchen, but there were many useful tips and worthwhile information that Joe shared that made the class a satisfying experience. The one special thing about The Culinary Salon is the class size limitation and the ambiance of the location, not to mention that Joe is a very likeable person and can set the perfect tone for people to work in a group. He has a quirky and refreshing sense of humor and his casualness belies his serious interest in food. I took a third class yesterday evening, in Turkish cuisine, and not only was the food incredibly delicious, everyone in the room seemed to be having a great time. Also, just so readers are aware, I've never heard Chef Joe utter anything off-color, or anything that would have offended me. He's impish and delightful, and he is a master of the double-entendre, but no aggression or vulgar language. He makes you feel like he's your best friend from grammar school or your favorite uncle, he's really so disarming and down-to-earth. I'll be taking his knife skills class at the end of May and really look forward to that. I've actually already picked up a few new techniques in using a knife from the two classes I've taken so far. If you are looking for a fun evening, cooking in a relaxed environment, enjoying camaraderie, teamwork and conversation, delicious meals and good wine, and value for money, The Culinary Salon is the place to go. read more

Joe rocks. A number of us just had a class and it was fantastic. First, the place. From Sanchez St you'll see a sign for his shop; if you're not looking for it you might just walk by thinking it's another house. You enter into a small, so a class of 8 people is pretty much a sold out class. He has pretty much all the equipment you'll need for the class in-house; you may want to bring your own knives or other implements if you want to use things from home. With the class that we had, his love of cooking really showed. He gave us all sorts of tips and tricks while making our dishes: how to hold knives, how to puree garlic with just a chef's knife, how to make pasta. When we had questions he's stop and answer them. He got us through the more difficult parts and knew the pitfalls. And best of all, our food was fantastic. Times visited: 1 read more

Had the good fortune to be invited to a private event here recently. Convenient location, in a combination art studio/cooking school which provides a lively, creative atmosphere to get a little crazy when you and your colleagues are responsible for cooking dinner together. Chef Joe has the culinary cred to really make this fun and a learning experience. And we did have a great time... even if he schooled some of us on our 'we thought we knew what we were doing' culinary habits...! Great fun, great food! read more

I went to the Culinary Salon for the first time on a first date (btw, great idea for a date) and had a blast. We took the appetizer class on a Saturday afternoon. Chef Joe was a lot of fun and he did a great job of walking us through the recipes, showing us some helpful techniques and giving us cooking tips. The recipes were delicious and everyone had a great time. We made so much food so there was plenty to go around and wine was included which was perfect. I would definitely recommend this place who's looking to try some new recipes, practice their cooking skills and just have fun. I will definitely be back for another class! read more

Chef Joe was amazing in working with our group. We contacted him a week before the event and we had very specific and difficult desires in terms of a expanded menu for a group of more than 10 people. He accommodated us and was very positive. It was a pleasure planning this event with you and I look forward in attending your classes in the future. read more

This is SUCH an awesome cooking school! Chef Joe is really fun to cook with, and it's a very easygoing atmosphere. It felt a lot like cooking in my own home kitchen! My dad and I went for a vegetarian cooking class, and we made the most DELICIOUS vegetarian meal I've ever had. I'm not a vegetarian, but this meal definitely was not lacking anything in its absence of meat. We made stuffed bell peppers, mushroom-cheese-phyllo pastries, a really nice fresh salad, and delectable peach crisp for dessert. I'll definitely be back soon! read more

Chef Joe's Culinary Salon - Cooking Classes Near Me - San Francisco, California

During busy tax season I got a gift for the class, scheduled dinner but last minute due to the ongoing IRS audit had to stay late and work (fun right?) called to reschedule unfortunately nothing could be done. I feel like I am under circumstances that are out of my control and chef could work out something with me in terms of possible rescheduling at the discounted price, however on the phone I spoke with a "brick wall" - a guy who couldn't get onto my shoes... It sucks here... read more

As a very novice person in the kitchen, I was really excited to try my hand at what I thought was a basic knife skills class to hone my skills. I ended up learning nothing and found the class to be a waste of time (3 hours!!). Although Chef Joe is a very knowledgable chef, he lacks some skills in teaching to beginners. The class is definitely geared towards more seasoned cooks. 90% of the class was demonstration which is not really that helpful when thrown at you for an hour and a half. He demonstrates every single cutting technique in a row without so much as letting you touch a knife. Then we are handed a knife, cutting board and veggies and told to practice on our own. Seriously? I forgot everything he showed us!!! Maybe a better teaching method would have been to demo one technique and then have us practice it, one at a time. He also lacks focus and went off on tangents that were not even related to food at times. I also agree with the other poor review that his comments are definitely belittling as well. I was very disappointed and walked away with nothing learned. But, given all the other great reviews, it apparently may be worthwhile for more seasoned cooks. read more