I've known Barbara for years. Awesome chef/cook/teacher/host and wonderful person, too!! You're…read moregoing to love meeting and working with her!!!

I purchased a cooking class at Viva Cucina for my family of five, hoping to give all of us an…read morealternative to the usual boring restaurant food, ordering in, etc., and get us cooking for ourselves. We had a wonderful experience with Barbara. She is a dedicated "foodie," clearly loves the process of cooking and is a great host. Her love for cooking is contagious! We were all swept up in her positive vibe and enthusiasm. We chose the Filet Mignon as our main course along with garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, etc. and Bananas Foster for dessert. Really delicious! It was a great lesson in the science and art of cooking that we are putting to good use at home and will come in handy especially when preparing meals for the holidays. Top notch!

We had a great time at our Burmese cooking class with Chef Sara. The Kitchen was a wonderfully…read moreorganized and open space. She was a great chef and engaged all 11 of us in the cooking action. We felt like we learned a lot, can make the dishes at home. We enjoyed the cooking and the feast afterwards. Highly recommend!

I would not purchase a gift certificate for this business. I was given one and have had to change…read moremy classes twice. Even though I was offered a refund after my first choice was cancelled, I was told it's not possible after my second choice got postponed by about a month and a half. So I haven't technically had the experience of the class, but I am already not looking forward to it. This business gives shady practices vibes.

I recently took the basic cake decorating class with Hands on Gourmet…read more The instructor was easygoing yet skilled, made instructions easy to understand, encouraged exploration and de-emphasized perfectionism, and gave customized tips based on the variety of experience levels among all participants. The whole experience was so fun! If a class series became available, then I'd enroll in it in a heartbeat! Parking at the location is not easy, but it's no issue if you plan ahead and don't mind a short walk.

Came here for a tofu and tempeh cooking class, and got to meet some amazing, new people. The…read morebuilding itself was spacious with a great view of the horizon at sunset from the 4th floor. Chef Cassandra was very knowledgeable about showing us the five different recipes. It was fun cooking the food together, and then enjoying what we had made. Highly recommend a class here if you're interested.

The good: Food was excellent, server was polite & knowledgeable. Facility grounds were lovely…read more The bad: Timing of food service. 6 adults - took approximately 10 minutes from first person served to last - etiquette suggests that all wait until all served, so first served food was cold. Check included 23% "surcharge", with gratuity expected in addition. Why not just add 23% to menu prices?

Not sure why I didn't know this existed but so happy it does. The 'CIA' is walking distance from…read moreOxbow Market so me and my daughter just decided to walk in. The outside area was so nice we agreed that we'll have to return in Spring to enjoy it. Inside there's a CIA store with so many kitchen items. I spoke with the employee there and she shared her knowledge of the two CIA facilities, there in Napa and the other in St Helena. She was super friendly and it was nice to meet her. We ventured into the museum which for me, someone who enjoys and appreciates food and cooking, I loved. This culinary collection was amazing. We also got to view the long wall of viticulturist which was interesting. Take a look at my photos to view CIA's testing kitchens. Very cool. This facility also has a restaurant, The Grove and an open area to rent for special occasions. Since the restaurant was closed, when I'm in Napa again, I'm definitely going to try it.

I took a flower and gum paste class... which I felt was pretty unorganized and extremely rushed. In…read moreclass she taught or tried to teach too many flowers for the short time we were in her GARAGE/classroom. The supplies she gave us to use in class were subpar and very very cheap. I had a piece of pvc pipe for my rolling pin. 2 students asked to pay and leave an hour early out of frustration; I made myself continue on but left feeling even worse. I asked in class and then again in email later if I could PURCHASE samples of her work of the flowers she had taught, she replied she sold them to another student. April claims she is some top of the line, one of the best flower designers and that her customers are all the Food Network stars. That they want her flowers... but yet she refused to make or sell to me. I simply wanted to PAY for 1 each of the flowers she attempted to teach us. I feel so very cheated... $60.00 for 3.5 hours, no book or hand out, nothing other than the few flowers you attempted in class that definitely were not assembled. The take home recipe given for pastillage did not work at all when I tried it at home. When I emailed for help...April's answers were not helpful and avoided my question. Her recipe is just water, gelatin and confectioners sugar. Her suggestion was that I added too much shortening!!! Shortening isn't even in HER recipe. When I pointed that out she said she was just suggesting a problem and couldn't know what I did wrong... what the hell... 3 basic ingredients... how wrong could I have gone...seriously!! She demonstrated how to make pastillage in class and let us touch it and then she gave us a different batch all together to work with. Something she prepared before we got there. April knew before I took the class that I am also a cake decorator and instructor, and THIS is how she treats her colleagues! Her business is a lousy cold garage that is crammed with crap, boxes, and product and is definitely not worth what she charges. If you need to go to the bathroom, you have to walk through her messy house and dirty kitchen. Not what I expect from someone claiming to be a professional. She ran in between the house and the garage and made it well known that she was watching a tennis match inside on TV. She also offers Wilton courses on her website, however Wilton claims she is in violation of the teaching agreement and is not an authorized instructor. Go to Michaels or JoAnns and save the frustration, time, and unprofessional-ism! I really feel that April is a cheat and probably discourages first time decorators. I would not recommend her class to anyone!!

This place is AWESOME! I came here for a week of baking classes and a chocolate class. She teaches…read moreit from her garage, which she has converted into a complete cooking area. Coolest garage in the world! Everything that we made came out delicious, and anything the teacher made for us was super good as well. The owner of this business, and the teacher of the class is a really friendly lady named April. She showed the class tons of new techniques, like icing cakes, and how to make royal icing, how to pipe etc. We made tons of cookies. I remember these jam shortbread like bars, and these pinwheel cookies. We also made biscotti, and a banana cream pie. Everything tasted really good! And we were able to take home usually more than 1 treat each day. For the last two days of the class, we made a red velvet cake from start to finish. We made the batter, lined the baking pan, and then made the icing, sliced the cake, iced the cake, decorated it, etc. I learned tons of new techniques. The chocolate class was very fun as well, and very informative. We made many different kinds of truffles, and we made chocolate mousse, and chocolate cups, and a few kinds of edible molding chocolate decoration! This place is awesome! Not only can you take cooking classes, you can order cakes and cookies for parties. The cakes here are really good! I really like her carrot cake, and her red velvet cake! YUM! The cookies here are really good too! For my brother's birthday, we planned it last minute, and called her about a day ahead, yet she was able to put together a cake for him, so that was a huge plus! But if you're able to tell her a week or more in advance, all the better, because you can get it more to your preference, and you'll probably like your cake a lot more. Overall, a great place for baking classes and cake decorating classes for kids, teens, and adults. And on top of that, a great place to get a cake for a party.

We dropped by Draeger's in Danville and learned the store is in closing mode. Very sorry to see…read morethis. The staffers were above average and pleasant. There was a packed house inside the store; we wish all these shopper or looky-loos supported the store more in the past. Good luck to the staffers as they continue their careers elsewhere. Thank you Draeger's, we will miss you.

Craving their carrot cake and headed here. I came at a good time cause it wasn't as busy as other…read moretimes I've been here. The person at the bakery was very nice and helpful. Picked up me a slice of their carrot cake, a tiramisu cupcake, and grabbed a pack of mini carrot cake cupcakes. Should have known I'd prefer their carrot cake over those mini bites. My son enjoyed the tiramisu cupcake. The cashier that rung me up was pleasant. Always experienced a great experience here.

I came here as part of a corporate event to bake croissants. This was a particularly fun…read moreexperience. We doubled up in groups of two to create croissants and took them home to bake. The ingredients were all measured out for us. I appreciate the instructor taking the time to explain food science (e.g why European butter has a higher fat percentage/melts more easily when contact is made with skin, why we refrigerate dough). However, I do feel like there was a lot of time spent explaining this when we could have been working on making the croissant. I'd prefer if we just got succinct instructions and got sent on our way while fun facts about croissants and how different ingredients interact with one another are told to us. I've taken a baking class at Sur La Table where there are TVs placed around each perspective, so everyone can watch as the instructor works on her dish instead of awkwardly huddling around the table craning to get a peek at the proper technique. When I made my croissant at home, they were perfectly buttery and flaky. Baking Arts also printed out PDF instructions for us to take home. As for the selection of baking goods, I noticed a lot of novelty tools that caught my interest! They have a decent selection of food dyes and edible glitter/pearls that are perfect for decorating cakes and baking with.

I've taken macaron and sourdough classes from BAC. Both classes were well structured, super…read moredetailed and hands on. So worth it!

Great class and experience! I booked a cooking class as a team building night and it was such a fun…read moreway to work together in a new way. We made three different types of empanadas and all were delicious! As a novice cook myself I feel much more confident in the kitchen with the skills I learned at the class and I can't wait to book another one! Thank you Chef!!

From the owner: Welcome to Chef Prep Kitchens! We are a cooking school and event planning service dedicated to…read moresharing culinary knowledge. With over 10 years of experience in professional kitchens, we are a brand led by a Culinary Institute of America graduate and proud member of the American Culinary Federation. Join us for hands-on cooking classes or let us help plan your next event. Together, we can make your culinary dreams come true!

Ever since buying a place a few years ago, I've wanted to learn how to cook. Not just to make it by…read morewithout starving, but really learn how to make quality food at home--I'm a foodie after all. ;-) This is the best cooking class company I've taken classes at to help me move closer to my goal. Highlights: - Format: A combination of demo and hands on which is the perfect mix: "see then do" as they say. Thorough and educational with detailed information on not only cooking techniques, but also the equipment (helpful gadgets in some cases), ingredients, their origins, and health benefits. I left each class feeling like I was becoming a more educated and better chef already. I've been to classes at Home Chef (when it was in SJ), Whole Foods (Cup and San Mateo), and Sur La Table (LG), and while those were fun, I didn't really learn as much as I would have liked. - Teacher: friendly, approachable, easy to learn from, comical, seems to genuinely care about her food and the people in her class, and knows her stuff. Chef Suzanne Vandyck has the culinary credentials and has even authored a cookbook. She tells you little tricks here and there along with fun stories of her travels and related eats to give it a personal touch. - Environment: very casual and comfortable. Questions are encouraged throughout and you don't feel intimidated chiming in with one during the demo or while cooking. I've been to classes where you felt like you were learning from a cooking nazi: if you didn't use the right spoon or something she'd snip at you. I want to learn, but this is for fun. I like more hakuna matata attitude here. As Chef Suzanne says, "In a restaurant it has to be perfect, at home it's ok." :-) - International Themes: I took the Easy and Healthy Japanese cooking class but they offer Italian, French, Mediterranean, Spanish, etc. I was a bit weary of learning Japanese food from a lady from Belgium, but she had enough traveling, visiting with locals, eating, and cooking experience to portray the authentic styles. I lived in Japan for a few years and eat Japanese food a good deal and learned tons from her class. - Great recipes: everything that we made was scrumptious. I loved being able to know how to make the classic Japanese sauces (tempura, miso, etc.) There are always options either written down or noted verbal during the demo so you know how you can change it up to suit your tastes or ingredients you have handy. - Salads: when you sign up, you can see what dishes will be made and I was enticed by the entrees. After all was said and done I did enjoy the entrees like expected, but was surprised to be blown away by the salads. The watercress and then spinach salads with dressings we made on our own were amazing. - Recipe handouts: before class you get a few pages stapled together of the recipes of the day. The teacher not only includes pictures up top, but a nice little paragraph of the story and background about what the dish is. - Plating: after Chef Suzanne makes an item, she plates them on beautiful little authentic Japanese plates (since I took the Japanese class) and organizes the food so it looks professional and impressive. Since I want to be a Top Chef quality chef, I love learning these plating skills to make my dishes visually appealing and fancier than the average home cooked meal. 8-) - Leftovers: sometimes there's a lot of food, so if you bring a container you can take some to enjoy at home - People: After the demos we break up into groups and make a few recipes. I didn't take the class to meet new people, but I made some nice friends through the few sessions we've have. - Class time said 6-9:30pm which I was initially worried sounded a bit long, but we usually finished by 9 or earlier so I could make it home to watch Grey's just slightly delayed on TiVo. ;-) - Location: most of the quality classes I have seen are in the city which is hard to get to on a weeknight. These are held closer to home in Cupertino and Santa Clara. Lowlights (my flip side to highlights): - How much fun you have cooking depends on the group you end up in--just normal group dynamics and personalities, etc. - Not optimal equipment: this is where it's a pro to go to a specialty store like Sur La Table or Whole Foods: the equipment will be more top notch. Our class was at Cupertino High School which had dull knives, old silverware, etc. They also didn't have any chopsticks to use in our Japanese class, so we brought our own. - Sometimes she changes the recipe from what's written down so you just have to be aware and take notes on your handouts. - Some classes you get a snack pretty early on but others you don't get to eat until 8:30pm, so you may want to have a snack before just in case. I'm so happy to have found this cooking school and will be looking to take more classes in the future!

Highly recommend Chef Suzanne and Worldchefs International!…read more I've taken Italian cooking classes, garlic cooking classes and a team-building cooking class. All spectacular... Highlights of courses: *Picked up FANTASTIC recipes that I still cook today... *Learned how to use quality ingredients to make delicious dishes *Met some great people *Paid close to nothing to learn from a top-notch chef and her colleagues Minuses: *May be challenging if you are with a group of people whom are unaccustomed to being in the kitchen... Favorite dishes that I still cook today zuppa di ceci (Italian garbanzo bean soup), pizza margherita, paella (Spanish rice dish), chicken marsala, risotto, minestrone soup, non-alcoholic sangria, and flourless chocolate cake.

I was having serious ongoing financial issues, The staff doubled down and figured it out. And now…read moreI'm on the correct path. If you need services, I recommend Bibett.

If I could give negative stars I would. This place is set up so you fail and because you have done…read morea bad thing you will be punished even more. Do not sign up for this program, they are here to keep charging you no matter if it is not your fault that THEY MISSED their appointment time that I was ready for! Run from this place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will not be sorry. I am going to file a major complaint against them because you cannot get anyone to answer a phone call to ask any questions or clear up their mess! BEWARE....