Stop reading this post now and instead get your tickets to Pineapple Kitchen's Murder Mystery…read moreDinner!!! One of the most fun-filled and entertaining evenings one will experience. This truly was so much more than anticipated. I had no idea how this worked. About a week before the show, each person received an email of the character they would be at the dinner. A nice description was provided of that character's personality as well as suggested attire. All people at our dinner came dressed for their role. Then the fun began. Food was good, wait staff was excellent, and the evening's leader kept the show rolling. An awesome experience. We'll be back again for certain.

We want to the Pineapple Kitchen for a murder mystery dinner party to celebrate my birthday. This…read morewas my second time going to the Pineapple Kitchen, I had previously gone for a charcuterie class. Which was 10/10, so I had high expectations for the Murder Mystery Dinner. Overall, it was a nice time. We did a private buy out so it was only our group of 18. For the price the Pineapple Kitchen fell a little short. Since it was our private group and my birthday I requested a chocolate peanutbutter cake as dessert. I offered to bring my own in, Jenny (the owner) said their pastry chef could make it for us. Great, it's my favorite and it is my birthday after all. We got carrot cake instead. Jenny, apologized about the mix up but didn't offer anything to off set the disappointment for me, she did say she wouldn't charge us for the cake but the dessert was included with our $90/per person and she never mentioned an up charge for a custom dessert request. She could have cared less that my birthday dessert was a disappointment. They also double booked us so we were asked to push our 6:30 dinner to either 4:30pm or 8pm. I had the mahi wasn't palatable IMO, but the chicken was excellent (I had a bite of my friends). The dressing on the salad was okay; I wouldn't get it again. The serving and bartending staff were amazing and made up for the issues I had with the food. Overall, I wouldn't go back for the food but would go back for the experience and time with my friends.

Went with my community vondo friends over 35! Very nice dining room opens to the kitchen. Wait…read morestaff was very accommodating - lunch choices delicious - even a lovely desert ! Try it- wonderful way to educate the students at Tarpon Springs high school.

Had a delicious 3 course lunch today. Students training in all phases of restaurant service. You…read moremust reserve seats in advance and because in a school, bring photo ID. Our server, Collin, was attentive and appeared to be well-suited to deal with the public. The food was plated well and was not what we expected. So good. Highly recommend. Kudos to the students and the teachers who make this program possible.

I was thoroughly impressed by AJ's Kitchen Drawer. Everything was exceptional--the instruction,…read morefood, people, and ambiance. I attended a work event where we were fortunate to have Chef Keith Simpkins. It's evident that Chef Keith is passionate about his work, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Chef Keith taught us how to make tiramisu, pasta, and pesto, which are all among my favorite dishes. I'm pleased to say that I left the dinner with improved cooking skills.

The absolute best experience ever. Third time here and it just keeps getting better! Came for the…read moreValentine Date Night and it was incredible. Chef is a great teacher, helpful and funny. Food is delicious and plentiful!! Perfect night out. Will be back again soon!

There are prerequisites that you don't learn about until it's too late. The faculty is…read moreuninterested in helping students. The 'enrollment counselor' was all in until I signed and the it was crickets...what a sham.

A warm and welcoming environment. Definitely the best college I've been to. The instructors…read moregenuinely care about your success.

We came here for a kids birthday party event and let me tell you, these guys are the best! There…read moremust have been 12-14 7 sassy 7 year olds and they handled them like champs! The kids got to make cupcakes (in ice cream cones), their very own pizza, and then got to ice cookies! The place was amazingly decorated as well. I told the owners I'd be in a corner drinking a bottle of wine having to keep all of those kids entertained but they just said that kids birthdays are the best thing ever and they love doing them. I highly recommend this place and need to check out doing a date night cooking class. Sounds like fun!

This is such a great little place. We have been eying it for our daughter since we saw them start…read moreto move in. We are so happy to have a cooking place close to home. My wife and daughter attended the "Breakfast at Tiffany's" cooking class today and they loved it! My daughter has been talking about this ever since we signed them up a few weeks ago. They made their own bacon and cheese croissants, quiche, macaroons, edible Tiffany jewelry and cupcakes! The elegance and attention to detail were perfect. Now all my daughter will talk about is having her birthday party. In looking at pictures from other parties (Business FB page), we will not be disappointed! They are always offering up special cooking events and are often showcasing during events. During Halloween, they had the witches from Hocus Pocus posing for photos and drew a huge crowd. They are even doing casting for one of the kids cooking shows on tv! We are close neighbors, and the owner has been nothing but hospitable and full of happiness! They have really put together a first class operation, and we would highly recommend!

My husband and I had the most incredible date night at the Epicurean Theatre! We attended the…read more"Dinner with a Master Chef" class on Friday, July 18th 2014. Our instructor was celebrity chef, Whitney Miller, winner of Master Chef (season 1). The Epicurean Theatre is a gorgeous and very modern culinary classroom in the Epicurean Hotel in South Tampa. The culinary classroom has a kitchen in the front of the theatre for the instructor/ chef and stadium-style seating for the students. (If you want a seat near the front of the class arrive early!) Flat screen televisions are located in the front corners of the classroom to display close-ups of the food as it is being prepared. The layout of the classroom allows participants to eat and drink while watching a cooking presentation. After the chef completes each course of the meal the Epicurean's wait staff serves the dish. Whitney Miller was so charming and entertaining throughout our class. I loved her stories about growing up in Mississippi and being a contestant on the Master Chef. Her menu in our class included some of her favorite Southern dishes: First Course: Arugula Salad with Grilled Figs, Homemade Buttermilk Ricotta Cheese, Crispy Prosciutto and a Citrus Vinaigrette (Wine Pairing: Schiopetto Pinot Grigio) Second Course: BBQ Shrimp and Cheese Grits (Wine Pairing: Black Bird Rose) Third Course: White Chocolate Bread Pudding (Wine Pairing: Rosa Regale) Everything was so delicious and I cannot wait to make these dishes at my home! Confession: I probably won't make my own ricotta cheese for the arugula salad because who has time for that?! We received so many great cooking tips from the class and I plan on purchasing Whitney's cookbook so I can introduce my husband to more Southern cooking. If you are interested in taking a class at the Epicurean Theatre I highly recommend it! They offer a variety of classes from cupcakes to cooking to wine or even speaking a foreign language. They even offer brew bus tours! The classes range from $45-$125. Our Master Chef class cost $65 per person which wasn't a bad deal in my opinion considering we received a two hour demonstration from a celebrity chef, a three course meal, and three wine tastings. Can't wait to take my next class at the Epicurean Theatre!

I went to a great event here called Cupcakes and Cocktails held by Chef Beth Lukens, who owns and…read moreoperates the local company Cloud 9 Confections. Everything about this event was fun. Just like you see on cooking shows, Beth stood in front of the 3-tiered seating area, with a camera on her, and a camera overhead showing inside the pot she was cooking in. Beth is an experienced baker, and I loved that in addition to demonstrating how to make the Bourbon Chocolate Pecan cupcake, she also gave us helpful tips for substitutions and shortcuts. In addition to cupcakes, the event included 3 cocktails, specially designed to compliment the cupcakes we would be taking home. Pumpkin Prosecco - made of champagne and pureed pumpkin, Hard Apple Cider - made with gin, cider, and fresh crushed grapes, and a Bourbon Cocktail - but after the first two drinks, I have no recollection of what went into this last one. It was great, though! :-) Roger, the bartender from the hotel restaurant Élevage, came in each time to explain his concoction, which was really a nice personal touch. After Beth demonstrated how to make the first cupcake, all the participants went down to group stations where we got to frost our own cupcakes. She had all the different cupcakes lined up for us, as well as the different bags of frosting. First we did our own Bourbon Chocolate Pecan cupcake - by scooping out the inside to fill it with pecan filling, then frosting it with a thick bourbon chocolate buttercream, and sprinkling roasted pecans on top. Next was the Hard Apple Cider cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream. And finally we did the Pumpkin Spice cupcake, with a sweet cream cheese frosting. I have to admit, there was a LOT of taste-testing the frosting, even after the cupcakes were all frosted. Beth even provided plastic cupcake containers, so our 6 masterpieces (2 of each flavor) could travel in safety and comfort. I would definitely do another event here - it was very well organized, and in addition to the promised take home cupcakes, we were also provided with recipes on how to make the different cupcakes and frosting. The only thing that wasn't cool, and wasn't mentioned ahead of time, is that you had to pay $5 for valet, which also meant tipping too. I think the Epicurean Hotel needs to include this in the cost of the class, or let people self-park in the spots they have available for the wine store or bakery. Other than the parking, an A+ event from start to finish. Support local small businesses and go check out Beth's webpage, too - yum!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to volunteer at The Kitchen House & my experience was such a…read moredelight. At first I felt excited and nervous, just because it's a new experience for me.However, Nicole, Blake, Megan & even Ms. Ivann made me feel so welcome! I joined in on a culinary class based on sauces, stocks and soups and the guests did an amazing job. The concept of the volunteer is to guide the guests & just be a kind person in their culinary journey This venue is breathtaking, the kitchen is awesome and the knowledge you gain is so worth the experience. I will definitely be back to volunteer again! The guests made: mac and cheese, green bean casserole, kale soup & an awesome salad with the veggies sourced from their own garden Please take a class! I know i definitely want to!

The Kitchen House is a not-for-profit garden and cooking school that focuses on teaching healthy…read moreplant-forward recipes to adults and children. Ever since Publix Aprons Cooking School closed, I've been looking for a cooking school that has fun adult classes. The Kitchen House has just started a monthly "book club" called Plot to Plate where they feature a book that relates to or includes recipes. This month was Lessons in Chemistry so my friends and I decided to attend. We bought our tickets in advance as classes can sell out. The classes are different prices depending on what the class is. The house is in a residential neighborhood in College Park and does not have a dedicated parking lot so I would suggest getting there early as you have to find a spot along the street. When we arrived, we were greeted and given a welcome drink, in this case Cardamom Decaf Coffee because it was cold out. One of the instructors said that normally we would walk the garden at the beginning of class and also eat outdoors but since it was cold, we were going to skip the garden and eat inside. Once everyone arrived (cooking classes can have up to 20 people), we met in the lobby to start talking about different themes of the book. Then it was time to wash up and go to the kitchen. All the ingredients were set out for us and we picked the Veggie Pot Pie table with other attendees. The instructor gave us some knife skills lessons and then we all started cooking, using the recipes at our station. Each station makes one recipe so you don't get to make everything. And, the instructors and volunteers don't show you how to make everything first (like Publix Aprons used to do). But, if you just dig in and start going, it is a lot of fun. We had some questions along the way, like is there a spatula we can use? Or, is this the flour or the cornstarch? The volunteers were great and answered everything in a friendly way. As it said you could do in the welcome email we received before the class, some folks brought their own wine and the Kitchen House provided glasses and would pour for you. I think if we go back, we would definitely bring our own wine. My friends and I made the drop biscuits for the Veggie Pot Pie, which were surprisingly easy to make. We were finished early so we also make the Brownies for dessert that used olive oil and maple syrup instead of butter and sugar. When everyone was done cooking, we gathered in the lobby again while the volunteers cleaned and set up the table for dinner. Then, it was time to eat! Dinner was served buffet style and the Kitchen House split our food for people who had different dietary restrictions. For example, some of the recipes used non-dairy alternatives as some people in the class were lactose intolerant and one person had a mushroom allergy so they got a small spinach gallette instead of the mushroom Gallette for everyone else. As we sat down to eat, we discussed the book more in depth. Everything tasted great and we had a wonderful time. We received all the recipes in an email after the class so we could make the foods at home. I will definitely be looking at other adult classes here.

The Elmentrary Education department is not great. ESE isn't much better, but the director is ok…read more (Unlike Elm.) In the time Ive been in the program, ive have 2 really good teachers that taught something, the others are so detached from the field and their students, they have no idea what a classroom today looks like, nor do they have the experience in multiple classroom levels to speak about the topic on the level expected. If your a working adult stay away from this program. You are not able to work while in this program. (Well maybe a 10$ and hour job bagging groceries). If you have experience in the classroom, just pretend like you dont, all but 2 professors have use it against me, I did not feel safe to speak up in their classrooms. I would be cut off, or not called on, they will doubt your work because it so good. The times for classes are ok, would prefer the all remote so the professor cant lie and say they said it in class when they didnt. No important topics covered in class. Just a bunch of busy work that wont help you when you graduate. Here's a cleaned up version that keeps your tone and point but reads clearer and more professional: The Elementary Education department is not great. The ESE program is not much better, although the director is reasonable to work with (unlike Elementary). During the time I have been in the program, I have only had two professors who were genuinely good teachers and actually taught meaningful content. The rest seemed very detached from the field and from their students. Many of them do not appear to understand what classrooms today actually look like, nor do they have experience across multiple grade levels to speak about teaching on the level expected of future educators. If you are a working adult, I would strongly recommend staying away from this program. It is extremely difficult to maintain a job while enrolled. Realistically, the only way someone could work while completing the program would be a very low-hour, low-pay job. For anyone supporting themselves or working full time, the expectations make balancing work and school nearly impossible. Another challenge I experienced was how prior classroom experience was treated. Instead of being valued, it often felt like it was used against me. I quickly learned that it was easier to pretend I had no experience at all. In most classes, I did not feel comfortable speaking up. When I tried to contribute, I was sometimes cut off, not called on, or my work was questioned because it was "too good." That environment made it difficult to participate honestly in discussions. The class times themselves were manageable, but I would have preferred fully remote options. At times, professors would claim something had been explained in class when it had not been clearly covered. Overall, many of the courses focused on busy work rather than practical skills that would actually help future teachers once they graduate. I expected more meaningful preparation for the realities of today's classrooms.

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE HERE!! If I could add zero stars I would. I was told by a counselor to talk to…read morethe DRC because I can't pass a simple math class for the life of me. The DRC has messed with my time and patience multiple times already because they keep changing up the documentation they need to be able to accept the fact that I have anxiety and need more time and even more help when it comes to certain subjects. They have made it physically impossible to get help and have made me cry as I walk out the door because the woman in charge of the DRC talk to you as if you're a child instead of a young adult trying to get proper help. On top of that, it took me coming in 4 more times for them to accept all of my transfer credits and my fasfa because they don't have proper protocol and always seem to blame technology or other schools, etc for they're mess ups. I just transferred here. It is absolutely ridiculous I have to deal with these unprofessional, belittling, shitty adults. Please look at all your options before deciding to go to this school.