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    Dave's Specialty Foods

    4.8 (81 reviews)

    Dave's Specialty Foods Photos

    DAVE'S SPECIALTY FOODS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Dave's Specialty Foods

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    Dave is an animated and engaging teacher.
    Justin U.

    If you and your friends are looking for an unforgettable way to hang out for an enjoyable evening of food and drink, I highly recommend one of Dave's learning dinners. You only need 6 people to arrange one. And you can either have Dave cook for you while you sit chatting with your friends, or Dave will teach you how to make the wonderful dishes he creates for you. Dave said about 90% of these dinners are him teaching as he cooks. Of the other 10%, many people say afterward they wished they had learned while they ate. We did the learning dinner. Dave is an accomplished chef who's worked at some of the midwest's finest restaurants. He's unpretentious, animated, engaging and appears very much at home teaching while he cooks. I learned a lot about food at our dinner; how to prepare it and more importantly, how to make everyday food more flavorful. His dinners are very interactive so it's not like the Dave show where you sit and listen for 3 hours. The food had some unique ingredients like the appetizer he made with Kataifi shredded pastry dough. For the entre, we had incredibly tender short ribs, with risotto, and sliced Brussel sprouts. Dessert was crepes with custard and caramelized apples. I'm a pizza and hamburger kinda guy, but I can appreciate a meal when it's done this well. Dave is also very accommodating during the meal. As he was cooking one friend told him she doesn't eat wheat and another told him she doesn't eat meat. Dave made special dishes for them without skipping a beat. On average the meals are 3 to 3.5 hours. I recommend a Friday or Saturday night versus a school night. We went on Tuesday at 7:00 and were out of there by 10:30. So it's not crazy late but could be if you catch an early train to work. The meals are BYOB. We brought several bottles of wine and an opener. (Dave might have one but we didn't assume he would because he doesn't sell wines.) I can't think of a more fun evening than being in this casual setting with friends, enjoying the amazing food and learning from culinary professor Dave!

    Menu
    Kenneth A.

    We had a delicious meal. Our 2020 Jenn Air gas oven/stove is broken again after a visit from Nicor We heard of Dave's advance order only. Very, delicious considering we had to use microwave but Dave recommended oven heating. We love Dave. Not happy at all with high grade Jenn Air gas ovens , grrr

    a half eaten sandwich

    Dave is a cool dude. I came in for the first time today for lunch and he was taking orders, slinging sandwiches and keeping the trains on schedule all by himself, and he did it with joy. It made you happy just to be there. Now, the sandwich: I asked which one to try, and when I rattled off my contenders Dave immediately said: Portobello. He was so right. The bread is fresh and toasted perfectly. The pesto is fresh and flavorful. The portobellos were (fresh, had to say it) and marinated and seasoned to perfection. The melted mozzarella on top was *chef's kiss.* IT IS ALL FRESH. This place rules and I will be back. Keep on keepin' it real, Dave.

    a sign in the window
    Amy O.

    The sign in the window says "our sandwiches don't suck". Mind blown on the chicken sandwich with caramelized onions and apple chutney!! No, dear Dave, they certainly do not suck!!! I am secretly happy that you are a bit of a drive from my house or your chicken sandwich might become an obsession.

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    3 years ago

    Had the food catered for a party and everything was outstanding. Special shout-out for the cheese puffs, rumaki and brisket.

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    4 years ago

    Amazing food and customer service! I always enjoy my visits to this shop, and the redhead behind the counter is super cute.

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    Ask the Community - Dave's Specialty Foods

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    We held our holiday party at this very fun venue for our office and really enjoyed our instructor…read moreAlex and the skills he taught us. He was very entertaining and the cooking contest gave us all a lot of laughs. We loved the buffet dinner that followed that was delicious and healthy. I look forward to going back for some cooking lessons and perhaps other parties. We also appreciated the BYOB option where they supplied all the glassware and ice but we could purchase our own alcoholic beverages. Alex was very accommodating with our schedule since some guests arrived late and did not rush us out even though the party was scheduled to end at 9. They allowed us to take home our leftovers which was also kind and generous. It is definitely not a budget option for a party but less expensive than other cooking school options we explored.

    What an enjoyable experience! I'm thrilled about the class's social atmosphere, with the instructor…read moresharing lots of amusing jokes and attendees engaging in lively conversation throughout the evening. The class setup was excellent, with ample room and neatly arranged cooking utensils for easy food preparation. I appreciated that the instructor handled some of the more laborious tasks before we started cooking. He prepared ingredients in front of us, sharing interesting facts about the cuisine and demonstrating excellent knife skills to ensure freshness and engagement. The 90 minutes flew by as we learned various techniques and explored different ingredients. The instructor guided us through each step, from managing the cooking flame to perfecting our knife skills, ensuring a well-prepared and delicious final dish. As someone who has no experience in the kitchen and was very scared of cooking, the instructor Alex made sure everyone was at ease and would walk around to help as needed. I'm eager to attend more classes here in the future and bring along some friends to share in the experience.

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    Cooking With the Best Chefs

    Cooking With the Best Chefs

    1.0(3 reviews)
    2.2 mi

    I prepaid $40.00 for a cooking class with BestChef run by Bill Lavery. Four times classes have been…read morescheduled and cancelled at the last minute. Emails and phone calls asking for a refund or another class have been ignored. My experience with BestChef cooking school / Bill Lavery has been a disappointing disaster. The written policy of BestChef is "no refunds" under any circumstances. I thought that referred to someone not showing up for a class. It isn't fair for Bill Lavery to ask me to book out an evening for a cooking class and have him cancel on short notice time after time after time and not refund my money when it seems he can't deliver on what he sold. I rated BestChef cooking school as one star but wanted to rate it zero stars.

    SCAM ALERT!!! I feel a bit silly for not doing any research…read moreand blindly sending a check to purchase a membership. Please learn from my mistake! The website is www.bestchefs.com The founder's name is Bill Lavery and his email is: chef@bestchefs.com. The backstory: I bought two memberships and pre-paid for four classes (two classes per membership) in February of this year totaling $130. Since I took interest in February, classes have been either unconfirmed or cancelled. Not a single class has actually occurred. The site claims to partner with well known restaurants for class locations (currently Cafe Bolero in Chicago and Napolitano's Wine Bar in the West Suburbs) and boasts that a membership also includes discounts to Chicago area merchants. These are are also false claims. There are claims reported against Best Chefs with the BBB and it also seems like they have used addresses in Forest Park and Schaumburg. Chicago seems to be the most recent " office location" and I just filed an additional BBB claim for this location. Don't be fooled.

    Dave's Specialty Foods - sandwiches - Updated June 2026

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