We had a blast and ate like kings during our Tutore Pasta Class!!…read more Bravissimo! Thank you Mollie, James, and Dean for hosting such a great experience! The pacing and instruction were on point. Never felt rushed, lost, or hungry ... Loved being able to ask questions about the class and Italian cooking in general without interrupting the rest of the students or instruction! And lets not forget about the result. OMFG. We made Tortellini! and they didnt look like blobs of pasta! Not only were the recipes absolutely delicious they were remarkably approachable -- enough that they will transfer back to the home chef without any problem. Don't wait, make that class reservation today!

This had to be one of the best nights I've had. You can't go to Chicago and not try this class. The…read moreinstructors are so kind and funny. I will be back!

We bought a gift certificate for an open class before Covid and they canceled all open classes once…read morethey reopened. We were not able to return for a refund.

Excellent evening! We came here on a date (and the where and what were surprises to me). Chef Dom…read morewas warm and welcoming, in addition to being professional and fun. We started out with some hummus and crostini. We were glad to have snacks since it was about an hour and a half until we sat down to eat. By the way, you can bring your own wine! They have nice glasses and a wine opener to us. The also sell some; the Cab we had was only $20 and was quite good. There were only 5 of us, plus chef. It was great since we all got to do more and hear better than with a normal larger group. Our Southern menu consisted of collard greens with pancetta, skillet jalapeno-cheddar cornbread, mustard potatoes with onions, and the most amazing flank steak + tomato chutney. Seriously, I'm still mentally drooling over this chutney! I can't wait to make it again! For dessert, lemon curd mousse. Delicious It was really nice to have our actual meal at a dinner table that was thoughtfully decorated and put together (versus in the kitchen around the stainless steel). We really had an amazing night and loved learning some new skills, recipes, and flavors. Looking forward to going back for a different menu!

This place rocks. Ian rocks. He walked me through everything, pointed me in the right direction,…read moreand was knowledgeable. Love to see such an incredible family business and very happy this place exists. Give them all your business!!!!

Friendly people working here. They even baked some cookies for patrons visiting the store so that…read moreyou could snack while shopping (this was right before Christmas). I found the prices to be a little on the higher end, but it's also nice to support local businesses. Kudos to the older lady/mom of one of the owners who graciously wrapped the gifts I was getting for someone... and she did it complimentary.

We all know eating less meat is better for our health and for the environment. But going vegan or…read morevegetarian could be daunting for many. Sweet Sprigs changed my perception about vegetables, for food. Attended 3 classes (after discovering them on Eventbrite) and was blown away by the eye-opening techniques they taught, while producing a variety of vegan dishes with knockout flavo The classes are very reasonably priced and you come away well-nourished! They provide aprons, recipes, spice packs and pastes, and detailed instructions and post-class guidance to help you close the learning and doing gap.

Amazing food and great hosts. They are taking one of the most "challenging" cuisines in the world…read moreand simplifying it to make it at home with easy to access ingredients. The hosts are colorful, love the banter and relationship. Highly recommend.

I recently attended the "Hands-On Essential Building Blocks" class at The Chopping Block! The 9…read morehours of cooking certainly paid off with some delicious meals! Although I did think the chef in charge was very knowledgeable, and the meals did turn out fabulous, I was a little disappointed with the class structure for a few reasons. 1. For the price of this class, I assumed that we would all be individually learning to cook each component - that was not the case as we were put together into teams of four where we divided responsibilities. So not all building block skills were able to be practiced by all team members. I had chosen this class because I wanted to learn these building block skill hands-on. However, if you're looking to meet new friends this may just be the spot for you! 2. Like I mentioned, the meal we made was super delicious. But in my opinion, it's creativeness / the fact that it wasn't more simple skipped over some of the true basic skills needed in everyday kitchen use. For example, I wish we had learned more about pan use / heating up / etc. And because we had so many components to the meals, some of the lessons felt kind of rushed where we weren't necessarily able to dive deeper into those questions since there were so many people per amount of chef / helpers I do think that this is a great org, but perhaps I would have felt more bang for buck in a more specified topic / shorter class

I received a gift card for a cooking class for Christmas so decided to use it for a date night last…read moreweek. We chose a Cajun themed meal and it was a really good time. They were super organized. We were split into four groups and each group worked together to create a 4 course meal. Our meal consisted of bbq shrimp, Cajun crab dip, jambalaya, and bread pudding. The chef leading the class was really entertaining and had a lot of great pro tips. There were some other chefs assisting in clean up along the way and taking drink orders. My wife and I really enjoyed our experience and can't wait to come back.

What an AMAZING experience! I came with 3 friends for a girl's night and we all had an absolute…read moreBLAST. There were about 16 attendees total, which was a good sized group for the location. We started off with about a half hour of mingling, getting setup with drinks (BYOB) and the provided fresh baked bread with assorted cheeses, then all gathered around the large U-shaped island that would be our workspace. As others have mentioned, this isn't a you-cook-everything for your meal type of experience, rather, every step is demonstrated by the instructor then a few people in the class will take turns performing it while others move on to other steps. My class was the Bavette menu, which was (I'm not even going to attempt to write out the french titles for these) a bacon and mushroom puff pastry, sous-vide flank steak with duck fat roasted potatoes and Bearnaise sauce, and a chocolate lava cake for dessert. The food was fantastic. An absolutely amazing meal. But really the best part about this whole experience was the people and the group interaction. Throughout the night, we all got to know each other and had a bunch of fun working together. There was tons of laughter and it was an all around great time. It culminated in us sitting at a long table and having dinner together. It was also someone's birthday, so we all sang happy birthday. Overall, 10/10 experience! I will DEFINITELY be back. This was one of the best girl's nights we've had in a while, but it would also be great for a date or just a couple of friends. Hell, it would even be a great first date! Oh, and our instructor, Ryan, was incredible. He was hilarious and a great teacher.

Went here during the summer and it was blazing hot inside. Not sure if it's due to the 18-20 person…read moreclass, or all the oven and skillets going on. Warning - this isn't a "get to learn how to cook everything on the menu" class. You take turns doing stuff, and you can actually miss a lot of what's going on. I wish I knew that beforehand otherwise I would have picked another location. However, if you're able to go with a majority of the class being your friends or booking a private class, I think it would make it more fun. It's BYOB and the instructor is fantastic. He's really funny and helpful. The menus are all French food so hopefully you're into that type of cuisine. There's a "family" dinner at the end and sometimes there's enough food to bring back some so bring Tupperware!

I've had a few classes here over the years. Every class has been enjoyable and good learning…read moreexperience. Today I went to the Summer Pie class and it was so much fun. Chef Jerry always shares great knowledge and wonderful recipes. There's easy off street parking. By the end we always get to bring home all of our baking creations. Bonus! I've taken other baking and cooking classes at other places in the city and GMSS does it BEST. Always clean and enough materials or tools to share. The size of the class is good and not crowded. Also, the best part they email you the recipe which are very precise and detailed information. All the classes have produced DELICIOUS FOOD. Great for parties or events or something to do together with friends. I can't wait for the new calendar that comes out every month.

My mother-in-law and I took the French Macaron 101 class on Sunday and loved it! Jerry (the owner…read moreand teacher) was both knowledgeable and patient - he was very thorough with explanations and answered all of our questions. The class was structured well, and I feel like I could try making macarons again after this class! You get sent home with the how-to packet, as well as emailed a troubleshooting packet, and instructions on how to make the buttercream filling. It was the right mix of explanation and hands on experience. Overall both of us really enjoyed this class! At the end you get to fill some macarons for you to take home and enjoy later. My husband also loved them! Fun fact: if you go to 4 classes you get your fifth one free. Also if you have 5 people you can do a private class which sounds so fun! Can't wait to come back again.

I've been here at least three times, and the experience never disappoints. They start you off with…read morea lovely assortment of three different types of bread served with butter, which is a nice touch. For a three-course meal, the price is very reasonable. The rotating menu means you'll want to be open to trying something new each visit, but that's part of what makes it special. The students do an incredible job, from preparing the food to providing attentive service. Every dish is vibrant, flavorful, and beautifully presented. It's always a pleasure dining here, and I look forward to coming back. You get a nice view of the city if you sit closer to the window. Space is always clean.

Amazing! We went as a group and got to try almost everything. Disclaimer though my friend does work…read moreor study at Kendall so we went to kind of support him. The food really did blow me away because everything tasted like high-end fine dining quality but at a fraction of its price. The drinks were also quite good and they also have wine pairings too. For the main dishes I really like their desserts; they were just not too sweet and just right. For the appetizers I think I like some more than the others. For example the steak at the time was very good; the chicken was a little bland and for the appetizer we all tried different ones too. Overall great experience. Whether your friend, our students at Kendall, were there or not, I think this is a great place to get a very good value for a meal

Had never been to this small size farm and Café/Farm market in Lake Forest. Went for breakfast and…read moretook a nice walk around the property. You can sign up to hang out with the goats, and there are also chickens and ducks. The food and my lavender latte were yummy. I will definitely be back over the summer just to walk in the beauty of nature.

Went to Elawa Farm for a community dinner; truly farm to table. Chef Lee prepared a delicious…read morechili, green pepper/onion/rice, jalapeno corn bread and a plum cobbler. This was the first chili I had made without tomatoes and beans. Local meats were used. The green peppers were picked this morning. Elawa Farm has the best community dinners. They also do cooking demonstrations. Highly recommend looking into this amazing place.

I love making things with my hands; I love the sense of accomplishment it gives me. My grandmother…read moretook up upholstery in her 70's and made some beautiful pieces, one of which I inherited. The fabric on the piece isn't really my style and I decided that if it was going to be re-done, I wanted to be the one to do it. There aren't many places to learn upholstery. I am lucky to live a few blocks from the shop; my classmates weren't so lucky, they all lived at least 20 miles away. I wasn't sure what to expect with the beginner's class, so it's worth noting that in the beginner class you most likely won't work on an actual piece of furniture.* What you will do is complete four projects that give you the skills to move on to actual furniture. The class is very hands on, you will thread a machine and start sewing in your first class. There are no prerequisites for this class; half of us hadn't used a sewing machine before. Owning a garment machine, there were a few things that took getting used on upholstery machines. There are two instructors; Jeff, the owner, taught my class and one of his staff taught the other. I can't speak to the other teacher's style, but Jeff is very laid back and a firm believer of learning by doing. Jeff is very generous with his time, knowledge, tools and materials; many students don't finish all of the projects in the allotted class time, but you're welcome to come back and finish after your session is complete (provided there's room). You're always your harshest critic, but I was so flattered when the manfriend thought my final project was something I had bought. I really loved this class and can't wait to start the intermediate class. The intermediate is like an independent study, you bring the piece you want to work on. If you've meandered by and seen the work in the window on Lincoln, those are student pieces. * One project is a bar stool cover. If you've got a piece to work on, you can use it. TIP: There's a lot of close work in the class and it's easy to get into a groove. Wear comfortable clothes you wouldn't mind getting dirty and bring your glasses, water and a snack.

I just took the "Beginners' Upholstery Class" with Jeff Kraut and LOVED it!…read more The class covers upholstery techniques that can be applied to automotive upholstery, furniture upholstery, and bag making. It is taught on industrial sewing machines (no previous sewing experience necessary). I already knew basic sewing and I definitely picked up lots of new tricks/techniques. Some of the topics we covered: * setting up the machines and basic sewing. * quilted stitching on vinyl (like on the back of a car seat or stuffed chair) * adding piping trim * zipper installation and sewing a small case * stapling construction and making a panel (like recovering a chair seat or a car side panel) * beginning pattern making and making a seat cushion Projects might vary a little from class to class. I've posted photos of my work. The class was Mon & Wed, 7-9pm for 5 weeks. It's located just down the street from Trader Joe's on Lincoln. Easy parking & near the El. You can get more info from Jeff at canvasboss@yahoo.com. I'm looking forward to the advanced class!