My boyfriend and I just went to Nature's Table last night for a cooking class "How to Eat Vegan on $4 a Day" with Chef Penni. Apparently there was a google deal for $19 a person and we missed it, so we paid $39 each to attend the class, but it was fun! There are numerous stations set up in the kitchen, so for this particular class, we had recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. Everyone picked a station and got to cookin'! The upside of this class was is that we definitely learned some new things and who doesn't want to only spend $4 a day on food? After everyone had finished their dishes, we all had a vegan dinner together! The food was delicious! Vegan does not mean boring in case you were wondering. :) The only downside in my opinion, is that you only get to make one meal. So, really you get to experiment with one dish, rather than multiple ones...and while the kitchen is a pretty good size, there's some bumping into each other, trying to use the stove, rinse dishes, etc. And I found it a little frustrating to not have all the utensils, equipment, bowls, etc that I needed, so I kept having to stop and ask for things. Otherwise, this was a fun experience and Penni is really fun to work with! read more

Nature's Table Cooking School- I see school in the name and for me that means you will learn. Did I learn something- why yes I did. I learned you should shop at Whole Foods and if you can't remember to buy organic. Although the name includes cooking. Did I learn how to cook- not a bit. Like some of the reviews a friend and I bought the Living Social to attend a "class". We decided on the dessert class, well that was the only one we could get into before it expired. Literally the day it expired was the only class we could get in. All the choices of desserts to make sounded yummy, so we didn't really care where we sat but picked lemon bars. I know these are really hard for me to make- but this is a class and we will learn BONUS! So we sat through the Whole Foods spill and don't forgot you can buy these cooking books here at the store. Then the instructor went through each recipe, which was fair. I didn't mind that. However she did say, "When I take these dishes home at night, they seem to taste better after they have sat for awhile" What? I paid for the class and make it, then you get to take the leftovers home? I took a class at another school and we boxed up any leftovers and got to take them home. Seems a little weird, but after the lecture I knew this wasn't your typical cooking class. Finally time to bake and this is what she says. "I have everything label for you to use and everything you need out, so if you need me I will be back there' As I mentioned before, I have trouble making lemon bars so I went asked for some help. The recipe was confusing and she didn't straighten it out for me. ........ Lemon bars were a flop :( Now time to try everyone's do it yourself creation and for the most part they were pretty tasty. I just felt like we were rushed out- so with that being said, lots of leftovers for the staff I suppose? I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the point. If you are looking for a class, keep looking. Should you be looking for a place to make something for someone else and not have to clean up....well you found your spot. read more

Chef Penni and Nature's Table are amazing! My son, who is 11, took a cooking class this week with Chef Penni and loved it. He prepared, cooked, and ate low glycemic foods such as Nut Crusted Chicken bites, Mac & Cheese (I never thought I would see this low glycemic!), and fresh squeezed orange juice. It is wonderful to have recipes that are healthy for him AND that he likes. Check it out. You won't be disappointed. Debbie Stevenson read more

I agree with the review written by Shelby M in 2/2013, which was filtered for some reason. Her review is nearly word-for-word what my thoughts were. My husband and I attended the Mexican cooking "class", if you can call it that. Maybe other classes are more class-like and teach you more, but this wasn't like that at all. We thankfully purchased vouchers through Living Social so we didn't pay the exhorbitant price that the other reviewer unfortunately shelled out for a lack-luster experience, but still - my money could have been better spent elsewhere. The class began with a 30 minute "discussion/rant" about GMO's and non-organic items. I feel like this time would have been much better spent doing something else. We then reviewed the recipes that each group was going to work on (basically four people are at each table and two people per table pair up and work on a recipe together). There was a quick ingredient review and then we basically were told, with very little instruction, to go make our recipes. As something listed as a "class" by a cooking "school", I was hoping for something much more informative. I *thought* part of the class description said that some basic cutlery skills would be included, but all that was covered was a simple trick for how to use a chef's knife to quickly destem cilantro. There was no additional information on how to use various cooking appliances, how to use the cutlery properly, or how to properly select ingredients. And, speaking of ingredients, most of the fresh produce placed on our tables was sub-par in quality and over-ripe. Additionally, the only knives to work with were chef's knives and santoku knives. They could have used a few paring knives for jobs that required them. The recipes we learned to make were good, but most were heavy on the lettuce. I highly disagree with the staff in that there was too much rice used in the burrito bowl dish - most the burrito bowl ended up being lettuce and needed the extra rice that wasn't prepared. Overall, the food prepared wasn't anything extraordinary. If you haven't been exposed to more "exotic" ingredients, then I guess this class could be interesting for you, but if you have basic cooking skills and have walked through the organic/natural foods/ethnic aisles at the grocery store, then this "school" won't really teach you anything new. The time spent ranting about how bad America's food industry is (while to good extent, true, but most people already know that and don't need further lecturing about that) would be much better spent actually teaching something. The food tasted good enough in the end, but it wasn't anything spectacular, and nothing I couldn't have made on my own with the knowledge I already had. Maybe we paid the big money to have someone else clean up after us while we made food for other people that we would then sample? read more

I went with my sister to a Mexican themed class and we had a great time. The class was just the right size for the space. The staff was very friendly, I would definitely do it again! It really broadened my horizons to cooking with exotic ingredients like plantains, spirulina, mango, coconut sugar, etc. This would be a great girls night out for friends or family. It would also be a good date night, there were a fair amount of couples when we went. read more

I attended a class last week. We made Zucchini-Carrot Muffins, Pizza Crust w/sauteed onions, carrots and mushrooms with a little bit of cheese and Coco-Whip "Cream" made from coconut milk, agave nectar and extracts. Everything was very good and presented very well. Penni was very thorough in explaining all the steps. We really had a good time.This was a gluten free. read more