We had the most memorable evening at Chef Stephanie Chinchilla's chef's table. The experience was…read moreintimate, warm, and beautifully executed from start to finish...every dish told a story and every detail felt intentional. We began with the Aji tuna on crispy rice, topped with a delicate sliver of jalapeño and crispy shallots, a perfect balance of freshness, spice, and crunch. The second course was Stefanie's famous focaccia...one sweet and one savory. The savory version featured parmesan, her homemade bread and butter, pickles from her garden, and a touch of mustard seed. The bread, made simply with flour, water, and salt, takes two to three days to create. The sweet focaccia was equally impressive, topped with brie, honey, and a guava jam made from her own garden-grown guavas... truly special. Next came the sweet potato course, made from her garden's harvest and paired with roasted pine nuts and coconut-shaved gnocchi in brown butter. The flavors were rich yet comforting, and the presentation was artistic and thoughtful. The main course... short ribs with a stunning potato gratin, was a showstopper. The short ribs were tender and deeply flavorful, garnished with delicate edible flowers from her garden, while the gratin was layered beautifully and topped with a fragrant chimichurri. Dessert was one of the best I've ever had: a sticky toffee date cake with a caramel apple sauce made from apples in her garden, served with raw cream vanilla bean ice cream. The balance of warmth, sweetness, and texture was perfection. The wine pairings, thoughtfully curated by Oscar from Sequoia Grove Winery, elevated the entire experience, from the velvety Merlot to the bold Cabernet, every sip complemented the food flawlessly. What makes Chef Stefanie so special is her warmth and authenticity. She shares her passion for food and where it comes from in a way that's engaging and educational, never pretentious. She spends time presenting each dish beautifully, with an artist's eye and a chef's heart. Her artistry, attention to detail, and genuine love for her craft come through in every course. I'll absolutely be attending her future chef's table events, a beautiful evening of intentional cooking, soulful flavors, and gracious hospitality.

I can't speak highly enough of the incredible experiences we've had with Stephanie Chinchilla. She…read morecatered our daughter's graduation party, she catered an intimate COVID birthday dinner, and we've taken several cooking classes from her over the years. For Christmas one year, my husband gave me the gift of her recipes. Every experience is top-drawer, from the incredible food, the personal touches, the elegant yet casual atmosphere she creates around every event. Her entire staff has been wonderful. After every event, people flock to us and ask for her number. She's Orange County's number one best kept culinary secret.

My wife enjoying the variety of cooking classes here. With the updated new location on the second…read morefloor in south coast plaza, the cooking area is brighter and allows more people. The cooking utensils and aprons are always plentiful in selection.

Dear Sur La Table Management, I am writing to share my…read moredisappointment regarding a cooking class I attended on 1-24-26 at 4:00 pm at the South Coast Plaza location in CA. I have attended several classes at your establishment and have always had a welcoming, positive experience. Unfortunately, tonight's experience was the opposite of what I have come to expect. Our chef appeared ill-prepared for the class, which led to a disorganized environment. Furthermore, the chef was unnecessarily aggressive and yelled at participants when they were ahead of his instructions or, in my case, when I misunderstood a direction. This created a stressful, uncomfortable atmosphere rather than a fun, educational experience, which is not what we paid for. Additionally, due to the poor flow of the class, our food was cold by the time it was served to eat. I also observed that the support staff working with him appeared miserable, likely due to the stressful environment created by the chef. I believe this is important feedback for your team to address to maintain your usual high standards of service. I hope you will take steps to better prepare your instructors regarding both their preparation and their customer service skills. Given the nature of the experience, I would appreciate a response regarding how you plan to handle this situation. Sincerely, Theresa Smith

Dear Yelp Community,…read more I stopped in today (been here before) and was coffee open house (just my luck)! A friendly staff member made me a flat white on a Jura machine (from Switzerland); the kind with images of the different coffee drinks on the screen to select from. As an aside, good clearance section in the back of the store. Enjoy, and well wishes. Sincerely, Anna Gabriele +1 760.237.0205

We purchased the Sur La Table Rectangular Stoneware Casserole with Lid, 4 qt. in July 2024 from the…read moreNewport Beach, CA store. After cooking a casserole in the oven, the bottom of the pan cracked in a large circle visible on the inside and outside of the pan. I took the pan to the Newport Beach store where I was informed by the collective of 3 Sur la Table employees at the register that Sur La Table only has a 30 day return policy. I'm not returning this item because I'm unsatisfied with it, (it's a great pan). This falls into the Sur la Table Lifetime Warranty classification whereas this product is defective and should last YEARS...not 18 months. I have cheap Pyrex dishes that are 20 years old and have never cracked. Of all products sold at Sur La Table, I would think they would stand behind their warranty for a white labeled product, especially if defective. Since their store clerks cannot distinguish between the 30-day return policy and a lifetime warranty issue, I raised this issue one last time with their customer service department to see if they would make the effort to accommodate a loyal customer. Needless to say...the response was the same from their online customer service team. I'm DONE with Sur la table! If I could leave 0 stars, I would. Worst experience EVER and will now purchase kitchen and household items from Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn only!

Tried to enroll in a class. No classes available. Tried to contact someone for details. No…read moreresponse. Maybe they're out of business.

My daughter had her birthday party at this location for the second time. She absolutely loved it…read moreand her friends did too!

We had an amazing class with Sara for her thai food night! Everything was prepped as we did the…read moreHipCooks mini 2 hour class but it was great! We learned the seasonings and flavors and got to enjoy our food after. Highly recommnd for date night or just a solo adventure

What a great, fun experience. My grandson has bern really interested in cooking so I decided to try…read morethe 2 hour cavatelli class here at Hipcooks. Sarah was entertaining, warm, welcoming, encouraging and a great instructor. Made the class so much fun and my grandson couldn't not stop talking about how much he learned in a 2 hour class. The school itself is small but neat, clean and vibrant. Everyone participated in making the meal and sitting down together to enjoy it. I generally do not enjoy classes that are structured like this, but in this case, everyone was able to participate in all aspects and all portions of each dish if they wanted. My previous experience has been that each team makes one part of the meal and it gets assembled at the end prior to eating. I always felt I was not getting a full experience that way. This was structured differently and it absolutely made the experience so much more enjoyable. I would not hesitate to recommend them or to take another class there. Thank you again Sarah for making this such a great experience.

I was nervous about signing up for the home cook course, felt vulnerable in a new environment in…read morewhich I had no skills or training in. I can't recommend this beginner course enough. Even after the 1st day my meals at home were suddenly consistent and significantly better. 12 weeks later and I am confidently relaxed in my kitchen. I enjoy the ease that I feel now; from preparing dinner, menu planning, temp control, and little tips you just can't learn on google. Learning in person from Chef Jason and Chef Ben with a group of funny, eager, and caring adults has really shaped how I can give back to my family. This was the common denominator for all the students in our course. We wanted to learn a new skill to share with the ones we care about most, our families. "I haven't made a sh**** meal since day one of this course" - quote from my fiancé Take the leap and invest in yourself and your family plus laughing about it along the way is always a plus.

I am a home cook that wanted to deeper dive into cooking and to learn some new skills. I had a…read moregreat experience in the beginner cooking class at Culinary lab. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The class covered all the bases of what you could learn in a beginners cooking class. From potion, to fish, to veggies, to knifes skills it is a good balance. The pace was not too fast but not too slow. We would learn about a subject, watch the chef cook it and then do it ourselves. I really liked my chef instructor explained things thoroughly but not overly controlling. One of the best parts is you got to take your a recipe sheet home with everything you learned that day and the food that you made, my husband and my kids always loved that. Over all it was a great experience and I will be back for more classes!

Our chef, Anthony, was great. He showed us how to make an Italian menu, and we both learned some…read moregood tips. Unfortunately we stood for two hours during the class. By the time all was cooked and ready, we were given a plate and a paper towel w/ utensils. There was a small water cooler where you could serve yourself in 2 oz. paper cups. No seats for eating! Who eats standing up--especially when you've spent all this time cooking a lovely meal!!?? Very disappointed about that. We had 15 minutes to eat, standing up, and they were already cleaning up for the next class. We paid $208.00 for the two of us. Too bad they could not make it more classy. A chance to sit down, take our time to enjoy the meal, and even have a glass of wine would have been lovely. NEVER AGAIN.&

I booked a Private pasta making class for 2 , as a Father's Day gift to my husband. I paid, and…read morenever received a confirmation for the date requested, which was a couple weeks after. After a 5 day wait, I called to find out the status, and was told the chef was not answering, and that they'll get back to me in a few minutes. They never did. I reached up to them two more times that week with the same reply, and no follow up. On the last attempt I was suggested to change the class to something else, which, of course, I did not; and cancelled the whole thing.

If you're intimidated about making a sourdough starter or sourdough bread, then you need to take…read morethis class. Taleen simplifies the entire process so it feels totally doable. We actually made our own starter and mixed up a loaf to take home and bake the next day. She demonstrates each step clearly and then has everyone follow along, so you never feel lost. She also provides all the tools and ingredients, which makes it easy to just show up and learn. The class is relaxed, informative, and perfect for beginners. I highly recommend for anyone who's been wanting to try sourdough but might feel overwhelmed by "feeding" your starter; Taleen has a simple process for this to allow us time to get used to the art of making sourdough. I'm so glad I took this class, I left with the confidence and knowledge to take care of my starter and continue to make my own sourdough at home.

I attended a sourdough bread making workshop and was very impressed with Thaleen's knowledge,…read morepatience and friendly demeanor. She took time to explain each step of making sourdough from beginning to end and had no problem any and all questions, even when certain individuals interrupted her instruction, she was patient and gently went back to teaching. I had fun as well. I am looking forward to a workshop for advanced bakers.

We were lucky enough to take part in a Zoom Virtual Cooking Class with Alexis and it was fabulous!…read moreNot only was it SO much fun but a portion of the cost was donated to some very worthy causes. Alexis is a chef with impeccable taste and a heart of gold! We prepared a Goat Cheese Crostini as an appetizer, Vegetarian Crispy Rice Bowls for our main and a decadent Berry Compote for dessert. We were able to use our own pots and pans and Alexis kept it simple enough where we never felt over our heads. I'd recommend this to families looking for a bonding activity, companies looking for ways to connect their employees or friends who are looking to get boozy while cooking up a delicious meal! (that was us! ;) THANK YOU, ALEXIS!!!

We took an online cooking class with Alexis and had the best time ever! Not only did we have a lot…read moreof fun with the group of friends that joined us for the virtual class, but Alexis showed us an amazing recipe I never thought would have been possible to make on my own. The instructions were clear and easy and Alexis gave great feedback when problems came up. Now I make it every single week and it is my favorite dish! Amazing! Would definitely recommend!

The staff were quite cold and unhelpful throughout our visit and did not make any effort to create…read morea welcoming experience. What was most disappointing was how the situation was handled when another party arrived. Although the staff knew the space had been reserved for a later group, no one gave us any advance warning that our time was about to end. A simple 10-20 minute reminder would have allowed us to finish decorating our cake and clean up properly. Instead, we were suddenly rushed to wrap everything up, and our birthday cake was not even finished. A staff member came over and told us, "You have to leave RIGHT NOW, the party has arrived," and we were essentially forced out to make room for the next group. This was especially upsetting because the cake was for a birthday and the experience meant a lot to us. What should have been a fun celebration ended in unnecessary stress and disappointment. Better communication and a little more consideration would have made a huge difference. ---------------------------- Updating my review: although our experience in the store was disappointing, the owner responded very quickly, took our concerns seriously, and resolved the issue in less than a day. I really appreciate their professionalism and efficiency. Thank you for addressing the problem so promptly and for being willing to improve the customer experience moving forward.

Great place for a fun baking day!! Would definitely recommend :D. Everything was super organized…read moreand directions were easy to follow