Chef Joni is a pro!! What a wonderful evening…read more From fresh herbs for our ragu from her garden, music reminiscent of Italy and pasta made from scratch - it was a perfect night! And also our latest night out since New Year's #2020. We started off munching on appetizers including rosemary almonds and some delicious cheese and crackers while we made our dishes. The last time I made pasta from scratch was in my seventh grade cooking class during which I was always worried about being late to the next class period since the teacher never left us time to clean up. And I had to bribe my Spanish teacher to not mark me late by giving him my finished product. Needless to say I did not remember anything and this time was a much more pleasant experience. The pasta machine is super cool and I won't share the secret to the best alfredo sauce...you'll just have to take the class and learn it yourself! Then while we let the pasta sit we worked on the ragu. Veggies galore and Joni is great at ensuring everything can be vegetarian and working with your dietary preferences. Joni shared many different techniques and also the science behind the making of the food. For example, reasons that cooking a veggie a certain way provides more flavor. For dessert, tiramisu. Honestly, we were stuffed but always leave room for dessert! Anything you don't eat you can take home! Joni is super organized and was very accommodating of my wild schedule. Her kitchen set up is outstandingly beautiful with high end appliances and also ensuring COVID-safe measures. Plus the candle-lit dinner and recipes to take home are just a few of the wonderful detailed touches. Plus LEFTOVERS FOR DAYS. Like leftovers for a week. Of it all! A great date night in Italy!

I found Chef Joni Sare on Cozymeal and booked her for my team offsite as my 3 other team members…read morefound her Master Italian Classics Cooking Class to be a fun learning experience. Boy were we right. If you don't read my full review, all I can say is that Chef Joni was an EXCELLENT instructor and my team members and I had such a good time. We were smiling ear-to-ear the entire time we were there. Highly recommended from this Yelp reviewer. Detailed review below: Communication (5/5): We used the Cozymeal platform for everything and found their interface amazing. Chef Joni was very pro-active and communicated with me several times before the event date on January 17, 2020. What stood out about this communication was that she really wanted to know us. She asked good questions like "Why did you choose this class?", "What do you hope to learn from it?", "What are your goals?" etc. Really appreciate this since she can cater the class to exactly your needs. She was also very accommodating when I told her that one of our team members was a vegetarian so she made sure she had a vegetarian option on hand during our class. Finally, before the event, she gave us extremely detailed directions to the location of the event (including a picture) and what to expect. Really outstanding communication here. Location (5/5): Her location is in her house located in Sunnyvale near major highways. Lots of street parking once you arrive so no issues on parking. The inside is well decorated and everything seems to be remodeled including her kitchen which was very modern. See pics to get an idea. Food (5/5): The Master Italian Classics Cooking Class contains the following menu: 1.) Antipasti - Cheese, crackers, almonds, pepper jelly to snack on throughout the whole meal while you are there 2.) Handmade Fettuccine Alfredo 3.) Ragu (Mushrooms, many vegetables) - Our protein was lamb for the meat-eaters and tofu for our vegetarian team member. 4.) Tiramisu - for dessert. I don't want to spoil too much of the class but I'll share some of the highlights for me at least. Preparing the Fettuccine Dough from scratch including folding it, kneading it, was a really fun experience. Also running through the dough through the pasta machine to stretch it and finally cut it into actually the noodles was such a cathartic experience. I'm really happy I got to experience that. The Ragu was so delicious and so healthy at the same time as we barely used any vegetable oil and we put in so many vegetables. Finally, the tiramisu making was actually pretty easy but delicious at the same time. Now that I have been through how to make Tiramisu, I am confident I can make it for a party without issue. Also, if you can't finish all the food you make, Chef Joni gives you take-out boxes to bring home so you can enjoy the food again! Our group also had leftover uncooked fettuccine and we got to take that home. Chef Joni (5/5): Last but not least Chef Joni was an excellent instructor. She was so bubbly and easy to talk to and really put the group at ease very quickly. She was masterful on dividing up certain tasks in the kitchen so we can all participate in the cooking journey and made sure we were doing the steps properly. We asked her so many questions during our time in the class and she happily answered every single one of them without being annoyed. It was nice to finish the class with all of us including Chef Joni eating at the table. Chef Joni's passion for cooking really shines through her class and we had a great time! Our team can't wait to come back. Thank you Chef Joni for a great class.

I stumbled into the shop this weekend by accident. It was a very pleasant surprise! The selection…read moreis fantastic. It is well curated and there are so many cool cookbooks I've never seen at other stores. They even have books that aren't cookbooks, like children's books about food. I picked up two! I only had about 30 minute to spend but I could've spent at least an hour perusing. They have a small sale section. They also have staff recs and explanations about the books highlighted. The person working was friendly and kind. I'll definitely be back!

This place is the sacred ground for food and book lovers!…read more The staff is super helpful and friendly. I ended up purchasing a few handmade cards by the front register cause they were fun, funky and within my budget. The front count bottle necks a little bit by the front door but overall such a fun and positive experience.

We just learned that there is a Hot Stove Society weekly live radio show/podcast hosted by Seattle…read moreCelebrity Chef and Restauranter extraordinaire Tom Douglas. The show is broadcasted on KIRO radio and streamed on YouTube. You can also listen on a podcast. It is filmed in the industrial kitchen at the Hot Stove Society Cooking School in downtown Seattle. The best part for us is that we learned you can buy tickets to attend a taping of the show and it includes a freshly made breakfast. We immediately signed up and attended the one this past Tuesday. It was so much fun as we were treated to freshly made sticky buns, Shakshuka and Greek yogurt with granola. All of the food was delicious. The show being recorded was also fascinating to watch with lots of behind the scene activity capturing our attention. The guests on the show were informative and entertaining and some door prizes were given away to some audience members. After the taping, we got to take photos and talk with Tom, his staff and the guests. We really enjoyed ourselves and were well taken care of (and well fed!) by the staff. I recommend attending one of these shows for a great behind the scenes look and informative discussions about food and cooking from some local experts.

My wife and I had a great time here, so this review rating is a bit unbalanced. Being spectators to…read morea live podcast production was really fun and educational. Tom Douglas and his daughter were great hosts and their guests were engaging as well. We enjoyed the food that was served as well. What bothered me to the point of dropping 2 stars was being offered a mimosa when we were seated, without being told it was not included in the price of our experience. I was not prepared for the steep charge for the drink when we were getting ready to leave at the end. Had I known in advance, I certainly would have politely declined the offer. It just really left a bad taste in my mouth which took away from what was otherwise a great experience.

Culinary Essentials is the perfect name for this shop because they carry everything you need and…read moremore for your cooking needs at every level! Tons of cute items and many practical items at reasonable prices. I could spend all day in the store but due to COVID, they're requesting you limit your browsing to 30 minutes or less. Luckily they're extremely friendly and I was able to get all my questions answered from the variety of coffee related products to comparing the soda stream options. Especially with this year and the holiday season approaching, I highly recommend checking out Culinary Essentials for any dining related gifts or kitchen upgrades as the personal attention is so valuable and to support local businesses!

We stopped by this store to brouse the aisles with no real intention to buy anything. The aisles…read morewere crowded with high quality cookware of every description. A delight for anyone who enjoys cooking. We spotted several items that would be great gifts... After talking with the very nice owners, I decided to buy my son (who lives in Ballard) some Christmas presents. We presented them with the problem that we would be returning to southern California, where my son will join us for Christmas. It didn't make sense to fly stuff down that he would then have to fly home. They suggested that I could buy the presents, I could give my son a card and the gift receipt, and he could collect the present when he came home. Genius! The owners put my gifts into a gift bag, topped it with crumpled purple tissue paper, and put it into the back to await my son's return.

I hosted a cooking class/party at Cucina Casalinga for my birthday and it was absolutely perfect…read more Michela's skills and talents both in cooking, and perhaps more important, in making people feel welcomed and included were obvious. As she coached us through making pasta and sauce she laughed and joked with the guests, ensuring that everyone was included and enjoying themselves. She helped me plan the menu, worked with me to arrange for flowers, and wine. She and her staff cleaned up the whole thing, leaving us nothing to do but have more prosecco and enjoy ourselves. Overall the experience of working with Cucina Casalinga and Michela could not have been better in any way. I am a fan!

The best ever. They were amazing and a ton of fun for our group!!! Highly recommend.read more

Pros: the food is delicious, fresh, delicate, authentic, and yummy. Owner, Kanako, is friendly,…read morehelpful, and very talented with her craft. Cons: it's only available on weekends, I wish it could be available everyday.

Oh my goodness! I cannot believe I haven't given a review for Kozmo Kitchen yet!! I've been…read moreordering food from Kanako every couple months for about 3 years. Whenever I need my authentic Japanese food fix, I always order from Kozmo Kitchen. If you love Japanese food as much as I do, you have to try Kanako's cooking at Kozmo Kitchen! My Japanese grandmother and her friends help raised me and I have been consuming this cuisine all my life. I can tell the fake/fusion stuff from the real deal. And Kozmo is the real deal! I've probably ordered about a dozen times and every time leaves my heart in pure bliss! Pictured is her Mother's day special. I love the way she plates because there are so many different tastes in one order and her plates are so pretty, including pickled this, and fried that, and creamy sesame something else. You get so may different flavor profiles and all are delicious! Her Onigiri (rice ball) sampler pack....whoa! I've never had so many different kinds of onigiri! They are awesome! Highly recommend. i can't wait to try her ramen kit, when that gets back on the menu! Menu is constantly rotating so you always have new options to try. Plus Kanako is just so sweet and nice! And her pickup times vary in location and time schedules so it makes it easy for me to get there. Kanako is truly a treasure sharing this amazing Japanese food with the world! Thank so much for bringing my heart and belly home Kanako-chan! Can't wait to see what you cook up next! I want to eat it all! :)

For a fun, informative cooking adventure, take a class with Nora. I cannot recommend it enough!…read more We customized our meal for a family birthday and it was delicious. If you want the insider tips to take your meals to the next level, take a class. This is a great way to gather friends and family!