I first met chefs Ian Knauer and Shelley Wiseman when they were the guest pizzaiolos at Liberty…read moreHall Pizza, serving up some unique and amazingly delicious pizzas. Shortly thereafter, my wife and I signed up for the Fundamentals cooking course at The Farm Cooking School - a six class series covering everything from knife skills to roasting, poaching and braising. What we experienced was far better than we expected. These are hands on classes, where we learned about the ingredients, how to utilize them and why they worked in each dish we prepared. At the end of each class, we all sit down and enjoy a delicious meal that by itself would likely cost as much as the class if we bought it at a local restaurant. What a bargain! Since that first series, I've taken over 30 other classes, and continue to take classes every week. I've made French sauces, Mexican moles, Italian pastas, Indian curries, pies, breads, and just about everything else you've seen on a plate. The variety and quality of classes and the food we've eaten has been amazing. Through these classes and the down-to-earth teaching styles of Ian and Shelley, I've learned that it's possible for amateurs like me to prepare meals that taste as good or better than those I get in restaurants. I walk away from classes thinking "Wow, that was so delicious. I can't wait to try this at home!"

I attended the Farm Cooking School for a pasta making night! Overall, it was a great experience! We…read morehad the chance to make 3-4 different pastas and worked as a group through each item. However, the class was unorganized. Despite arriving on time, the class had already started. People were tasked with items to start on and no one greeted us or told us where we could help. It made the beginning of the class feel weird and made us feel not welcomed. The pasta was delicious and the overall value was great! Arrive extra early or have the potential to walk in confused!

The school's restaurant is aptly called Windows, since the teaching kitchen is on full display for…read moreall tables. All meals are fixed price: I visited during buffet brunch, but à la carte lunch and dinner offerings are also available based on the semester schedule. The brunch fare was solid if traditional; OTOH menu choices look more ambitious with wide range. Table service, provided by students in training, was halting yet effective. Good value and great vibe, surely one of AP's best kept secrets. Support this local gem!!

In order to dine here at the Culinary Education Center, one must have a reservation. Their dinner…read morehours are 5:15-6:15 Mon -Thurs. I heard one doesn't need a reservation for lunch. I was greeted by the host, Lucas, who promptly seated me and introduced me to my server, Ken. Keep in mind that the staff is learning their trade, so be patient. A complementary duck wing w/confit was presented. Very good & nicely spiced. The mango butter complemented the fresh rolls. What a surprise, an excellent taste. Then the escargot......primo, in a garlicky butter. The Lyonnaise salad was similar like I had in France. Superb!!! The main entree was Entrecôte Grenadin w/haricots verts and pommes frites. Look it up if desired. It was excellent. As if I really needed dessert... Vanilla ice cream ( chilled dish ) fresh fruit a la flambé As mentioned, the waitstaff made some basic errors, but my experience here was fantastic. Kudos to the Institute. There is no sales tax added to the bill. No tipping is expected but you can leave a minimal cash donation if desired.

Excellent service and food quality Looking forward to…read morereturning Distance is an issue but will look forward to returning when in that area again for sure!

We had a lovely breakfast outside. Beautiful space. Clean. Modern. Flavorful meals. Great service…read more An expensive breakfast but a good option for a special day.

This was of the best brunches I've ever had in Jersey! I came here with my family because we saw…read morethat this place is run by a famous chef (Maricel) and that they even offer cooking classes. We were quite hungry so we ordered one of the tower sets and some other stuff like lumpia and eggs. I loved the tower- it featured a superb mix of meats, potatoes, eggs, and sweet pastries. I will definitely say either share it or come super hungry because I was stuffed to the brim by the end of the meal. Service is super fast and efficient too. The owner did rounds to talk to everyone as well which felt quite inviting. The vibe inside is also nice and cozy, and the tables are spaced pretty far apart so it doesn't feel crammed in there. Overall, highly recommend as one of the best Filipino spots and brunch spots in the central Jersey area.

Maricels Kitchen Is Bitchen!…read more What a imaginative way to serve several dishes at 1 time. Usually called a boodle or Ramadan, where the layout several dishes on leaves on the table, all dishes were served on a 3 tier tower. Cute for a celebration. The towers immediately brought to mind English tea service, with finger foods displayed on two- or three-tier stands. The customer service truly stood out, from the attentive waitstaff to the three chefs who came out to greet us--including Chef Maricel herself--the hospitality felt warm and genuine. The dining room is cozy and inviting, with a mix of sofas and chairs giving living-room vibe. They offer two preset towers, and we ordered the first: The Classic Filipino Brunch Tower, which included: Siomai, Crispy Shrimp, Ukoy (sweet potato and vegetable fritters), Pork Tocino, Beef Tapa, Bangus (milkfish), Garlic Fried Rice, Fried Eggs, Salted Eggs with Tomatoes and Atchara, Homemade Pandesal, Suman, and the Chef's selection of homemade pastries. It would be great if guests could choose items from a list or make substitutions. There were no substitutions allowed, so we had to pick the tower with the fewest items we wouldn't eat. I especially wanted the Torta Talong from Tower 2, but it wasn't available as a side dish. The siomai was the first item cooked--it arrived cold and had started to harden. Everything else was delicious. Since the towers are meant to be shared, providing tongs would be a thoughtful touch and more hygienic for communal dining. We also ordered a few side dishes. The Lumpia Shanghai were fresh and delicious, though a few were still pink inside. The Baked Siopao was dry and lacked sufficient meat and sauce. The Empanadas, however, were the clear favorite--fresh, flaky, generously filled with savory seasoned beef and vegetables, and baked to perfection. Every bite was a flavor explosion, and we were literally fork-fighting over them. The Sans Rival was the perfect ending to the meal--so good that we ordered an extra slice to take home. **BYO LIQOUR** I would love to take my Mom for a dinner.

My wife took me here on my birthday and what a find this was! They typically do cooking classes,…read morebut if you come for a meal, you're in for a treat. We sat at the chef's table and had a limited 4 course selection to choose from. It began with a wonderful tuna crudo that was light and almost summery with the strawberries and cucumbers that surprisingly complimented the incredibly flavorful tuna. The spinach gnudi was a small salad that also had a number of components I would have never dreamed to combine, but they all paired nicely with each other. The main course was a lamb that was perfectly cooked, and though I didn't care for the accompaniment of figs, the rest of the dish more than made up for it. To finish off, we ended with asian pear crisp. You don't often see Asian pears incorporated into cooking. However, Asian pears actually being one of my favorite fruits this was welcome surprise and fantastic way to end the evening. Or so it would be, had they not brought out an additional crem bruele for my birthday, which was also excellent. I very very much enjoyed my meal here and wouldn't hesitate in recommending it to anyone. Sitting at the chef's table is also a special treat as I thoroughly enjoyed watching that process that is traditionally kept behind closed doors. I will definitely be making a return trip whether it's for new menu offerings or to try one of their cooking classes.

I brought my husband here for his birthday celebration. The fixed menu had all sorts of different…read moreand interesting items. There were 4 courses, each one with 3-4 choices for diners to pick from. We sat at the chef's counter so we got to see how the staff worked and how the entrees were put together. Each course is a somewhat small portion but packed full of flavor, and altogether it's a decent amount of food. Overall an expensive but worthwhile experience, great for celebrating special occasions.

Had the pleasure of doing a coooking class at Little Fox Kitchen with my hubby and it was such a…read morefun experience. It's BYOB (huge win), the group was small so it felt super personal, and we actually got to know everyone. I learned some new cooking techniques and the food turned out amazing. Honestly a perfect date night dinner and a show lol! 10/10 recommend!

What a fun time!! Not only do you learn a lot and have a lot of fun, but you get to enjoy delicious…read morefood and time with loved ones while you cook! The chef was so helpful and knowledgeable and was able to make the most complex steps simple and approachable. Definitely want to come back for a lovely date night!

I spent Sunday afternoon attending a cooking class with a few of my friends and had an amazing…read moretime. The food was delicious, the owner super charming and the experience overall was fantastic! Highly recommend going with some friends or even a mother/daughter outing.

Our group selected a cooking class here which included dinner with pasta-making as the only…read morehands-on portion of the evening. We only mixed flour and water together to roll out pasta. For $125/person, I had expected better tasting food though. The small appetizers (spinach salad, prosciutto, Parmesan, olives) may have been put together from a grocery store. For the pasta that we rolled out, the staff only added a plain tomato sauce. The side of vegetables was overcooked and mushy. Tiramisu was all right. We can blame the taste and texture of the pasta on ourselves, because we made it, but I had expected the rest of the food prepared by professionals to be better. No drinks were included -- Healthy Italia is BYOB. There was a nice intro video from the owner telling us about her history and philosophy. She said that she doesn't measure ingredients, and only mixes by feel. How does one teach a cooking class like this? If someone is taking a cooking class, they are less experienced and need precise measurements and instructions. Our flour and water were measured for us, so I guess they do measure something. We were never told the measurements, so didn't have any recipe or any specific learnings to take home. I enjoyed the social time with my group, and especially the long table set out for our group in true Italian fashion. It made us feel like a big cohesive family. However, for $125/person, I felt like we could have had a true learning experience elsewhere or had a much better Italian dinner at a restaurant with drinks. In fact, on the subsequent evening, a few individuals from our group went to a restaurant and ordered similar items served at this cooking class, and the food was remarkably better. And yes, it was less than $125/person with drinks.

Recently, my Girl Scout troop participated in a baking class with Cynthia. The girls had a…read morewonderful time and learned so much about table manners, the basic principles of baking, and how to set a table properly. Plus, the cake they made was delicious. The event space was lovely too. Cynthia could not have been more accommodating. I highly recommend her to host your next event.

Daughter had her 8th birthday party with Chef Cynthia and it was fantastic. Not only was the party…read moreand the baking fun it was educational. Chef Cynthia and her assistant were great with kids, well mannered and managed the 10 youngsters easily. All the kids and parents loves the unique party idea and are still talking about it! Well worth every penny.

My daughter has been attending here since September 2021 and she enjoys her daily program…read moreimmensely. Her teachers both last year and this year are amazing. My husband and I have enjoyed seeing her learn and grow, listening to her talk about vocational school, etc. We attended last years open house, this years in person back to school night and today's competition. We look forward to our child finishing her program here in June. We also look forward to hearing more wonderful stories from her after school for the remainder of this school year.

Pop Quiz: Where can I get a three course lunch prepared by aspiring Michelin star chefs for under…read more$10? Answer: Ocean County Vocational - Technical School in Brick. Perhaps this is common knowledge in the neighboring senior communities among the early bird special crowd, but it's a new discovery for me after having lived in Brick over twelve years. There's a culinary school at OCVTS in their Brick location. During the school year, they offer lunch from 11:30 to 2:30 I believe from Wednesday to Friday. So I stopped by yesterday to check it out. Apparently each day they have a theme. Yesterday it was Southern /Cajon. For my appetizer, I ordered the a chicken and andouille sausage gumbo, which was redolent with the flavor of the dark tan roux and was well seasoned, and to my surprise, mildly (for me) spiced even before I added the Tabasco sauce. It was a well made gumbo. I initially ordered the fried chicken entre, which came with collard greens and mac and cheese. I love collard greens and these were well prepared, as was the mac and cheese (To be honest, mac and cheese is a dish that you have to go out of your way to screw up.). However, the fried chicken was not as deftly prepared. Granted, it was three huge pieces of chicken, the size of my head (I can see why this place is popular with the senior crowd). First, it was was smothered in gravy. Now, that's not really a critism in itself, but I don't like anything on the chicken after it's fried so it stays crispy. But as soon as I put the fork into the thigh piece the entire breading seemed to slide off. Apparently they have to revisit frying 101, as do ssooo many commercial cooks. Realizing that this is a school, I felt bad sending it back, but I really wanted to enjoy the meal. So ignoring the Italian tradition of not eating fish with cheese, I ordered the blackened catfish with a Parmesan breading crust. The fish was well cooked, but the crust was overly salty. The meal was rounded out with chocolate rice pudding (now that's thinking out of the box!) that was very good. All through the meal I had unlimited refills of their excellent home brewed ice tea and some good coffee at the end Total tab $ 7.00, not including tip. How can you beat that? There were a few hiccups as I've pointed out. I wasn't pulling my punches because it's a school. But, for around the price of a happy meal you get great quality freshly prepared food served with cloth napkins. Next time I'm doing errands in Brick and want a bite for lunch, it's not gonna be pizza.

Betty is fab! I took her intro to sewing class and she walked me through all the steps for…read morethreading the needle and filling the bobbin and the parts of the machine and what they do. I feel less scared now to use my machine. Reading a manual and trying to watch you tube did not work....every machine a bit different. This was hands on one on one instruction.

From the owner: Creative sewing classes for kids, teens and adults…read more Birthday sewing parties and private sewing lessons. Alterations on specialty dresses (prom, bridesmaid and evening wear )