This was my first time at Taste Buds Kitchen in Bannockburn, IL. This was part of a team building exercise that my manager put together for a group of eight people. About a week or so before the event, we were given three options to select from for the menu we would be preparing, so we ended up with pasta. Taste Buds Kitchen is located in a mall, so I had some difficulty locating it, but finally saw it. We were split into teams of four and the meal we were prepping was fettuccini, spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce. Our instructor was Lauren and she was very nice. There were two ladies assisting her as well, responsible for the clean-up and helping with the prep work. Lauren was great explaining all the steps as well as showing up the prep moves. I love fresh pasta but never thought about making it (and still won't do it at home), but I had no idea how easy it could be with the right tools. Making the dough was fun and interesting, with each of us taking turns kneading the dough in preparation to make the fettuccini and the spinach/ricotta ravioli. Making the fettuccini was such fun and so easy if you have the proper equipment. I really enjoyed putting the dough into the pasta roller to flatten it, then into the cutting attachment to make the pasta. We each got turns going through the process, so I can say that all of us made the pasta and sauce. The spinach/ricotta ravioli and a marinara sauce were also very easy to make. Marinara I have made at home before, but the recipe we used at Taste Buds added a twist by adding shredded carrots for sweetness. Not something I would have thought of, but it really worked. Making the spinach/ricotta ravioli was a hoot. The very first one was a hot mess, but I learned and moved on to make perfect restaurant quality looking ones (IMO). Because we did a morning 2-hour session, tea, water and lemonade were provided for us. What we prepared was delicious and a nice early lunch. Because Lauren and her crew had made dough in advance, there was plenty of pasta for eating and to take home. My only complaint (if there is one) is I would have loved that we had made more of the marinara because it was so good and I would have loved to have taken more home. Overall this was a wonderful experience and the staff was amazing, cleaning up behind us, setting the table, cooking the pasta and ravioli for us. I think this is something I would consider for my direct reports as a team building event. read more

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What a wonderful experience! We did a chocolate summer cooking camp from 9-12. And it was so much fun. They really made it exciting for the kids and we really enjoyed the treats after chocolate camp. We plan on returning next year. Thank you Taste Buds read more

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Taste Buds was an absolute blast from start to finish! We got hands-on making tacos that could easily start a family feud over who gets the last one, followed by a Mexican hot chocolate cake that tasted like a warm hug from a spicy dessert angel. The guac and chips were so fresh I felt like I owed the avocados an apology for ever settling for store-bought. Just when we thought the fun was over, they hit us with a surprise vanilla milkshake at the end--totally unexpected and totally amazing. It was like the plot twist in a food-themed movie where the milkshake saves the day. The energy was fun, the instructor was great, and I left full, happy, and already planning my return trip. Highly recommend if you enjoy laughing, eating, and being low-key amazed by your own cooking skills. read more

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Many may have good experiences, however they are not accommodating to children on the spectrum. They also ignore phone calls and emails to discuss the issue. If your kid has special needs of any kind, BEWARE! They will not offer accommodations or partial refunds even when they will not allow the child to finish the camp. We had a very negative experience with our granddaughter. read more

Awful experience. Their summer camp is a rip-off and run by 10-year-old "counselors in training," which is never mentioned anywhere. The staff is rude and lacks any discretion. Someone should inform OSHA and the health department. Rude and dismissive, and many ADA violations. read more

Anyone can cook! This was our first time at Taste Buds Kitchen in Bannockburn, located by Heinen's grocery store. Our group of 12 was gathered to make Asian Street Food for Father's Day. The facility is open and spacious with the tables set up in the middle with a demo area in the front. We all had to sign a waiver and wash our hands. Our chef/teacher gave us a brief knife safety demo, explained the rules, provided aprons and chef toques. Then she demoed the first recipe. Each station had a cooking plate and we were given cutting board, knives and all of the prepped ingredients for the recipe. It was very easy to follow the recipe as all of the ingredients were prepped and ready. We had to do the chopping, the mixing and combining. We julienned vegetables for pickled veggies. We made a coconut and banana dessert. We stir fried veggies for fried rice. We made a total of four dishes, following the same procedures and all members of our group (ages 13-92) were able to participate. We enjoyed cooking the dishes, they recipes were easy to follow and it smelled so good. The staff cleaned up everything and we enjoyed our meal. We did a pretty good job and we all agreed that the dishes were very tasty. The best was that there was no cleanup. There was more than enough food to take home and we were given all of the recipes to recreate the dishes at home. This was a fun group experience & would be great to do again with a different menu. read more

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We had a really great experience here for my daughter's birthday. We chose the pizza party with milk shakes (and mix-ins). Everything was great, the staff were friendly and the kids all had a good time. They even helped us cut the cake we had brought in and serve it. read more

We had a birthday party here for our 4yo. There were 15 three and four year olds participating in pizza making. The kids had so much fun and parents keep sharing with us how the party was a hit. Taste Buds Kitchen was such a great place for the party! Not only did the kids get to participate in making the dough, grating the cheese, topping the pizza and eating it - the staff was amazing with them. They were patient and kept the kids interested throughout the whole activity. We cannot recommend enough! read more

My husband and grandson took a class this morning to make cinnamon rolls. They mixed the dough and, of course, the dough needs to rise so Tastebuds had dough already made and risen which was what was baked. The dough did not rise nor did it baked properly. The buns came out as hard as hockey pucks and the end of the course was a huge disappointment. The person conducting the class pretended as if everything was fine. Acknowledging the error would have been smarter! This is the second class we took here and the first was fun with a perfect product at the end. read more

This review is in regards to their rescheduling policy. You can not reschedule within 5 days of your class, regardless of the reason. It's not worth the risk, especially during cold and flu season. I do not recommend booking a class unless you are willing to forfeit the entire amount if you can't attend. I have no idea what the class was like. I lost $210 due to illness. read more

Not recommended. The staff was very nice though none of us particularly loved the finished product (pasta). For the money they should offer a vegetable or salad instead of charging an extra $125 for the spinach artichoke dip, for example, which for the size should have been $40 maybe. Nobody in the group could believe it was that much money for such a tiny portion. Absolutely my choice to order but not worth it. We will not be returning. read more

we had a team from a local company that needed some bonding time, this was a great way to get and work together on something other than our main business - team was great. read more

I booked a class for my wife and I for Valentine's Day and paid $200. I tested positive for Covid that day and called to see if I could reschedule. They are not available to talk on the weekends. I called again on Monday to just see if I could get a credit to take another class and they told me there was nothing they could do. So I just lost $200 for not showing up because I had Covid. They could've been nice about it and just allowed me to take another class on a different day. read more

My husband and I did a BYOB cooking class here as a date night and it was so great! Everything about the experience was wonderful. We did the Mediterranean menu. Amanda was our instructor and she was fantastic and made everything easy and fun. In addition to making delicious food, we learned some useful knife skills that I'll use at home regularly. Tables are set up in groups of 4, so if you're by yourself or just with a significant other, you'll be paired with strangers, so keep this in mind. For dinner, we made stuffed grape leaves, beef kafka kebabs and a salad. It was more than enough food - we were even able to take home leftovers! The only potential issue was that since our class started at 7:30, we didn't eat until close to 9!! However, we planned ahead and ate a snack before we started, so it wasn't a big deal. We look forward to coming back for additional menus and maybe also signing my daughter up for cooking classes once she's a little older! read more

did the Italian cooking class which was okay. They say it's BYOB but charge you $10 if you do bring a drink? Also most of the steps were done for us and they didn't even give us a copy of the recipe to take home so if i attempted to remake the meal I couldn't. The food wasn't mind blowing or anything, pretty par at the most. Overall mostly likely a waste. read more

My husband surprised me with a pasta making class for Valentine's Day and unfortunately he tested positive for Covid morning of. We were considerate enough not to attend the class thinking we could reschedule for a later time. My husband called and emailed Taste Buds Kitchen, however we learned that they do not check voicemails or emails on the weekends. How convenient?! Monday morning he called and spoke to Jennifer and he was told there's nothing they can do. So maybe we should have attended the class and exposed everyone. The lack of customer service is deplorable. They'd rather lose a customer (because we would NEVER consider giving them our money again), rather than being considerate as we were when we decided to stay home and not exposes others. At the very least offer customers a chance to pick up the ingredients they already paid for with a set of instructions on how to make the dish at home. Instead they pocket the money and call it a day. Terrible business practice. read more

This was such a great experience!!! Had no idea what we were walking into and left having made fabulous food and had lots of laughs with new friends. Sami was our cooking host and instructor for the night. She was energetic, captured her audience, was very informative and all around fantastic. Brought my husband who is very new to cooking and figured he would be hesitant and resistant. He has not stopped thanking me for planning our night and for the experience. read more

It was so much fun the instructors showed us some cool knife skills. Food was great and the place was very clean. Great time

Can't say I hated it, never got to go. I thought this would be a cute idea for Valentine's Day and scheduled a class. That class was cancelled due to lack of enrollment, fine. Rescheduled for another class a month in advance. They confirmed the email that day and that was it on their part. We (both my boyfriend and I) forgot a month later. They never gave any confirmation call or email a day before to remind us and now they won't allow us to reschedule or give any money back. The best part is their offering to book another class at a discounted price! Ha! Let me pay 2x as much for a class without even walking in the door. Thanks for taking and charging me $120 and giving back nothing. Definitely won't be recommend to anyone. read more

Came here for a bachelorette party. We had a party of 10, which was a great number. We learned how to make a chopped salad, truffle mashed potatoes, and steak. Everything was delicious. Next time I would want to learn how to make something a bit more unique... not something I already make on a regular basis. But I did pick up some new tips and tricks for a "tried and true meal." I thought it was a bit expensive... but something I was willing to splurge on for a fun night out with the girls. read more

Kids went in for a 3 hr Italian class and really enjoyed it. I look forward to scheduling them for future lessons. And the food they shared with me was delish!! read more

Amanda is hilarious and made our night at Italian Cooking so much fun. Keep up the good work Amanda! We will spread the word

My wife and I went to Taste Buds Kitchen Bannockburn with another couple for a Saturday night adult class. We had a blast, the chefs were all very engaging and knowledgeable, and the food was fun to prepare and delicious. We brought some beer along and another group brought wine, which they encourage for (some of) the adult classes. It was a great date night and we learned some new prep and cooking techniques -- we'll definitely go back for another meal/lesson in the future! read more

We did a BYOB Mexican cooking class this weekend. The process was fun, the food was good, and the instructors were knowledgeable. I highly recommend this business! read more

Wow! Wow! Wow! To start off, finding taste buds was purely accidental. My little girl had been wanting to do an american girl cooking party for a while, so we had originally chosen williams and sonoma in old orchard. Well, invites were sent after we had set the date and time with the store ( 6 weeks prior) . 2 weeks before my party , the manager at williams and sonoma calls and TELLS (not asks ) me to move my party an hour earlier to the 9 am spot on Sunday! None of my guests were able to make that time and it was inconvenient for us when we had already pre-planned! The manager didn't care one bit to disappoint a 6 year old on her birthday. Absolutely unprofessional. Well, enter Taste buds. I booked my party with them immediately after dealing with the rude williams and sonoma in old orchard. Taste buds was absolutely wonderful about accommodating my daughter 's american girl /doll party!! The girls had so much fun! Pros Beautiful kitchen!! Beautiful area!! -Perfect customization for my american girl doll and child cooking request! The girls were between 4-8 and they had the perfect blend of cooking/activities . While the food was cooking, the staff entertained the gitls with games with their dolls!The girls had so much fun! It gave them a good balance of focusing on a task and getting energy out! The girls loved SIMON SAYS with their dolls!! -kids get to cook! This is not a demo! So much fun! - staff go out of their way to help and please . I ran out of time to put decorations on my cake, and thought "aggh, forget it." I was about to run to jewel during the party, but the staff took the time to put pretty icing and mu daughter's name on it. Soo thoughtful. So above and beyond. - lovely, happy staff -ample parking -they treated my daughter and my guests like superstars. While there are a million of pretty places around, there are few that are still in the people business. Customer service is what made my party. The smile on my little girl's face when she cut her cake and cooked. Those are magical memories. That's what we are paying for . Taste buds, my applause to you! There is a reason this place has 5 stars. I would recommend this as a birthday party spot to anyone with kids! Keep up the good service- it's the magic that keeps on giving ! read more

Amanda was so great with the kids- patient, kind, and enthusiastic. The facilities were pristine and bright. My son had a wonderful time and we can't wait for our next class! read more