Holly's classes are amazing! I booked a class for my group of four and Holly didn't disappoint. We…read moremade tarts (sweet and a savory one) and beignets all of which came out so deliciously. Holly kindly welcomes you into her home kitchen and fills the class with cooking tips, funny stories from her culinary days in France, and lovely historic facts and recommendations in Williamsburg. She has a lively personality and teaches based on her 7 published cook books that she wrote. I've attended many cooking classes throughout the US on my travels and Holly's is one of the best. I highly recommend her for a fun afternoon adventure where you're bound to add a few more recipes to your collection.

Holly is wonderful and her cooking is amazing! We had such a blast! My sister and I surprised our…read moremom with Holly's cooking class for her 60th bruithday! We all had a great time and really was the highlight of the trip! Holly was wonderful to work with and was even with the last minute planning we did. The recipeis were amazing and I learned a ton! I highly recommend taking a cooking class from Holly! The chow chow deviled eggs are a hit! And the dessert we have been raving about since October. Everything was just perfect! Thank you!!

My boyfriend and I had the BEST time at this Japanese Ramen Date Night at Untamed Chef! The class…read morewas interactive, organized, and easy to follow. We made pork gyoza with ponzu, fresh ramen noodles, jammy eggs, and green tea cookies, and everything tasted amazing. The chefs created a relaxed atmosphere while still teaching real technique, and our ramen bowls honestly turned out restaurant quality. It was a creative, memorable date night and we will definitely be back!!

I did not have the opportunity to experience the business, but I will warn you that if you book and…read morecannot make it for any reason (illness, surgery) you will not be able to re-book. The owner was very nice and offered us the bottle of wine that came with the experience, but it was an absolute waste of our money. Yes, I understand that the ingredients were already bought and ready for use. We did not ask for a refund, but to change to another date.

My husband got me a cooking class for my birthday and I was excited to go! I had never done a…read morecooking class before! We drove out to the culinary institute and were excited to get started. The class we were doing was New England cuisine. We thought we would be cooking lobster, clam chowder and other seafood recipes. When the instructor started talking and handing out the packets of recipes, we were surprised with the recipes (beet salad, chowder, chicken, root veggies, johnny cakes). We had to pair up with people we did not know and then each person in the group had to choose a recipe to cook. I chose the clam chowder. It took me about 20 minutes to get all my supplies because they didn't have everything out (food and cooking utensils). The instructor came around and said I was super behind...well thanks for making me feel the pressure! So I rushed to get everything in the pot. It looked like my husband and the others were rushing as well. I did NOT like this. It is supposed to be fun. We aren't cooking students and we aren't familiar with the kitchen. They kinda just threw us in the kitchen and said OK start cooking. We plated our food, along with the other groups, and ate our food. Overall it was fun, besides feeling rushed, but I did learn a lot.

As a current student at CIV, I've come to firmly appreciate my choice in pursuing a professional…read morecareer in the Culinary arts. All of the Instructors are certified and have been Executive Chefs or opened or owned their own restaurants. They are all deeply passionate about food and it conveys through their teaching. My favorite instructor has left the school, and while I was greatly looking forward to having him as an instructor for his specific area of cooking, I'm completely confident in the knowledge I'll learn from another instructor based on the standards set forth by the faculty. Courses are laid out in a comprehensive manner and are aimed to to prepare you to work in real kitchens. The school has a wide array of connections to some of the best local restaurants, and ones in other states, to help you get the off site training that you want most. The school gave me the opportunity to get in the place that i not only wanted to train at, but work in after graduation. And the certifications you get pay for themselves. i will say that the fast pace of the school is hard for some to keep up with. A lot of information is packed into ten days over five weeks. But it does tend to help adapt to the quick pace of most kitchens. Some of the classes are more web based than others, but no matter what the class, all the information can be accessed online with power points and lecture notes. another drawback is that it's affiliated with ECPI. Classes like English and Algebra are done through ECPI. The instructors are not a part of CIV and are therefor not held to the same standards. For legal reasons, i will not mention any instructors names, but at least one has consistently been reported and has the same students SHE FAILED TO TEACH put back into her class. But that's ECPI, not CIV. Overall, I firmly encourage anyone who is looking to get started on the path of becoming a Chef to Check out CIV and see if it's for them. Definitely a great stepping stone.

Calling this a cooking "class" would be disingenuous…read more I received a coupon for a free class from Mise En Place and purchased another ticket for my wife. We were very excited for a cooking class to learn new recipes that we could cook together. I am a very inexperienced cook and was looking forward to learning on how to cook the meals on the advertisement and leaving feeling confident that I learned something new and could prepare at least one of the dishes. Instead, we showed up and weren't greeted at all. We had to ask another class member how to sign in because the instructor was no where to be found. There was no guidance and the "instructor" (using this term incredibly loosely) told the large group to pick a station and get started. Everyone seemed confused by this but walked around and found a recipe. Every station was lacking ingredients and utensils so we could not complete our tasks without walking around aimlessly looking for the right ingredient or measuring cup, etc. (Again, no guidance from the instructor). About 30 minutes into cooking, the "instructor" told the group of 10+ people to switch to a new station. This wasn't structured at all and people in the class just meandered around and said "I guess I'll do this now. No idea where the last person left off though." My wife and I took over a task preparing Asian Fried Chicken. After following the recipe provided by the "iNsTrUcToR", she came over and said it was still raw and walked away with no further instructions. We immediately used a meat thermometer showing that the internal temp was above 165 degrees and not in fact raw, making me seriously doubt the qualifications of our "iNsTrUcToR". After completing this part of the recipe, we noticed a number of other participants just standing around. My wife asked the instructor "Do you have a task I can complete, something I can help with?" and the instructor simply walked away. After completing the recipes - the food was fine. No complaints about the quality of the food - but this isn't the point of a "cooking CLASS". I spoke with 5/6 of the attendees in this class and they were clearly annoyed with the false advertising and lack of instruction and audibly complained throughout the "class" about having no instruction, no guidance, and learning nothing. (Rightfully so). There were a number of other beginners in the class and they seemed checked out because they had no idea what to do, didn't receive feedback, and there was no structure. The common theme after speaking with the attendees was that they thought this would be an instructional event where you can leave learning something (a new skill, a new recipe, literally anything). The only thing I left with was a few jokes about how terrible this experience was. if this was advertised as 15 people getting together to cook prepared recipes with no guidance, that would be accurate. If you want to cook something new - google it and try it yourself. You'll save $85 and get the same experience.

Everything! A historic, charming venue with a very well appointed kitchen work space! The Owner…read moreChristine is warm, friendly and attentive. She has a well versed culinary trajectory and is an amazing professional and entrepreneur!

Amazing, fun and educational! Staff was so nice and the instruction was perfect…read more We did the Philippine night and the food was excellent. Highly recommend for a date night or family night or even girlfriend get together!

Visited last night for the Flavors of Portugal class. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Well planned, simply…read moreexplained and fun overall. Great instructor and support team and a mix of nice people enjoying the experience. Definitely going back!

If I could give this 10 stars, I would. What a wonderful evening for my husbands birthday. Above…read moreprofessional, friendly with an amazing talent for food. The best part was they cleaned up everything. They spent some time educating us on food preparation, temperatures and seasonings. This is a nice experience for a special occasion that is as intimate or festive as you'd like.

In a nutshell: I tried to hire The Tailored Chef for my…read morecousin's bachelorette dinner. He bailed on me last minute and was extremely unprofessional about it. I'm glad to see there are people who are happy with his services but I have found that with reviews, people who get the short end of the stick don't say anything unless it's really, really bad. So I imagine that there are people out there who have had similar experiences to mine but didn't deem it worthy of their time to leave a review. I think it's a huge inconvenience to write this review but I wish someone else would have done this so I wouldn't have had this experience in the first place. Therefore, I am writing this to pay it forward so future bookers can have this data point before deciding if they want to book and put the reliability and concrete-ness of their plans, the smoothness of their event and ultimately their happiness and satisfaction in the hands of this careless, indifferent and unprofessional flake. Long version: The only part of the entire encounter that was positive was that after I submitted the inquiry through Yelp, he responded pretty quickly. After that, it all went downhill. Not only were the email handoffs not warm (as in a "warm handoff" that doesn't leave the customer feeling thrown around between people), unprofessional, disjointed and caused for poor customer experience, I repeatedly had to ask for a link to pay once they had confirmed the date and sent me an invoice confirmation because they had thought I had paid and I hadn't - I was being ethical and trying to make sure they got paid. Then all of a sudden one day, I got an automated email confirmation that my confirmation had been cancelled. No communication from Chef Lin Old or his assistant, Theresa. I had to reach out to THEM asking about the email and was just assuming the best and that they had cancelled it in order to send me a new confirmation where I could pay. But oh no. Chef Lin responds with the unbelievable email: "I decided to take the last two weeks of July - the first week of August to go on holiday. I'm the only one who teaches the classes ( Culinary Instructor of 11 years @ The Art Institute) so no one could cover it. That is why I canceled." I attached the email because I still can't believe how unprofessional he was. I am counting on his services, we are ONE MONTH out, he committed to my dates and the service, he cancels and doesn't even do the courtesy of letting me know himself. I am the one who has to reach out to get clarification and when he provides it, he doesn't even offer acknowledgement of / accept responsibility for / act with professional courtesy for the lack of etiquette and professionalism he is exhibiting. I then write him an email saying how disappointing this experience is and that I will write a review to let other people know they simply cannot count on him and his lack of professionalism. He responds with "Not sure what the second email is about demanding an apology & wanting to write a bad review. If this is how things are starting then we may not be a good fit for each other?" I have attached screenshots of these emails as well. I didn't demand an apology. I pointed out he didn't provide one; "That's super disappointing to hear and the lack of apology or proactive explanation for the inconvenience is really poor customer experience." And not a good fit? What a petulant understatement. I live in San Francisco and perhaps the level of service and standard of professional etiquette is higher there than in the Virginia Beach area but I found Chef Lin Old's correspondence, limited customer service, and backing out of his commitment of service (last minute, no less!) abysmal. I am sure that if we had gone through with the service, he himself would have been unbearable. The ego, dismissiveness and lack of ownership that insidiously eeked out through our interactions would have ruined my cousin's party's evening. I'm a silver lining person and so I've convinced myself it's a good thing the reservation didn't go through BUT I do not tolerate behavior like this in the customer service industry. I don't care - small company to Amazon. We are all customers these days and interactions should be led with and based on empathy and compassion. The way Chef Lin Old approached this CS interaction was like a large company that didn't care about the small customer and how it ruined their day / trip / experience: indifferent, careless, un-empathetic. No one wants or deserves to be treated this way. I am so thankful that I was able to find another chef on such short notice but being treated with such unprofessionalism and being stranded last minute without a chef when the entire attendance of the bachelorette (including the bride-to-be, my cousin, who I can't let down!) were counting on and looking forward to a private cooking class, I feel obligated to write this review so no one goes through what I did.

Took my 7 year-old grandson for his first cooking class today and he really enjoyed himself. He…read moreloved the food and the other kids in the class. The ladies are amazing and were so patient with my rambunctious grandson. Looking forward to his next class. Thanks so much.

After searching high & low for a cooking class, I came across Now You're Cooking. Communication was…read moresuper rough throughout, but this was such a great experience. Was a surprise cooking class for my boyfriend's birthday and he LOVED it! Beforehand, we were sent the menus and picked our favorite as a group. Our class was pushed to around 730 due to booking conflicts & when we showed up, everything was already laid out and prepared. Obviously, we cooked our own meal! We really enjoyed the conversations and tips Debra + her sister had for us throughout the cooking process. Very informative but not condescending on us young folks & our ways. Once done, we took our meals over to the other side with tables and ate (just us) then our dessert was over. Kinda sad we didn't make our own dessert but we were lowkey tired after all that cooking! The bruschetta was something new for all of us and we loved it! Shrimp scampi was amazing (oh wait, because we cooked it ourselves, duh) and the Italian donuts were delicious (would've loved some ice cream or chocolate with it). We were also gifted a bottle of champagne for our troubles. I'm always down for a new and different experience with my love and the ladies provided just that for us & so much more.

As a single person in their 60's, I looked for a meal service to reduce cooking for one or dinning…read moreout. I found Foodies a couple years ago and started using their meal delivery service. It was extremely easy to see what meals were available on-line, order, and have delivered. My credit card was always charged correctly and I was never let down by the meals or delivery service. Since Foodies is very near to me, I started shopping in house. Over time there have been many positive additions to their in-house menu selection. There is a delicious breakfast and lunch menu offered for in-house dinning or take out. When I stopped in the store today, I saw complete meals in one container. Previously, I purchased each item a la carte in-house. I'm extremely pleased with this new menu selection. Pasta, fish, meat, chicken, etc. as primary meal selection with sides. The chef's and staff are very open to suggestions for sides as well as main entrees. There is fresh sliced bread (large package), cookies, brownies, a nice variety of cakes and pies, pizzas, a good variety of drinks - no alcohol, fresh made cold cuts, a tasty selection of a la carte meals and sides, and now the new addition of complete meals in one container. The sides include, sweet potatoes, rice, grilled vegetables, mashed potatoes, and much more. So it was never an issue with selecting a main entree with sides; however, it is so much easier to purchase a complete meal because my main focus has always been on the entree and not the sides. There are dinnig tables as well as contemporary chairs to to sit while waiting for your order. There is also a private dinning area for larger parties. Located in a strip mall area off Lynnhaven Blvd, parking is normally sufficient; however, I would avoid Saturday mornings as there are many other activities going on at this time. There is much to this location. Cooking classes, catering, personal chef, and so much more to purchasing breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The staff is awesome in all respects. If you are looking for a healty meal for yourself, need to pick-up something to feed the family on the way home, need a unique/healthy party tray, catered event, or just want to sit back to enjoy breakfast or lunch - this is the place. I most strongly suggest you check out their web site. I'm positive they are able to meet your meal requirements for you, your family, your office, or your corporations.

Did I take a picture of the menu or the interior? I did…read morenot. Did I enjoy a sandwich that goes down in my rankings as number 2 of all time favorite sandwiches and take a picture of it to share? I hella did :) After a not so easy decision was made from a menu that any choice would not have been a bad one, pictured here is the sandwich I went with called "The Bourdain". It came with delicious in-house made pickles and chips. Lots of the ingredients used are made in house, including most of their meats. They have big variety of local products for sale as well as a la carte items that would easily make an easy lunch or dinner. Or snack, I don't judge. LOL Food price point was extremely reasonable for the quality of the food and stellar customer service received. I'll definitely be going back again either for food or a cooking class! Thanks Foodies!

Chef Yvette conducted a private Paella cooking experience for my husband, my brother and sister in…read morelaw and myself. It was a wonderful hands on cooking class. We prepared an Berenjena a la Miel (Eggplant with Honey) as our appetizer, Mixta Paella as our entree and a Tarta de Santiago (Almond Cake) for dessert. Everything was delicious and Chef Yvette is a wealth of knowledge. She is such a patient instructor and she also entertained us with tales of her travel adventures. It was such a fun, unique evening and we would all highly recommend booking a cooking class with Chef Yvette.

We had a group of 18 traveling to Richmond from Michigan for a Thanksgiving field hockey…read moretournament. We checked into our VRBO at 4:00 pm on Thanksgiving day and at 5:00 pm Yvette delivered us a full Thanksgiving dinner spread for our entire group of 18. It was delicious! Ten out of ten! We so appreciate Yvette and her team spending their Thanksgiving cooking for a group of people she doesn't even know! Highly recommend The Wooden Spoon! Courtney