My friend and I came in and had a blast. The chef is very funny, rough around the edges, entertaining and skilled for sure. We were all in awe of his swift chopping (lol). He cussed a lot, joked a lot, just reminds you of that loud uncle that always has great stories to tell. He whipped up all of the food last minute, as in, none of it was planned. We showed up, he said these are the things I'm going to make meals out of, then legit winged it and made the meals. No recipe. Just whimsical splendor. The food was very yummy, and my friend was astounded by the experience the whole time. Near the end, we'd gone about an hour over scheduled ending time, and chef still was going strong, brow furrowed and sweaty forehead and all--a chef look classic, right? Personally, I've never met a chef that wasn't at least a bit eccentric and somewhat frustrated at life in general. My pics don't do the food justice (iPhone 6 camera is nothing to brag about), but it was all very appetizing and, for something that wasn't really planned out, super yummy! The young man that was serving the food and clearing the dishes (chef's son?) was so polite and prompt. We left a giant tip--and gladly. Thanks cook! Oh, and your books were really nice to look at. read more

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Appetizer of olive caponata with calamata olives, roasted red peppers, capers, scallions, sliced toasted almonds and pistachios with vinaigrette served in a tomato confit on toasted baguette. Amazing. The tomato was roasted confit style in oil in the oven. It was a great base for the capina Chef Michael is unintentionally funny as he tells stories. Actually hilarious! Tuna tartare tacos With multicolored carrot slaw and spicy mayo on homemade flour taco. Spiced and seasoned so well. There is a diced cucumber mixed in with the tuna and spicy mayo. I would not have guessed that the homemade flour tortilla would make such a flavor difference, but it added a whole level of flavor that a store bought tortilla wouldn't have added. Great tips throughout the evening. He dispelled many common kitchen myths. Warning, Mike uses colorful language, but he's funny! Halibut pan fried and topped with pesto and then finished in the oven. Roasted corn salsa with multi colored grape tomatoes, avocados, scallions, lime, red peppers, chili sauce, rice wine vinegar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. The pesto was so fresh that you could smell it as it came out of the oven. The corn salsa worked perfectly with the grains. The whole entree was topped with a few squirts of balsamic glaze. Homemade pastry with blueberry compote and fresh sliced strawberries topped with homemade whipped cream. So fresh, but not overly sweet. An excellent dessert! 4 hours of entertainment, cooking tips and restaurant/cooking information. Do yourself a favor and come here. This is our third time and it gets better each time! He is booked months ahead, but be persistent. read more

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Had a wonderful time at his cooking class! I suggest getting there early so you can get a stop at the counter. This made the experience so much better because you could see everything and really felt part of the class. Our first course was a beet, string bean and goat cheese salad. Next we had vegetable soup, this was my favorite dish of the night. Next was a quinoa and Brussels sprout salad with cod and a Dijon vinaigrette. For dessert we had a lemon custard pudding/cake with whipped cream. Overall all the food was delicious. I am not an adventurous eater but I gave everything a try. The class started at 7pm and we didn't start the first course until close to 9:15pm, by that point I was starving. The experience was wonderful and I would highly recommend it. You can't get a cooking class in Philly anywhere close to this price. Also wine is included so drink up! read more

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It is very curious how varied these reviews are. Let me explain what you should expect. This is a cooking demo - watching a seasoned chef perform in the kitchen. It is not a typical cooking class, but you will learn a lot if you pay attention. It is a long night. Bring good wine - you will be glad you did. Don't come starving at 7. Chef Michael will make great dishes with few ingredients perfectly prepared and seasoned, just as an great chef does. Yes, he talks about the frustrations of life - dealing with people and bureaucracy and being a parent. He curses. He shares the "behind-the-scenes" sagas that go with the restaurant scene. He shares the hard life of being a chef and finds (sometimes raw) humor in it all. Its not a comedy show. A chef has a non-glamourous life of creating perfection with the help of varying levels of incompetence, to serve to the ignorant and ungrateful. read more

Buyer beware! This guy doesn't offer any current classes, but is selling thousands of Groupons. I contacted him about upcoming classes and heard nothing. So I have a $65 gift card that has no value. SCAM ALERT. There are other reputable chefs in the area with ACTUAL schedules, classes, and insurance. Stay away! read more

Bought a groupon for my wife and I and regretted it as soon as I started reading reviews but decided to take a chance and take the class. Scheduled a reservation, got a text less than an hour before the class was supposed to start that Michael had gotten into a car accident, bad luck but understandable, so against our better judgement we decided to reschedule instead of taking this opportunity to get a refund for what we felt was going to be a poor experience. Scheduled again for 3 weeks later, got a text the day before stating that Michael was having issues with his location and would be hosting at a restaurant around the corner and the email said "make sure you tip them well so I don't have to pay them as much".....that's a bit....strange. Fast forward to the night of the class, once again an hour before the class was due to start wife gets a text that he's unable to use the location he said he was using less than 24 hours ago. I hate to doubt anyone this much, but I feel like Michael never had a car accident, and never had booked an alternate location, but simply cancelled both classes last minute because he didn't want to do them, maybe due to a low reservation count or just pure laziness. Maybe it's for the best since at least this way we won't have to watch him cut his fingers and bleed all over our food, or swear up and down all night read more

This is the most fun and delicious thing you could do on a Monday or Wednesday night. Seriously! This was my first time going to a cooking demo class so I did not have many expectations. It is a really laid back atmosphere, with about 20 total people. There is wine, soda and drinks you can grab through out the demo. Note it starts around 7 and ours went a little over 3 hours, so make sure you are not starving when you arrive. Chef Michael will then starts prepping and cooking all of the dishes pretty much all at the same time which is fun to watch. He is super entertaining, and shares his cooking tips as well as takes questions from the audience about his experience in the industry. All of the food he made was amazing, we had a vegetable potato duck dish, gazpacho, scallop mushroom risotto and berry cheesecake mousse. The portions are huge so you will leave stuffed! Check Groupon for any discounts, this is the best value deal I have come across in a really long time. Note if you are uptight and very serious this experience would not be for you. Yes the chef curses, and makes fun of various things, tells it like it is and has sarcastic sense of humor. Highly highly recommend! read more

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Interesting (and delicious) use of fresh ingredients The food was fabulous. We had a nice fig appetizer. The butternut squash risotto was excellent. The purple sweet potatoe custard was also excellent. The downside was the group was too large. There was a party of 15+ people that obviously was not there for the cooking. They were very loud and took away from the experience. This group should have had their own seating. Definitely go for the food and cooking tips. But make sure the group is small (no large parties). read more

He never responded to emails or phone calls and his voicemail is full. I bought a Groupon I have to go through returning now. Very unprofessional. read more

Purchased a night for two a few months ago and finally went tonight. What a fun experience! Chef Mike is hilarious and certainly not catering to a conservative crowd - you MUST be ok with him swearing like a sailor and making very un-PC jokes (which was right up my alley). Not to mention, this man can cook! I mean, wow. All four courses were delicious. I will say the temporary space was a bit too dim to see what was going on and we ran over about an hour (we were there from 7-11pm) so be prepared to chill for a while. Complimentary wine was provided and Oliver was an excellent second-in-command. I highly recommend this for a fun, chill night out. Thanks Chef Mike! read more

This class is a blast! In short, I didn't know what to get my boyfriend for Christmas but he loves food and going out to do things together. So a friend recommended Chef Michael's cooking class and I am so happy she did! To be honest, I didn't know what I was walking into after reading the reviews. I bought the ticket through Groupon and booked through his website. I had some questions prior so I emailed beforehand and Allison got back to me right away. I walked in to notice a verity of ages but everyone was socializing and having a good time. Chef Micheal was down to earth and super knowledgeable. He would answer any questions you had and really walked you through everything he did.FYI you don't actually do any of the cooking just drink and watch, which is good for me. The class overall was about 4hrs but my boyfriend and I loved it. The food was amazing and the entire night was like a personal dinner, with entertainment and food being prepared right infront of you.we will be back again!! read more

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Mike is a fantastic chef and educates and entertains his guests along the way. He comes up with a 4 course menu on the fly with the fresh ingredients he has available. This is my 3rd time I have been to his classes and will definately go again when I can. I would go even more often if I didn't live over an hour away, but the trip is worth it. With groupon, his classes are very affordable and is worth it for a fun night out. He is also very funny talking about his experience working for other chefs. Since my first class with Mike, he has inspired me to become a better home cook and experiment with different ingredients and flavors that I haven't tried before. I have hosted 2 small dinner parties of my own for friends / family and they were impressed. I highly recommend him to anyone! read more

Awful. Had an appointment and he never showed up. Wasted of money. THANK GOD I was able to get my money back on Groupon... now I know why he was on Groupon in the first place read more

Terrible experience. Chef degraded and insulted his daughter publicly the entire time as she sat in the next room and listened. Also rambled on and on trashing other local chefs and restaurants. read more

Awful experience. He literally didn't show up. My girlfriend and our two friends waited for a half an hour after our appointment and called him multiple times. He never returned our calls or emails and we had confirmations from him confirming the time and date. Super unprofessional and not worth your time to book as it seems like there's a 50/50 chance he flakes out. read more

Micheal, the food was delicious expect your version of the devil eggs and def not a fan of beets but we would go again-wish you had some type of recipe for us to take home however I understand you winged everything. (I cook that way too) you might want to talk less about your old bosses-it is a bit tacky . You did mention several things that would be useful in the day to day cooking. And you made a special dish for the individual that was Vegan was very thoughtful. Your very laid back and your cooking reflects that ... we def enjoyed ourselves and looking forward to booking again. Next time just clean up-you had a car headlight on one of the tables(no one was seating at that table however why is it there), in addition you had your cousin help with peeling eggs which was great but I didn't see him wash his hands. Hope the feedback helps.. Bon appétit read more

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Please....please stay away...this was unfortunately our 3rd visit...actually our 4th...on our 2nd attempt he never showed up...probably cause the board of health was on to him, as we seriously found out in our last and final appearance..ill explain...overall food was good and he was funny and entertaining...however our last and most recent experience 12/17/18...my birthday of all days...he cut his index finger and continued to prepare food until we said something....blood running down a orange he was slicing and said "oh i thought that was orange juice "...he puts on a glove....as he continues we see the finger tip fill with blood....gross...also states maybe he should have cut the red beets 1st...joke not gone over to well with the group.....he starts to plate the 1st course as we notice the tip of his 2nd glove has now broken or he cut it with his knife again...our 1st plate was put in front of us and we just couldn't eat it....we walked out without saying a word....keep in mind the couple next to us was ready to do the same...not sure what they did after but everyone in the room was aware of the blood....totally grossed out...please, please stay...he even joked about he has a friend on the board of health that keeps him in the clear without having proper equipment...fyi..the counter and cooking area was dirty from his last cooking session when we walked in we had a front row table this night ...he has deals on groupon..please stay away..we have to select 1 star...i would select 0 stars after tonight but its not a option. read more

I would not recommend at all. While the food was delicious we didn't have a morsel of food until 8:30. An hour and a half after our arrival. The chef came late, was disorganized, dropped the "f" bomb constantly, didn't explain how or why what he was doing and bashed other resterantuers. Would not go back! read more

Very entertaining cooking demonstration! Chef Michael does curse frequently. All fresh ingredients used. We had a complex carrot soup. Spaghetti squash with an arugula pesto. Couscous and seared bass. Delicious mousse dessert with chocolate ganache! Beverages, including wine, and I think beer were provided. The drinking glasses provided could have been cleaner for sure! I would definitely recommend! read more

Fun experience. Chef has a great personality. Great food, going back. Byob- bring lots of wine, it's a 3hr ish event!

He never showed up for the scheduled class so we (as well as the rest of the people who signed up for this class) left after waiting outside in the cold for half an hour. No notice of cancellation from owner. read more

This guy is an asshole. Instead of cooking and telling us how he was cooking things and what he was doing, he decided to rip on the local famous chefs of the Philadelphia area. He started his night with, and I quote, "sorry I'm late. I've been having this battle with the department of health and....I finally lost." Really threw me off. The event was supposed to start at 7:30 and we didn't even start eating actual food until around 9-9:30. He cursed a lot but not in a funny way. Had a horrible time overall. Two stars because his food was good - though salty. read more

Very disappointed! We left at 10:30 having only eaten the soup, which was phenomenal but could not wait around any longer for the main meal. Started at 7:00 so god knows when the main course came out but we all had to work the next day so couldn't hang. Poor judgment of time. If you knew you had that many people to serve why not prep things ahead of time then review with us?? Sorry to have missed the main course because I'm sure it was very good. read more

We just left!! It was phenomenal. The meal was fabulous. Such a wonderful atmosphere and we learned a lot. A great time for a group of people!!! read more

I've never been to a cooking class like this! It was more of an Iron Chef show! Don't except a nice, little, typed out hand out with recipes. Expect Chef Mike to prepare four courses with whatever looks good at market that day. We had tuna tartare with this little amazing pickled radish, mushroom/cauliflower soup, braised short ribs with scalloped potatoes and vegetables and an amazing little candies orange cake. All from scratch, made in the moment. That's the other thing, he cooks for the entire class, from scratch right in front of you. So don't expect to eat until 1-1.5 hours into the class. He's a one man show (one helper to serve, remember to bring a little tip). Pour yourself a glass of wine, ask questions, he's super approachable and unpretentious, tons of great stories to share from his fancy restaurant days. Expect a lot of cussing and a great night out! We loved it! read more

We decided to give him a try again after he no showed for a scheduled class about a year ago. The cook cut his finger at some point and kept cutting up the food to serve everyone. We told him he was getting blood all over the food. He put a glove on and once the cut finger glove tip very clearly completely broke thru the bloody glove with more bright red blood penetrating the food for 20 minutes, he served the first course with his blood in everyone's food. Who could eat that?! We couldn't believe it, got up and left without eating a bite that we paid for. Very unclean and potentially dangerous. It's too bad, he seemed to be a funny guy and the food looked great. It doesn't matter how good It looks tho when a humans blood is ALL in it. Simply disgusting...will never ever be back and do not recommended you to go either. **The rating wouldn't allow a zero and would only allow as low as a 1 rating, otherwise it would be a zero. read more