Simple Real Food

well, she portrays herself as a real foodie. You only have to look at ALL her commentary on Unilocal,and many other foodie sites. So do you get a lot of people taking your class because you carve up almost every spot on the shoreline. Your snobbery really makes it difficult to get behind anything you write or cook for that matter. And the arrogance poureth over in your class. Not impressed with you or your perspective.

Overprice!!! And Amada have a very bad attitude!!! I would not recommend any friend to take cooking class with her.

Had Amanda come for a bachelorette party at my home with 14 girls. She had an attitude and made it difficult to work together. Had some dietary restrictions which she refused to accommodate. Used a fish sauce in a recipe which she refused to take out even though our meal was supposed to be vegetarian. It was costly for a vegetarian meal especially when she forgot to bring the cheese for the risotto which tasted bland. In addition she brought moldy wonton wrappers for the appetizer. Better finding someone who wants to make a cooking class an enjoyable experience! Amanda made good money but put very little effort in towards making our party a success. Luckily we had a blast being together but I suggest you search elsewhere for a more professional chef!

I took a class and we went from raw ingredients to a full multi-​course dinner in a few hours. The instruction was great. I could finally ask all of the questions about technique, ingredients and tools, and get real answers from an expert.

I have taken a number of cooking classes with Amanda, she is truly a gem. The levels of cooking are unique and wonderfully diverse. Everyone should sign up for a class and see for yourself!!! Jill S

I did get a partial refund for the amount I paid for the BloomSpot voucher.

I just took a pasta class with Amanda at Surfas. She is an amazing chef and even though I cook all the time, I learned new things… which is always a pleasure. Even though I didn’t know anyone else in the class besides my sister Lisa, Amanda had us all working together and it felt more like a party with new friends. The recipes were amazing, I can now make my own pasta and pestos AND it is so easy!!! After everything was cooked, we got to eat and it was simply delicious. I even made one of the recipes that night and my family was VERY impressed. Needless to say, I am looking forward to taking more classes and this time I will be bringing my daughter with me, who loves to cook. Just a note to other reviewers who had a problem with their groupon/​vouchers. I didn’t know that Amanda would be booked up so quickly (others know what a gem she is) and my voucher expired the end of January. But I emailed Amanda and asked if she could extend it through February and she was very gracious and said yes.

This review is not about her classes, which I never got to attend, but is about her handling of my Living Social vouchers.
I bought four vouchers from a Living Social deal at a great price. Her website looks great, she has good reviews here and I figured it would be nice for me, my girlfriend and 2 more friends to share in a cooking class experience.
Unfortunately, when I got ready to book a class she was sold out through February. The vouchers had an expiration on them of January 31^st. I emailed Amanda who told me that there was nothing she could do so I should call Living Social for a refund. Living Social told me that in California all these vouchers (Groupons, etc.) are like gift cards, and in California the law says that gift cards don’t expire and that maybe I should call Amanda politely mention this to her.
Well I called Amanda and not only did she insist on the expiration, she complained that if she extended the expiration, all her classes would be filled with only people with vouchers. (Oh the horror!)
In other words, «No soup for you!»
I think Amanda may have missed the point of the deal in the first place. Without Living Social I never would have known she existed. Any, so called, lost revenue from us «voucher people» is called her marketing budget. By not working this out with me she just lost the word of mouth marketing from four people and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how many referrals can come exponentially from just four people. That doesn’t even take into account my Facebook and Twitter people and this review here, which may very well have been glowing.
It’s really a shame that she didn’t see this problem as an opportunity to grow her business.

Incredible class!!! Hands on, informative, fun, delicious! We took two classes and we’re looking for a third! Great conversation and a great evening! Do it you’ll love it.

I was so excited to take Amanda’s class with a friend at Surfas, but it turned out to be an underwhelming experience.
The way the class was organized, Amanda would randomly assign a few people tasks like chopping onions, but she’d also continue briskly cooking the other dishes, so it was easy to miss important steps while doing menial activities. A few tasks were supervised, but most weren’t, and no tips were given about knife technique and such.
I was also taken aback by her cold attitude. At one point, a novice student next to us asked Amanda her thoughts on non-​stick cookware. Without looking up, Amanda snapped «I never use nonstick cookware.» Okay, but that wasn’t the question — she didn’t ask if you use it, but what your thoughts were. It would have been easy to reply that many prefer stainless steel over nonstick for its better heat distribution, performance and/​or health concerns, for example. There were a few other instances like this. This went beyond being a no-​nonsense NYer to being brusque and uncommunicative when people are there trying to learn from you.
In addition, I was surprised someone with Amanda’s experience would need to rely so heavily on the recipe (she kept looking at the recipe sheet) for fairly simple recipes (such as pork with carmelized apples). When we sat down to eat, our rice was undercooked, our crème brûlée runny, and I hesitated to eat the brussel sprouts since they had not been washed (no, they were not pre-​washed — they had dirt on the outer leaves).
I have no doubt Amanda is a knowledgeable professional, and perhaps she was having a bad day, but I was disappointed on several levels. There are more student-​centered programs out there.

Took Amanda’s entertaining cooking class last night. Super fun! I will say that it’s at first awkward when you sit down and get started with a group of people you don’t know. But Amanda has been doing this for a while and she knows that the key to a good group is to put people to work. She’s great at talking about what we’re doing and actually TEACHING you how to do it. She assigns various people different tasks and helps you. She’s patient, knowledgeable and an excellent chef!
You definitely get your hands dirty, get close and personal with your neighbor and learn tricks and tips in the kitchen. When we read the menu that we would be preparing, I was excited because it sounded good. But I was wrong, it was DELICIOUS! I’m not exaggerating for the sake of a review. I was seriously knocked out by how good the food was. Amanda taught us the importance of quality foods and products and I’m sold on buying some things from specialty stores.
When we sat down for dinner, the wine was pouring liberally and we all stuffed our faces and enjoyed eachothers company. We chatted, talked about our experience with food and Amanda even gave me tips for preparing some Salmon that my husband caught in Alaska.
Amanda is direct, to the point and in charge. But she’s also super nice and patient. It’s like New York (where she’s from) meets beach city. She clearly enjoys preparing food and sharing her love with others.
I can’t wait to sign up for another class! It’s worth the cost, plus some. Plus, there’s something really cool about working in a kitchen in a big culinary shop.
TIP: Give yourself plenty of time to get there. The whole Culver City traffic mumbo jumbo made me panic that we would be late. And 5 of our 12 people were more than 15 minutes late — which was annoying. Also, take advantage of the shop — you get a discount if you take a cooking class.

Had a blast taking her class! informative and energetic. She brings her no nonsense New York attitude coupled with her ease of relying information in a fact filled culinary experience that flew by. After the class, it only left me wanting to race back to my own kitchen and try out my newly acquired recipes! Take the class, have fun, and make some delicious food! Thanks Amanda

Had my wife’s birthday here with some friends. Was a great time! We ended up cooking Moroccan food. Everyone had a great time and Amanda was an excellent teacher. Would recommend to anyone!

I had Amanda do a cooking class in my home with a group of people that, let me say, have educated pallets. The class was not only very educational, it was a party. Everyone had a great time. Amanda kept things moving along and focused in a professional and very fun way.
I would recommend this to people who plan to do more cooking at home. The arsenal of recipes Amanda offers are easy to follow and to make, so you do not need to be advanced. I figure, pretty much anyone can follow her instructions and cook a great meal. You will be a champ.

i loved the movie «julie and julia,» so when chef amanda posted a Unilocal event for a similarly-​themed recreational cooking class, i clicked «i’m in» within milliseconds. perhaps even faster.
i was so inspired by the movie that i even ordered both editions of julia child’s classic cookbook AND the abbreviated notes book. all of them are amazing, btw: classic french technique demystified for your average home enthusiast cook. perfect. i was dying to try assembling a meal using julia’s recipes, and chef amanda’s class seemed like a great way to begin cooking the classics with some professional guidance.
the menu:
— beef bourguignon,
— pommes de terre parisiennes
— braised artichokes with wine, garlic and herbs
— individual chocolate soufflés
if you know the simonster, you know i cook a fair amount at home, but i’ve only ever been to one other cooking class before this, at chef eric’s culinary classroom in rancho park.
chef amanda’s classroom, format, and teaching skills are MUCH better. the classroom itself is a new cooking space in a community center in venice. easy parking and spacious, new facilities. there is, however, only one set of burners, which actually works out better for a recreational class like this. amanda herself is personable, friendly, and professional, as are her two sous chefs.
unlike chef eric’s school where students are broken up into groups of 4, each responsible for one course, chef amanda has each student assist with the prep on every course. that way, every student learns every dish.
i admired chef amanda’s intuitive teaching skills as well. unlike chef eric’s school where the most clueless newbies monopolized the class’ time with retarded questions, amanda works to keep the level of instruction higher and students of all levels engaged. she accomplishes this by subtly having more experienced students answer the more inane questions as well as do some of the prep cooking. brilliant.
after everybody has had a hand in prepping and cooking each course, they turn the lights down low and the students sit down at their prep tables to enjoy the meal with wine provided by chef amanda.
the resulting food is tasty, but don’t expect fine dining. and if you already know how to cook, the recreational classes might be a bit simplistic. i’m considering taking more advanced level classes with chef amanda and/​or classes where i’m unfamiliar with the spices and techniques like her indian cuisine. next time i’m bringing my own knives too, even though i’ll look like a dork, because the classroom’s knives couldn’t give a papercut.
$ 70 for class, including instruction, meal, and wine.

I used Amanda and her staff to conduct several in home cooking classes as team building events for 6 – 8 of my staff. The classes were very hands on, and she did an excellent job coaching all levels of cooks (from «never held a knife» to «self proclaimed gourmet». I could not recommend Amanda more highly and plan to use her again.

went here with my date. had a great time. highly recommend

I love Amanda’s cooking classes! I’m a confident baker but have always been nervous around cooking meats. I took a few of Amanda’s classes and bought her book and I feel SO much better making dinner :-)
She is so practical and teaches from the hip, and the pictures in her book are lovely. I also learned some great knife skills and grilling techniques.
I’ll be taking a whole bunch more of her classes!