L’Ecole Culinaire

I went for lunch in their student run restaurant and made a reservation before hand. I got there right when they opened and I was the only one there. Sometimes this is not a good sign when you are at a restaurant, but I decided to go for it and was pleasantly surprised. The waiter was a student in training and you could tell, but I still got good service. They give you complementary olive bread and butter and it was really good. They have a small menu that changes during each semester and I decided to try the roasted chicken. It was cooked perfectly and served on a bed of peas and tomatoes inside a small skillet. It was delicious and perfectly seasoned. It ended up being enough for me to eat for two meals and tasted just as good reheated. I then ordered a dessert called «A Study in Chocolate» and it was beautifully plated and equally delicious. I cleaned my plate! The service was a little slow, but the food more than made up for it. This place is only open Mon-​Thurs for lunch and then again for dinner. Any tips they receive from dinning go to help students (a scholarship fund I think). I look forward to going back again and trying new menu items and supporting the students as they prepare for jobs in the culinary world.

My husband and I went last month on a Thursday night with our 5 year old daughter. We spent about 50.00 for the three of us plus tip. (tips go toward students) We didn’t order dessert and had leftovers. So it’s not that expensive for a nice meal out. entrees run about $ 13 – 25.
We were the only people there until about the last 20 minutes of our meal when one other lady came in. (see the inconvenient hours) So we had plenty of attention from the wait staff. They were all great and kind to our daughter. The head chef came out to check on us too.
Pros: Each quarter is a new menu so it’s always changing. The food was good and different. The menu is small so if you go with 2 – 3 people you could almost try everything. (Check out their website for the current menu and pricing)
Cons: The hours are not very convenient, as they are only open Monday-​Thursday. The horrific florescent can lighting. I HATE florescent lights and in a nice restaurant they are sooo wrong. Feels like Walmart, only instead of bright florescent lights, they are dimmed.
We will be going back again. I think they need to promote themselves to get more business. I guess the restaurant is just a side business to the school so they are more interested using the restaurant as a proving ground for the students.
They really have good, unique food for about what you’d spent at Bonefish or Carrabas.

Typically on Valentine’s Day, restaurants will charge a premium and provide sub-​par service for a rush of individuals who don’t typically frequent these restaurants. With this in mind, we decided to take a cooking class on Valentine’s night.
We arrived about five minutes late and they had us and others waiting in the lobby for a moment. They directed us then to a room which was apparently full with another class, so we all got redirected to another room. We got placed at a station with a ton of ingredients and were given no instruction on what to do with them. We asked the couple next to us for some direction but they were equally confused. We would ask the students of the cooking class questions and we often got a «I don’t know» answer, which speaks poorly upon the establishment. However, this event was so poorly organized and we were all so confused to the point where the whole thing became comedic and fun for all the wrong reasons. They did have horsd’oeuvres and wine in the hallway which was a nice touch, but not nearly enough to distract us from how much of a circus this class was.
After we were done cooking our «masterpieces» with little instruction and absolutely zero learning (hence the low star rating; it was a cooking class. If this was the extent of the class, it would have gotten two stars) we get directed to the restaurant area to eat. It was very crowded and we wound up having to sit with another couple at our table; we got exceptionally lucky with our couple as they were a blast, but the original point still stands. We also were only given wine to drink for the longest time, which was a nice touch… unless you dislike wine. After an elongated wait (once I was essentially done with my main course) I finally got a water. They also served a salad and dessert which we had no hand in making, but was quite good.
The other couple had said they had a better experience in the other room with Chef Hudson, so we may come back if he is teaching (the other chef never even introduced himself, let alone instructed). Overall, this was a fun experience, but mainly for how chaotic and bad it truly was.

I tried two public cooking classes and found both to be designed for people who are inexperienced, if not mystified by cooking. If you already cook, you may feel you’ve wasted your time and money and have been sent back to kindergarten. I won’t be back.

I noticed that I tend to only write reviews when I am extremely satisfied or extremely dissatisfied… LOL I will try to also add some from my unremarkable list. Anyway we received a call from a friend only last night about day two of a Beer & Food pairing class… well we mad dashed to find a sitter (Kid’s Station as recently referred by another Unilocaler– which was also FABULOUS) and managed to make it. We loved our amazing Chef Brandon Buchanan he was knowledgeable yet fun! Beer is Beer but it was a travel to far away destinations with the history and mystery for each of the foreign ales and lagers! The food… AMAZING — great guacamole, breads, potato salads, cole slaws and a to die for Crème Brulee !! ummm did I say AMAZING yet… Anyways the restaurant reopens in a week or two I believe and if you get the opportunity please do visit!!!

I have been here for a public cooking class and found the event to be highly enjoyable. I also learned of many other events LeCole sponsors and plan to attend many more.
I can only speak from my single experience at the moment, but I was highly impressed from that single experience. I attended the French Laundry class where the Chefs at the school teach you how to prepare 3 courses from the French Laundry menu and allow you to cook it for yourself using their facilities. The food that we were instructed on and allowed to make was Duck Confit, Lobster Rolls, and a crème brûlée type recipe that I have since forgotten the name. All the dishes were amazing. Although we prepared the food it was under the guidance of at least 6 chefs. It was a very enjoyable experience. Oh and appetizers and wine are served throughout the course — great for fun but perhaps not the best idea when sharp knives and hot surfaces are involved — although no one was injured. Very enjoyable ad highly recommended for a group of people or a date.
Food: ⁵⁄₅
LeCole is a cooking school, so it should come as no surprise that the room that I was in for most of the event was a kitchen. A very clean kitchen but a kitchen nonetheless. The dining area, however is nice and seems refined, and the school uses this to stage for the classes. They also serve lunch in this dining area. I have never been before, but I am tempted to try it sometime. It is a very small dining area and may not be the best choice if you are in a hurry during a business lunch. However, I cannot make a recommendation on this until I have tried it. Nonetheless, the atmosphere is wanting, but that is to expected since it is a school.
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅
This was a very expensive class. They do have other deals that are much less, but depending on the menu for the class it can be quite expensive. Keep in mind also that there are multiple staff that have to stay late in order to make this class possible, and there are resources and materials which must be procured in order to make this as easy on the customer as possible. When you factor these elements into the equation, you begin to realize you actually are getting a fairly good deal for what it is. Certainly, if learning to cook isn’t your thing this is not going to be a «value», but if food is your interest than this is certainly a value. That being said the class I attended was $ 100/​person, interpret that as you will. It’s certainly not cheap, but the value factor s fair.
Value:3/5
The service is not applicable for the experience I had. It was a cooking class, so we did our own thing. However, I assume the service in the dining area for lunch or dinner services are much better, since these are students trying to do their best to make the grade.
Service: N/​A
I would say that if you are interested in food and would like an experience that you probably can’t find anywhere else besides LeCole and Viking, you should sign up for a class and see for yourself. Their public class opportunities are available on their website. Worst case scenario, you’ll have a good story to tell. Best case scenario, you’ll learn something, have some great food, build confidence in your cooking skill, and be eager to try again.

Its about the food, no really it is, because this is a BYOB.
Went with a group of friends on our monthly dining out social-​13 of us in all
First we went here because we seen the commercials and thought, what the heck, lets give it a go…
Service:
Service was Great! It was a group of 13 of us, and our waiter and waitress were knowledgeable, attentive and courteous.
Food:
Appetizers– two of us had a «Winter Flatbread” — it was bland and half the pita bread was burnt–
White Chicken Chili had great reviews along with the salads
Crab bread (?croquets?) where not cooked all the way through (mushy/​doughy inside)
Entrees:
Multiple complaints on gamey/​burnt flavor on meats (wild boar/​filet/​lobster pot pie)
(2)Filet and (1)Wild Boar meal was returned and we were able to order something else. WE all chose the Gnocci– was cooked well, again flavor was heavy with bitterness-​balsamic vinegar or something… but edible.
Desserts: Awesome, everyone enjoyed and mood quickly picked up after this was served.
Wine was good-​of course we brought it with us ;-).
Overall, for my meal the $ 26 Wild Boar (which was returned and taken off ticket) $ 12 Gnocci and the $ 8 Winter Flatbread– I was not impressed. Although, the staff and chefs were very nice, the food is really what counts and it was not up to par, the dessert was good but not what we went here for.
Consensus: 5 of 13 would give another chance. The rest of us, not so much due to the price of entrees and lack of quality control-​something about burnt meat smothered with a sauce to cover it up just does not sit well.

Not long ago, I considered going to culinary school and becoming a chef. Chalk it up to watching too much Food Network. At any rate, I did seriously think about it, but after careful contemplation, decided it wasn’t for me. I’m too old for such hard work! :)
At any rate, I did check out L’ Ecole. They are very reputable, and have an additional location is St. Louis. Until recently, Memphis didn’t have a decent culinary program, so it’s nice we finally have this one.
Recently, they held an open house for the public, and I stopped by with a friend of mine to check it out. I have to admit, I was pretty wowed with the place. And there was something pretty great about walking around and being served gourmet treats by so many people in chef’s hats and coats. :)
The food they were sampling was incredible — gourmet and first rate. I found out they have a restaurant here also. They only serve on certain days at specific times, but the prices are great. Less than $ 20 for dinner, and about half that for lunch. And if the samples I tasted at the open house are in any way representative of the meals, you can for sure sign me up!