Sur La Table Cooking Class

It’s been a long time since I have rated an establishment five stars. I could have sworn dust fell out my phone when I pressed five stars.
Let’s get started…
Nokdu Buchingae
KimChi Stew
Bulgogi Beef Bibimbap
Goguma Latte
(Drops mic)
(Picks the mic up from the floor)
Favorite Thing: He made us cook! As unusual as that sounds, there are many cooking classes who are too overly cautious of not getting sued. Chef Gormoran was like «Cut the scallions, chopped the tofu, marinade the beef, mash the garlic, crack the eggs, cook the pancakes, wash your hands and etc.»
In my enthusiatic overzealous voice: «YASSSSSSSSS, you better do that Chef!»
Chef Joel Gamoran: He’s a great instructor and knows what he’s talking about. He was open to questions and gave everyone an opportunity to participate. How come you can’t be my academic professor?
How Did The Food Taste?: Well, I cooked it so it was amazing (smiles). In all seriousness, the food was exactly as he described: comforting, spicy, and ethnic.
Fun Fact: I took myself on a date. The best thing about that was I was able to eat, drink, slurp and get messy without thinking a date would judge me.
Hilarious Fact: Since, I was the only black girl there, I didn’t want to sound unrefined and ask for a doggy bag. So you’re planning to throw my leftovers in the garbage? While everyone say their byes, I went to the back of the kitchen got some alumininum foil and made it happen. All you saw was the shadow of my afro pouring the soup in my paper cup, taking the foil wrapping the Nokdu Buchingae. In two hours, I will be thinking about the leftovers I almost… ALMOST, but didn’t throw out and I’m going to eat it.
Overall Experience: I was emotional after class ended. It was as if someone took my toys and said «Noushky, stop having fun and come back to reality.»

My husband planned date night here for Modern Tuscan night. Chef Sydney was great. She was very informative and opened to questions. We cooked roasted tomato crostini, steak, and polenta w/​mushrooms. I enjoyed the class thoroughly, and the food was amazing. I would recommend to anyone. However, there are a few things that I think they should do differently:
1) limit the class, specially a date night class to only 4 couples so eight people. This way every couple has their own station. Having 4 people to a station is crowded, it takes away from the cooking experience since you have to share the tasks, it also takes away from the intimacy of date night when you have to work so closely with other people.
2) bar stools– no one really wants to eat standing up. When they send the couples away for 10 minutes to set up the food– they should put small bar stools so people could sit and enjoy their meal.
3) WINE– must have wine. Enough said about this.
Overall it was great and I would do it again.

Took the Taste of Italy Cooking Class for my friend’s bachelorette party last night and it was great. You certainly don’t leave hungry and Chef Claire was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. What we didn’t realize was that it was a «date night» class, so I’m pretty sure the couples in the room HATED us but we had an AWESOME time! Can’t wait to try out some of these recipes myself!

This cooking class is located in the Sur La Table retail store, which you pass by before heading to cook in a separate kitchen showroom. Retail store is worth the visit since they usually have a sample of food and a demonstration of what you can do w/​one of the machines or cookware they sell there. Also, there is a lovely Nespresso counter in the back of the store that serves free samples of espresso & coffee to customers.
The kitchen was clean, open & inviting. M & I enjoyed the ease and instruction of Chef Joel Gamaron’s Island-​style Hawaiian cooking class & the tasty & creative dishes we cooked: Kalbi Beef Sliders (the best!); Mahi mahi in banana leaf w/​shiitake mushrooms, sweet onions & tomatoes; and Crispy sesame-​soy slaw. The overly-​sweet Miso ginger pork tacos, however, wasn’t a big hit w/​us. Of course, we could’ve blamed the taste on our own cooking skills (LOL) but it was SLT that provided all ratio of spices, sauces, & ingredients for our dishes.
There were two 4-​top gas stations (total of 8 gas burners). However, prep space around these burners only allowed for 3 couples when we had a total of 4 couples present. Because of this, we had to share & cook on 1 hot plate (not gas) station with another couple while the 2 other couples on the side stations had individual spaces next to the gas burners. On top of that, we also had to split our ingredients w/​this other couple while the other 2 couples were given their own sets. This really cut into our experience of cooking together in half, which we didn’t like at all. There were several times during the class that M & I didn’t have any or less ingredients in front of us and one or both of us stood by watching while others were cutting or cooking. To prevent this from happening in the future, SLT should only schedule 3 couples at a time so that each pair will have its own station & set of ingredients.
The class finished earlier without rounding off the meal by teaching /​offering us a dessert. We felt rushed in the end to assemble our sliders & tacos and didn’t feel like we had ample time to enjoy our meal. The easy-​to-​make recipes were provided in a packet for us to take home.
Overall, we’d be interested in returning for the French, Thai, Vietnamese, & homemade pasta classes. To ensure a more full & enjoyable experience for our next visit, we will have to stake out one of the side stations to guarantee station + ingredients of our own.

I had the pleasure of attending a cooking class led by Chef Claire for a networking event. Chef Claire and her staff were such fun to work with! The soups we made were easy to follow and amazing delicious! The facility was modern, sleek and clean (a dream kitchen for any NYC apartment!). Would attend another class in the future.

Review for «Vegetarian Holiday Dishes» cooking class by Chef Clare:
The menu: goat cheese soufflé with arugula pesto; farro risotto with cauliflower, pine nuts, and cranberries; apple and celery root salad; cumin roasted butternut squash with chickpeas.
Clare gave clear instructions and the recipes were easy to follow. She kept the class running at a good pace. I didn’t feel rushed. She also offered some alternatives/​variations to the recipes, and taught some knife skills. There was plenty of time for questions.
This was my first cooking class at Sur La Table. We worked in groups of four so you are working together to make all the recipes. There were 16 students in my class. I brought a friend of mine with me — which definitely made it more fun.
** TIP #1: when you arrive, try and mingle to see who you may potentially want in your group. I made the mistake of just staring through the print out of recipes instead of meeting the other people. Result — we ended up being in a group with a really mean, critical person (good thing I had a friend there for moral support!).
Before the end of class, the chef will take you around the store to point out some of the supplies/​utensils that were used during the class. You will be tempted to buy something, especially because they give a 10% discount to all members in the class. Wait until you have taken a few classes so that you are not buying items specific to a certain recipe, but rather things that you will use many times. Given the size of new york city kitchens, it is just not practical.
At the end of class, you will get to eat all the food that is cooked. There was plenty for our group. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take anything home :(
** TIP #2: Don’t eat a big meal before your class.
Overall, I really enjoyed the class. It exposed me to new ingredients (celery root, fennel?!). All 4 recipes are relatively easy to make and I will definitely be making them again at home.

I was here Friday night for a French cooking class with my girlfriend that cost $ 80 per person. It felt more like a horrible infomercial or they were going to sell me a timeshare. The supposed chef kept selling the appliances especially the one to make poached eggs, however the poached egg came out hard-​boiled. They served us three thin slices of the worst cooked/​seasoned steak — not the one we prepared ourselves because they mixed all the steaks together after slicing them. «Chef» Rebecca was unorganized and it made me feel uncomfortable the way she spoke to her assistants, she was condescending to everyone in the class. The other employees were really nice but almost afraid to speak. She kicked us out of the kitchen in the middle of the class to sell us on all of the products in the store. The kitchen had not been dusted properly in months there was an inch of dust on the fire alarms next to the cooking surface. There was so much left over food but they shoved dessert in our face before we finished our meals which they made us eat standing up. It would have been nice to learn how to make the dessert, it was the best part of the meal. The only thing we Learned was how to hold a knife and get ripped off.

I have a pasta roller and haven’t actually used it yet. I have to admit I was a little worried I might be put off by an early failure so thought a cooking class was a great way to be able to learn what the dough was supposed to feel like during the process.
I found Sur La Table online. I have been in their stores before to buy gadgets but hadn’t noticed the cooking classes before. They have a full calendar of classes all throughout the day and lots of locations around the US. There was a pasta making class at the Hells Kitchen branch during my second week in NYC so I signed up.
There were only 5 of us in the class and it was very hands-​on so we shared out the tasks of chopping vegetables, cooking meat, making pesto and all had lots of practice rolling the pasta. We made loads of pasta, all flat noodles, and three sauces.
The teacher — Lynn — was very patient, answering all our questions, and stepping to help out just before things started to go a bit wrong !!
The best bit of all was getting to eat the fruits of our labour. fresh pasta is truly amazing and well worth the effort.
I was surprised as how easy it is to make pasta but I know that if I had not done the class I would not of got the texture of the dough right. It needs to be much tougher before the rolling stage than I imagined. I can’t wait to get home and get my machine out and give it a try now.
The class costs $ 69 normally, but luckily I was there when they had a sale so I only paid $ 33 AND you also get a 10% discount voucher to use in their shop after the class. Its a great way to spend a few hours in NYC and learn a new kitchen skill.

My boyfriend and I took a Great Grilled Seafood class at Sur La Table and we were very pleased. Our instructor was Claire who was very informative. The class was very organized and everything we made was absolutely delicious! We made the following:
Grilled Mussels with Garlic –White Wine Butter — Himalayan Salt Slab Scallops with Honey-​Peppercorn Glaze — Spicy Shrimp Skewers with Tomato Salsa — Grilled Salmon with Dilled Mustard Glaze
We lucked out and were only 2 at our table. However, most tables had at least 4 so I could see why other people in their reviews were saying the portions were small. The portions were perfect for 2 people. We’ve taken a cooking class at another culinary studio which was not as great as this one. At that class, we only got to cook one thing and the rest of the class all each made one thing. So it felt more like a factory assembly line all coming together with the food we made. I liked that at Sur La Table, you are able to make everything yourself. We liked our class so much that we are taking another class together this weekend since Sur La Table is doing a 50% off promotion on their classes. Looking forward to it!

My boyfriend and I took the Date Night Grill class this past weekend. What a fun date night, or any night to go out and do something you don’t typically do. We love cooking together so this was a great way to learn something new together in the kitchen. The menu was delicious, the teacher was very knowledgable and friendly and answered all of our many cooking questions. You get a little 10% off coupon to use in their store the next week.
The only negative is the small portion of food. We had to share a small pork chop and the other courses. For the sale price (40ish per person) it was definately worth it because of the experience. However this would not be worth it paying the full amount– I think they asked for 90ish per person. That seems exaggerated.
Overall we would definately do it again if we see a class on sale that is of interest.

On 10÷5÷2013, I purchased 2 tickets from the Sur La Table website for a class named «Essential Knife Skills» that was scheduled for 11÷11÷13.
I went to the classroom about 10 minutes before the class was scheduled to begin. I noticed a schedule on the wall that had «private event» listed at the time my class was supposed to take place. I sought out the manager and she informed me that the knife class that I paid for was cancelled weeks ago. My credit card was never credited and worse than that, nobody bothered to call or e-​mail me and tell me not to show up. My companion and I were left standing there without the class we were supposed to attend. The manager couldn’t refund my money immediately, she said it had to wait until the next day and rushed us out of the room because she had to start teaching the class that superseded ours.
Thanks for nothing, Sur La Table Hell’s Kitchen!!!

Sat Nov 2, 2013: My boyfriend and best friend took the chocoholic class together. We were the first to show up in class. As people came in, we overheard another group who had someone on a wait list get «approved» on the spot. Somehow once everything started, my party of three was grouped with another couple and we had 5 at our station, while there were other groups of three alone, including the wait listed group. We paid $ 70 PP, while the others paid a discounted rate of $ 49 PP to fill the class, and quite frankly I barely was involved at all in the making of anything since there was just NO ROOM. I was very disappointed and not thrilled when the couple grouped in our cooking section started to lick her fingers and continue to touch the food and utensils. The staff was nice and tried to console me when I voiced my disappointment, but I would have preferred action instead of a statement that was made that they count on students being nice about these situations. I was nice, I did not demand a refund when I feel I should have been given one. Buyer beware, if you do not come with a group on four to block others from jumping into your station, do not bother making this reservation!

* Review is for Cooking Class Only*
Recently, my boyfriend and I attended Sur La Table’s Date Night: Great Flavors of Northern Italy cooking class as part of our anniversary. This was my second experience with a cooking class within the city. I had not previously been to this Sur La Table location so it was neat upon arrival to see the instructors inside the kitchen prepping for our class. It was also neat to see street walkers looking in on our class. We were taught how to make: Blackberry Crostata, Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad with Ricotta Salata, Herbed Pork Tenderloin with a Fig-​Port Sauce & Broccoli Rabe with Pine Nuts
Everything was delicious. We had a FULL plate of food for each of us. The kitchen was very clean and welcoming. At times the class did feel a little bit speedup and more description of what we were doing would have been nice but I’m sure that varies per instructor. It was a full class of 12. 2 groups of 4 worked together and then there were 2 pairs working alone. I’m sure meeting new people and working together is fun however we were able to work alone and that made the «date night» even better.
I would consider going back — perhaps to a location on Long Island or maybe there will be on closer to us in New Jersey!

Just took an Indian cooking class at Sur la Table, and the experience was horrible. I felt rushed and the instructor didn’t seem to care if you were following along, oh and the class ended 20 minutes early with a 15 minute break in between. So not worth it. I would not recommend this place to any of my friends. Maybe it’s the instructor, but she ruined the whole experience and I just don’t think it’s worth giving this place another shot. I’ve taken classes at the Institute of Culinary Education and Miette Culinary and the experience and the teachers there were so much better.

Location was convenient. It was very close to the subway. I absolutely love the macaron class I took here. We worked in groups of 3 or 4. The ingredients were prepared for us to work with. No measurement was done by us. We had a pretty roomy kitchen area to work in.
We made 3 batches of macaron: Strawberry Macaron with Champagne Buttercream, Mint Chocolate with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Bacon Macaron with Maple Buttercream. It was great learning the process of how it’s made from the meringue to the piping and the little tips to help along the way. The instructor I had was Katie Rosenhouse. She was very attentive and she also had assistants helping with the cleaning.
For more information and pictures, you can check my blog about the class.
The Knife Skill class also sounds interesting. Will think about signing up for it.

This review will cover two classes… that I took here… the knife skills class and the pizza making class.
Knife Skills:
Great class for someone who wants to learn the proper knife holding technique or the differences in knives. It was fun and very informative… now is this a class for an aspiring cook or chef… I would say NO. In this class everybody had there own station and had a chance to practice with a Japanese vs German knife. This would be great for a date night or something different with the spouse. The price is very cheap compared to some other classes out there. I highly recommend this class.
Pizza Making:
This was a fun class, and should be done with a partner… I did it with my wife. Overall it’s a fairly basic class and when you finish. you will be able to make pizza at home. Another thing is for this class it wasn’t crowded because several people didn’t show up… but if the class is full then you have to share, which could be annoying for some.
Overall, the classes are fun… and make for a great date night. since the cost will be equal to either seeing a movie in the city or going to see a show… For the more serious aspiring cook… I would say they would be disappointed and should look elsewhere.

This is a review for their cooking class. What a great group of people and what delicious food. The only thing is that my eyes were opened by the amount of oil and butter required to really make food taste good.

Passing by the glass window day after day, I decided that I have to try the cooking class. We tried the macaroon baking class. The kitchen area has a nice feel, especially with the large glass window, which allows a lot of sunlight to pass through as well as making the space feel open. It’s a great place to bring a date because of the feeling of being able to «make» something together.
We were actually about 10 – 15 minutes late. I was a bit upset, because they had already started and were mid-​way of finishing the first layer of the macaroon (make sure you’re on time, because they probably start on the dot). However, the staff was so friendly that I didn’t mind. When we walked in, we were greeted by an assistant, given our aprons, packets, and seats. Where you sit doesn’t really matter, because not once did I sit down (so be sure you’re wearing comfortable shoes).
I was a bit unhappy that we had to break into a group of four or five, so next time I recommend that you go with a group of four to make things even more fun and intimate. The class had roughly around16 people with one chef and two assistant chefs. Unfortunately we somehow got put into a group of five, which I was a bit disappointed about, because we had to share cooking time with not only four, but with five people. Everything is basically prepped and washed for you as you cooked. What they don’t tell you is that you don’t need to know measurements as it was all laid out for you.
I recommend taking the class, because the chefs are funny, knowledgeable, and entertaining. However, I feel that the classes ($ 60 – 80) are expensive, but cheaper than going to culinary school. It’s great for dates and learning how to cook. Also, they give out a 10% discount and time to shop on merchandise in the store.