Kim M.
1st we never received the recipes we made! It was an extremely disappointing experience and nowhere near worth almost $100 per person - I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience was so disappointing that I feel other people should know what they are paying for. My husband and I received this 2-hour sushi class as a gift from our son. I’ve taken about six cooking classes previously, and unfortunately this was hands-down the worst experience I’ve had. The class description said we would be making Shrimp Tempura Rolls, Yuzu Dipping Sauce, Crab Inari Sushi, Avocado & Vegetable Hand Rolls, Sushi Rice and Yuzu Sorbet. What we actually experienced was very different. From the beginning, the class seemed disorganized. They apparently expected 8 people, but 11 showed up, and there didn’t seem to be any system for checking people in or confirming who was registered. We stood behind a counter for the entire two-hour class — no stools or seating — and didn’t even have napkins. There were also no printed recipes, which I have never experienced in a cooking class. We had nothing to follow along with, take notes on. We didn't even have our own cooking stations and had to share with others. Very little actual cooking or instruction took place. We sliced some carrots, cucumber and avocado and deep-fried the few baby shrimp. That was essentially it. The assistants repeatedly took away our knives, cutting boards and other equipment to wash them while we were still trying to use them, so we had to keep retrieving what we needed. Even more disappointing, several of the items advertised as part of the class either weren’t made or weren’t taught. We never made the Yuzu dipping sauce? and I don’t recall receiving any instruction at all on how to make the Yuzu sorbet. They also ran out of rice. And then there was the shrimp. For two people, we received maybe 6 tiny shrimp about the size of my thumbnail. I took a photo before we rolled our tempura roll (see below) because I honestly couldn’t believe that was the amount of food provided for two people paying close to $200. The instructor herself was knowledgeable, pleasant and clearly educated about the subject. My criticism is not about her personally. The problem was the overall execution of the class and the enormous disconnect between almost $100-per-person price, what was advertised, and what was actually provided. It was also difficult to hear much of the instruction, which made an already disorganized experience even more frustrating. For almost $200 per couple, I would expect an organized, hands-on cooking class with adequate ingredients and equipment, recipes to take home, instruction on all or at least most of the advertised dishes, and enough food to actually prepare those dishes and enjoy a dinner. We received none of that. Based on our class, I absolutely could not recommend it at this price. I would give it 1 star for the experience/value, with the acknowledgment that the instructor herself was kind and knowledgeable.
