Epicurean School of Culinary Arts

Was dragged here a few years ago for an office shindig, even though I was in the first week of H1N1 … swine flu. (The boss’ concept of a great idea for a party: having his staffers cook and serve their own dinners, not letting them take a breath and relax while dinner was prepared and served by professionals at a restaurant.)
Was the Epicurean crew pleasant? Yes — no argument there. However, the «instruction» was the head chef’s reading the instructions verbatim from his manual, as well as from the recipes we staffers were provided. (If that wasn’t a major waste of 50 minutes, I don’t know what is.) Despite the fact that I was beyond exhausted and feverish, I carried on to prepare my course for the work team.
Just as many other reviewers here pointed out, our dinner was served — or, rather, we ourselves served our dinner — shortly after 10 p.m. The results of the work team? Barely edible, honestly, to decent.
The experience may have been moderately worthwhile for a total novice in the kitchen. That said, I learned absolutely zero — other than that I’m successful blending ingredients — because I’d taught myself to cook and had prepared a rather wide array of meals for more than two decades before. If I’d had the similar experience my fellow Unilocalers had — spending $ 85 for the same culinary «lesson» I’d had that night, or for no class at all — I’d have been beyond outraged.
(Note: I recovered from the ol’ H1N1 about four weeks later, but that tedious night at Epicurean sure didn’t speed the recuperation any.)

Waited 20 minutes and the instructor never came. Extremely disorganized and unprofessional!

I guess this almost pointless since they have obviously skipped town and stole everyone’s money. I bought a $ 400 gift certificate for my husband and now they are no where to be found. The site is now down and before that they stopped answering emails and the phone was disconnected.
Total crooks. Sad because about 9 years ago they were really good. I had bought my husband a gift certificate then as well and he absolutely loved it. Now it looks like im out $ 400 which is a LOT of money to be out of.

I wish I could rate this school zero starts. One star is more than they deserve. This review isn’t about my experience attending a cooking class but rather my experience trying to sign up for a cooking class. I too had bought a Groupon for this school, like many of the other reviewers. The Groupon dates were from 5÷2011−3÷2012. I bought the Groupon along with 2 friends because we wanted to take a class together. We signed up for the Moroccan cooking class that was scheduled for ⁸⁄₂₀₁₁. The day of the class, 2 of the 3 of us had received emails that the class would be cancelled. Thought it was strange that one of us didn’t receive an email. But whatever, that’s not a big deal because she got the memo from us. In both September and October I noticed that no classes were being offered through the end of the 2011 year. Concerned about the approaching Groupon expiration date, I emailed the school on ¹⁰⁄₁₇₂ 011 to ask when more classes would be added. Their email response to me was sent TWO MONTHS LATER (12÷6÷2011)! And the message in that email simply said «Thank you for your interest in Epicurean School of Culinary Arts. You’ll receive a response shortly.» Did i ever receive another email correspondence? NO! Again, I brushed it off. Decided to wait until January for the class schedule after the new year. Finally January rolls around, I check their website for the latest class schedule. Still no classes being offered being offered through to the last day of my Groupon. I called the school directly, no answer. By this point I lost my patience. The school is completely unresponsive to the email and phone number they publish on their website. They might as well not publish that information online if they don’t intend to use it. I contacted Groupon and got my full refund back right away. I would highly recommend the rest of you do the same if you bought the same Groupon and haven’t been able to us it yet.

The good: easy to register for classes
The bad: when we arrived, the business was closed.
The ugly: The school was closed and the owner unavailable when the class was scheduled. I drove 45 minutes using a toll road on Friday night, Sept 9^th to drop off my daughter for a cooking class. When we arrived 5 people were already waiting outside. The door was locked. The voicemail for the business was full. Many of the others there said that was the norm. One woman had the owner’s cell phone. 8 more people showed up. After 20 minutes the owner had not returned any of the calls or text messages left for her and no one else showed up to open. Everyone left.
Purchased this through Groupon and expect to be refunded. Still, wasted over 2.5 hours on a Friday night in traffic, and no cooking class!
Unprofessional, unreliable. Not going back for more.

Caveat to Groupon purchasers.
I have tried to consistently register for classes since beginning of the year before my voucher expires but to no avail.
A few criticisms:
First: the classes listed at time of purchase are no longer offered so you nay not be able to take a class of interest if you are able to use your group on.
Second, the contact information listed on the website has changed and has made it difficult to make contact them using the site email address (I received a email msg: «contact is no longer available» & the phone number on the website seems to be a cell phone number and you can’t leave a voicemail (no one ever picked up) because it was always full.
Third, when I did finally acquire a legitimate email address, they either didn’t respond or when she did, even when the class on the website said there were seats available, they always responded with «the class was not available».
Fourth, I tried to register online but it would not accept my Groupon code and I didnt want to take a chance at paying for yet another class.
So, here it is, I have only a few more months before my groupon expires and still have not been able to reserve a class but I keep trying.
Needless to say, I will not purchase another one of these. This frustrating negative experience has outweighed any savings from this discounted purchase and any hopeful fun experience from any cooking class.
I asked for a refund but they ignored that request to.

Why, oh why didn’t I read the Unilocal reviews before I booked my class?!! Like many others I had a terrible experience with Epicurean School at the Anaheim location. I booked my class several weeks in advance, paid the full amount of $ 85 (no discount coupons), received a confirmation e-​mail, arrived on time and NO ONE WAS THERE! There were two other students who also showed up to be as disappointed as I was. I tried to call to find out what had happened, but had to leave a message. I waited at the classroom location for a half hour to no avail. I never received a call back. When I tried to call again later in the day the message box was full. Now I will try to get a refund, but I doubt I’ll be successful.
Please, whatever you do, don’t waste your money and time on the Epicurean School of Culinary Arts!

I’ve never written a bad review before. If I could give a negative star I would. No one showed up to teach the Moroccan cooking class that my friends & I signed up for. Don’t ever book a cooking class through them. There was no sign that said the class was cancelled and no one contacted me either. I also left a message to complain and no one called me back to apologize. This company is VERY unprofessional. If you do it will be a waste of money and you may not get your money back.

I I had high expectations when I purchased the «OC Register Deal of the Day» only to quickly learn that this was not the best purchase I had ever made. Here is a quick rundown of my experience:
*Bought Deal of the Day for one cooking class
*Tried to schedule classes only to have everything booked
*They allowed an extension of the coupon and told me I could schedule for the next round of classes
* Finally got a class booked
* Day of Class I get a call that class is cancelled and they would reschedule me for the next class
*Try to email to reschedule
*No response
*Try to email again
*No Response
*Try to email to reschedule
*No response
*Call and leave messages
*No Response
The «No Responses» have gone on now for over a month, Not to mention that my girlfriends purchased the same coupon so we could all go together and they are getting the same treatment I am. So I am now trying to get my money back. I have no idea who runs this place because no one answers the phones, but Horrible customer service!!! I would NOT recommend them to anyone!

Horrible business. Bought the «Deal of the Day» through THE OC Register and never even got to attend ONE class.
— Scheduled a class and it was canceled due to the instructor having pink eye.
–Then it was rescheduled for another date, but when I called and emailed to verify the new date I received was valid– I never heard back from them.
— I begged by email to have a returned email of some sort so I can arrange a new date, since that date had passed.
–Then i posted on their wall on Facebook to get a response and nothing.
— I just contacted Analog Analytics and asked for my money back.
Bad Business. Horrible communication. Never buy from them again!

I have tried to e-​mail and call them several times… for past 2 weeks
NO RESPOND…
call Groupon and got refunded!
all of you got the Groupon deal should go ahead and get your refund ASAP

Unilocal should have a 0 or a negative star option because it pains me to give this place even 1 star!
This place is Extremely Unprofessional! I TRIED to take a class with my friend and we waited outside for 45 minutes with 11 other people but the class never started! No one received a call or an email stating that the class was canceled. There were no notes posted on the door. We called the phone number to the school where no one ever picks up and the answering machine is no longer accepting messages. Worst experience and a waste of time.

Took the sauces class on a Monday morning. There was only 10 of us so we were given two recipes for each group of two. Our chef was fabulous and fun. He explained the different techniques and ingredients we were not familiar with. Being in a sauces class many of the ingredients were French and needed some explaining of the difference in taste from American ingredients. He also asked us questions that helped us feel included in the conversation of what we may have thought the ingredients were. AND… he was funny!
All of us in the class were experienced cooks which explains why we signed up for a sauce class. I signed up for the most difficult sauce… the hollandaise… and chef was very helpful in making sure it came out. At first it was perfect but then it «fell» but then he came over to show us how to fix it with a secret chef technique! So I am glad that happened!
He also made a wonderful roasted chicken, pasta, salad and toasted baguettes for us to taste with our sauces, salsas and dressings. The only reason I give it four stars is lack of some of the equipment working properly like the food processors and I was in need of an ingredient they had run out of. Knowing my herbs though I was able to make a small change for my recipe and we succeeded in a great salad dressing!
I had an extremely easy time booking it online as instructed when you go to the website and have a Groupon certificate. They say not to call! Please follow the instructions online for booking with a certificate and you will have no problem. The owner has received the business woman of the year award last year from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce so she must be doing something right.

A class @ Epicurean will only teach you something if you have never cooked before in your life, and if you think listening to the «chef» read the recipes for the first 50 minutes of class counts as instruction. The final result in our Moroccan class? Eating jammed elbow to elbow seated on folding chairs at 10pm, with food you could have made by following the recipes at home. None of the food could be considered deeply flavored Moroccan food, and the lamb sausages that remained when we made it to the table were blackened, inedible chunks of meat. We left before dessert.
Do NOT sign up if you have ever cooked before and want to learn something new. Remember those classes in school where the teacher read aloud the same thing you had in front of you and called that «teaching»? Deja vu. Honestly, our first 50 minutes consisted of us all flipping through the xeroxed recipes reading along with the chef while she gave us tips like:
— Sauté the onions (the sheet says «sauté the onions»)
— Cut all the vegetables into similar sized pieces
— Don’t add all the salt and pepper we set out for you at once.
— Wholesome Choice is a great place to buy spices
Even an iphone doesn’t help alleviate the boredom — no signal.
For this you pay $ 85 (even with a Groupon 50% discount, it’s too much). By the way, if you are stuck with anything other than a main dish, you finish your prep and cooking in the first 20 minutes, and then stand around bored, hungry, and with nothing to do for the next hour or more.
Did I mention the misprints on the recipes? «Bread the dough in tow» (Huh? It means «break the dough in two»). And since they put in a recipe that needs 1.5 hours to rise and 40 minutes of baking time, and we only had 1.5 hours by the time the reading instruction was over, so we accelerated every part of the recipe, resulting in dry, flaorlesss loaves. Blah. Equipment is old — measuring cups don’t even have legible markings on some. Ingredients are not top-​notch — the so-​called «olive oil» was a pale yellow industrial grade oil that I doubt ever met an olive. The recipe for salad called for ricotta salata but they subbed in a flavorless and rubbery feta.
Nope … no return here, and no recommendation.

With a groupon for half off I decided the price was finally right for a cooking class. I signed up my boyfriend and I for the Table for Two class this past weekend. I was able to get us in the class very last minute so I was very happy about not having to wait months to get a spot. The class turned out to be about half couples and half ladies out with friends. When we first sat down we were given a packet of recipes. I was a little baffled about how we were going to make all this food. About half way through our chef’s intro speech I realized that each group would be making a different dish. I then became worried that I was going to be sitting down to a bunch of burnt food at the end of the night.
I think the person giving us the intro speech could have done a bit better job explaining to us what was going to happen. Most of us have never been to something like this and had no idea what to expect. She could have also sold us a little more on the idea of tying out other classes. For about 20 minutes she went through each recipe — admittedly she lost me about half way through when she started talking in chef terms and the half a bottle of wine I had already had started to put me to sleep.
When we broke into your stations we lucked out and got to make fresh, home-​made pasta and pasta sauce. It was fun and tasted great. The 3 ladies helping out were very friendly and helpful and I enjoyed chatting and joking with them. We were so involved in our own dish that we never walked around to see what others were doing — I wish the staff had carved out a time to remind us to do this.
They should also warn you that you are not going to eat until 9:30 at night. We would have eaten before the class. At one point I was so hungry I wanted to just give up and go to taco bell. I don’t even like taco bell. Finally around 9 pm the group making pizza was done cooking and we got pizza appetizers. They were delicious! I would highly recommend that the school provides another appetizer — even just bread and olive oil — so they the students do not get ornery.
When we did sit down to dinner I was very impressed by what we had all created. The food was excellent and it was fun getting to know our table mates. We even had chocolate soufflés and homemade ice cream to follow the meal. Somehow the 3 instructors managed to help 20 people who know next to nothing about cooking produce a gourmet meal. I could see how the class would be frustrating if you actually did know something about cooking as we didn’t work on many different meals or skills. For me though, it was great!
Oh another big plus — you can bring and drink wine while you cook! Wine makes everything more fun.
I would highly recommend this activity for an alternative to the same old dinner and movie night. (Just grab a snack before hand) After all this wine I left all the recipes sitting on the table so we’ll see if the school emails me the packet.

Yes, it was a TREMENDOUS challenge to book a class and get anyone to respond to us, but the school is probably run on skeleton staff and very busy.
When we did get into a class, we had a wonderful experience. My husband and I took the Moroccan class. We had about 15 people and everyone cooks a different dish. The instructor was extremely nice and walked around to answer questions and help provide tips as we did our individual recipes. A few people were done early, and she offered new receipes to try, even though it was not a part of the menu.
We had a great group, everyone got along, shared stories, laughed, ate and enjoyed each other’s company while we tasted each others’ food. The menu was excellent and we will probably use the recipes again at home.

Don’t get lost like me. Don’t use a woefully outdated GPS that will insist on taking you to 270 North Clementine instead of South. And park in the parking structure down the street once you do arrive at the correct place — parking should be free on the weekends.
My fiancé purchased certificates from Living Social — yeah! — our first buy from Living Social that was not a complete ripoff. I had to e-​mail the owner in advance to reserve our spots for the class — good thing because it turned out to be full. The owner was responsive and friendly in the e-​mails.
We selected the Knife Skills class because that sounded like the most basic workshop the school offered. The kitchen is WELL-​EQUIPPED — wow, it is a cook’s dream. I saw plenty of gadgets and cooking equipment I didn’t know existed before that day — but once I saw them, i had to own them (maybe one day). The instructor began the class by reviewing a handout that included recipes. Chef Jill was terrific — knowledgeable (also gave lots of useful tips throughout the class), funny, and very encouraging. Chef Tina was very sweet as well. We learned how to sharpen and hold a knife. We learned how to test the dullness or sharpness of a knife.
Chef Jill demonstrated how to cut various produce. After each demonstration, we each went to our own stations and practiced peeling, skinning, chopping, dicing, whatever it was we were doing with the knives. We handled tomatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, potatoes, etc. etc. Chef Jill went around providing personalized instruction. We contributed our creations to communal pots that we later used for recipes. If this was a beginner class, I was a pre-​beginner. But everyone there was incredibly nice, and I didn’t feel like too much of a loser even though my carrot matchsticks ended up looking like shredded carrots and my potato cubes were more like oblong modern art creations. We observed how to cut a chicken. Towards the end of the class, each 2-​person team was assigned different tasks, with the end result a feast of soups and appetizers.
All in all, a unique, interesting way to spend 3+ hours — we had a blast.

I did not read the previous reviews until after I attended a class at the Anaheim location. I, too, relate to ALL of the issues mentioned. While I did find the Chef pleasant, professional and knowledgeable — and the day enjoyable — other than the opening «lecture», my daughter and I only learned to cook one dish. We were also on a «deal» price that included a $ 25 discount certificate per student to be given to us at the class. The Chef was unaware of this, so I proceeded to email Tina repeatedly to complete my purchase. (I had given up calling — never had a call returned after many attempts to schedule the class.) At first I did receive email assurances that I would receive my certificates — didn’t — and then got no responses to my continued email requests. I would not recommend taking classes with this school.

So I bought a couple of the discounted Living Social certificates for myself and 2 friends which we used to sign up for the Braised and Beautiful class.
The class was pretty fun. they split us into groups of two but were very accomodating when we told them there was 3 of us. Everyone cooks a different dish, which is standard for most cooking classes everywhere. I’ve taken cooking classes at pretty much every place in the OC that offers them from Sur La Table, Laguna Culinary, Prep to the local community colleges and the standard is you break into groups, cook different dishes then sit down to eat.
Our teacher seemed pretty knowledgable and they started the class with about 30 mins of instruction and going through the recipes. It was helpful if a bit long — not sure it needed to be quite so long, but understand for a beginner how it could be helpful.
The teacher came around a few times to check on us and see if we had questions which was helpful. We also did a paprika blind tasting while waiting for our food to cook which was kinda fun.
The food kinda came out in rounds as braising takes a long time and differs w/​the protein. It made for an intersesting way to eat but it was a little late as we were eating at about 9:30 but it’s not that off from classes elsewhere as most are set up this way.
All in all I enjoyed the class but there is definitely room for improvement and for the normal price of $ 85 I think I’d rather take a class at Sur La Table, but for the discounted price it was definitely worth it. :-)

Like the previous reader, I was disappointed with Epicurean. They charge $ 85 per person for a cooking class and offer an extensive menu with varied themes per class. You go to class thinking you’re going to learn how to make everything on the menu, right?
WRONG. A group of about 20 or so get split up into twos and you make ONE item on the entire menu. Basically, I ended up paying to learn how to make a caesar salad for 3 hours. I thought that we’d learn some cooking techniques and get various tips but they literally hand you a printed package of recipes then leave you on your own. You could do that at home!!!
Class started late, it was incredibly disorganized and we didn’t end up eating til almost 10PM. Everyone was starving and newsflash: when your meal is cooked by mostly beginner cooks, it does not end up tasting so good.
NOT worth it.
The part that blew me away was that the chef told us that when we were done, we should walk around and serve the hor devours and imagine that we were in the large kitchen of our very own mansion. Um, lady — I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a mansion but no one serves their own guests in a mansion. That’s what butlers are for.
At the end of the class, I got up to get a slice of brownie when it was finally done and she had the audacity to order me to put brownies and ice cream on each plate and pass it out to everyone. You must be kidding me. Not only did I not learn a single thing in this overpriced class, now you want me to serve everyone else like a waitress? Uh, I don’t think so!!! My girlfriend was nice enough to comply but apparently, I’m not.
UCI offers similar classes that are about $ 20 a class in a MUCH nicer kitchen and the chef there doesn’t treat you like you are her personal wait staff.
Don’t waste your time and money here.