Parties That Cook

I found the experience lame to say the least. The staff are ok, friendly enough I suppose. Lot’s of watching the demo of how to cook and not much hands on. A few glasses of wine get poured and I think people forget that the classes are $ 125 and up. It quickly digresses into a frat party pick up scene. My wife thinks 1.5 stars as the wine was decent.

Came here for a team-​bonding activity. The chefs were knowledgable and super helpful when needed, but we got to experience most of the cooking on our own after they went through brief instructions. I also liked how our used utensils and bowls get picked up and cleaned right away so it doesn’t get in our way while preparing food. We got to display and talk about our dishes prior eating it. Fun activity for team bonding or for people who want to cook together :)

COOKING CLASSES FOR CORPORATE EVENTS
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THE DEETS:
— Needed to accommodate group of 40
— Must be at a winery
— Must be within budget
— Must have vegetarian options
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OVERALL:
— The results? Amazing! My group was thoroughly satisfied with the menu, the winery which Parties that Cook partnered with as well as the atmosphere. The team that worked with us was very fun and accommodating. They did offer to take a photo of us after the event which was very low-​resolution. But it was a kind gesture of them to send us a photo of a memorable experience. I would definitely re-​do the experience at their San Francisco location with friends. I do recommend Parties That Cook for your next corporate event! They were a great team to work with and helped me stay within budget.
#493

Great event space — accomplished & enthusiastic owners. Just the right size for small or large make– a — soup night.
They give you 3 broths, you choose your ingredients– all healthy with lots of suggestions. Nice arty gourmet kitchen — photo-​ops galore. You get the space & a chef for whatever you’ve got in mind for your friends or corporate bonding exercise.
The crew is friendly & have great accents.

Edit: the NOW hubby had booked this for us and it was so much fun! We love to cook and it was very hands on. You’ll get separated into groups and learn how to work in teams to beat the clock. We even ended up meeting some new friends. If you love wine and champagne as well as cooking, then this is your heaven… they come around to make sure your flute or glass is never empty! The chefs also come around to chat and guide you through the cooking process. At the end of the class, you also get to take home many recipes including the ones you made. Worth the money for this class!

We used Parties That Cook for a CoEd Baby Shower. It was fantastic. The food was fantastic. I had so many choices of recipes so it was foolproof. We had guest of all ages and everyone cooked and enjoyed themselves. We are very impressed with the quality of the dishes we came up with. And the best part was the PTC staff did all the cleaning while we sat around and opened the baby shower gifts. If you are planning a party, this is the way to go. We used our own house, our own drinks and they supplied everything else. I also highly recommend their Recipe Deck as a party gift.

We went to a couples date night cooking class and it was just OK. We spent a lot of the time watching a demo, which I found to be a waste of time. I can watch people cook for free on the Food Network, so I don’t need to pay for a class in order to do that. When we finally got to cook we were split up into teams and were only able to assist with cooking 1 out of the 5 dishes. I wish that we were able to rotate through the stations.
On the plus side, the crowd was friendly and it was a fun night out. The recipes came out well and were good enough that I’d like to recreate them at home. I would recommend this class if you’re looking for something different to try for a date night, but not if you’re looking to really improve your cooking skills.

I am not much of a cook. OK, I am not a cook at all but even I had fun. This is a really good team building activity.
Nice music, wine, good conversation and everyone contributed to cook a 3 course meal that we got to eat and enjoy at the end of the night. Tanya was our host/​chef and she was cool. The location was Kvanum Kitchen in SF which was a really nice spot.
Surprisingly, the food we cooked (with a lot of help from the employees) ended up being very good if I may say so myself.

Parties That Cook facilitated one of our team building programs at work. The kitchen space downtown was nice and airy. They gave us a few basics on chopping and then we broke up into teams and were all given different recipes to make heavy apps. There was a contest to see which was the best, and of course, the judges said something nice about each one. We got copies of the recipes afterwards (but of course, I lost mine — it’s some place in my inbox which is out of control!) It was a unique program, and enjoyable — really great way to know colleagues outside of work so the team building portion of the program was a success. I also used a food processor for the first time, but haven’t used one since (unless you count the vitamix)! The food was tasty but some of the recipes weren’t my cup of tea.

I had my entire North American and European sales and support teams at headquarters for our annual sales kickoff meeting. After 3 days of sitting, the cooking and team building event that Parties That Cook organized for our team of 14 was the perfect conclusion to our sessions. Being able to walk around and speak with everyone, while still cooking one of the meal’s courses, was ideal. We had a diverse team of people, from the UK, France and Belgium, as well as New York, Chicago, Texas and California and heard nothing but positive comments. The food was outstanding, tasty and just the right temperature. The folks from Parties that Cook were friendly, cordial and extremely knowledgeable. We will be doing this again next year, although I wish we could afford to do this in Paris.

We’ve used Parties That Cook for two events. First a class reunion. Class members are in their 80s and not easy to please. Some were skeptical when they heard about the event. When it was all over every classmate — and every spouse — was enthusiastic.
The second event was a birthday party with 24 guests at our home. Our friends and relatives had a great time.
I recommend this company highly. They are completely professional, cheerful, enthusiastic and customer dedicated.
If you’re looking for a cooking class — this isn’t it. If you’re looking for an unusual and thoroughly enjoyable event — Parties that Cook will provide it.

I was disappointed in my experience with Parties that Cook. Namely because when I bought the class as a birthday gift for my boyfriend, my understanding was it was located in Potrero Hill & had planned to go out to a few bars following the class to celebrate. The day before our event was being held, I got a reminder email with updated directions. Upon reviewing, realized the location had been changed to South San Francisco (which meant we’d have to take 101 on a Friday at 6pm…) My boyfriend & I ended up having to leave an hour early to drive there & found it was located right by the abandoned Levitz Outlet in a kitchen showroom. We had been planning to enjoy some wine together during the lesson (and after, too!) so it was a huge bummer to learn one of us had to drive.
My other quibble: you don’t really «cook» You mix some ingredients together & call it a day. If you’re looking to learn new skills, I’d recommend trying a different class though I will say I really enjoyed the recipes that were shared during the event. The staff was also very pleasant & you could tell had gone to lengths to create a fun experience. We went for the «Date Night» themed event & enjoyed meeting & mingling with the other couples — it was definitely fun trying the finished products at the end, too.
If the event had been held in the original location, I think we would have enjoyed ourselves more, but given that change-​up & we didn’t really learn any new cooking skills, unfortunately, it didn’t meet our expectations.

07.12.12
I’ve used Parties That Cook for the past four summers. Rosie is friendly, responsive, and super knowledgeable about the company and all the different venues. I’ve held events at Roe, the Ferry Building, and the Bently Reserve. This year, we made:
Homemade burrata with grilled bread, slivered basil and sea salt
Albondigas: meatballs in almond, garlic, and parsley sauce
Crunchy corn flake and buttermilk coated fried chicken skewers with ranch dressing
Steamed littleneck clams with spicy Italian sausage, white wine and garlic
Banana and mango spring rolls with caramel-​rum sauce
Looks delicious, right? I can’t stop thinking about the corn flake chicken. They were so good that we couldn’t put them on skewers quickly enough, as people were just grabbing them off the plate!
They work with local beverage stores and will have your drinks available on deck before you arrive.
This is the event company that event planners love — they take a lot of the work off of your plate, and turn your plate into something delicious! (Or in my case, just edible.)

On the menu:
Grilled Shrimp with Cocoa Nib Romesco
Sweet Potato Pancakes with Crispy Prosciutto and Sour Cream
Mini Apple, Roquefort and Caramelized Onion Pies with Honey
Whole Grain Mustard and Garlic Marinated Beef Brochettes with Kumquat Aioli
Chocolate Pretzel Cookies with Mexican Hot Chocolate Dipping Sauce
Great, great time at Circolo restaurant. It was a couples Valentine event so the spirit was super lovey dovey. We had a great time. The chef and sous chefs were very helpful and answered all of our questions. I learned how to mince garlic, cut onion, and work with fresh herbs.
There was a full bar that we were able to have a few drinks before we started. We were given aprons and split up in groups for stations after a demonstration by Chef Laura. We met people and had a great great time.
They also do parties where they come to your house so that’s next on our list. Good times all the way around.
Definitely would do this again!!!
Thank you parties that cook. Good time, good food, and good fun!!! Yay!!!

A friend couple of mine booked Parties that Cook for a birthday party last weekend and we had a BALL. The staff did a great job with prep time so that we could make a reasonable number of dishes that we could realistically cook in two hours. Chef Laura also shared a number of really useful cooking tips from how to best cut onions, cracking eggs, and roasting red bell peppers.
On our menu: Savory Cupcakes of Lobster Macaroni and Cheese with Chives, Scallop Tostadas with Tequila and Ancho Chile Salsa, Crostini of Homemade Ricotta and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Jam, and Sweet Cinnamon Churros with Hot Chocolate Dipping Sauce.
The food was delicious, and the best part? The staff cleaned up while we relaxed and chatted with one another about how much fun cooking together was! I highly recommend using Parties that Cook if you want to do something a little different with your friends!

My wife and I met at a Cooking for Singles event in 2007. We had a lot of fun in the event, the food was great, the atmosphere was perfect, and the staff was great. After the event a few of us even went out for drinks.
My wife and I met a couple weeks later for our first date and everything else after that is history.
Fast forward 4 years later and we have been married for 2 years, have a wonderful daughter, and it’s all thanks for this event. I’ve also recommended it for many friends who really enjoyed it.

Just attended a night of culinary indulgence by Parties that Cook sponsored by a vendor of mine. It was a private event of 20 people in the basement of Sur La Table on Maiden Lane. Overall, it was a great night of good recipes, good food, and wine. The staff of Parties that Cook were super professional, super helpful, and super friendly.
It was a 5 course meal including 2 appetizers, salad, entrée (filet mignon!), and dessert. The group was split up in teams of 3 or 4 people and then each team was assigned a station. Before heading off to cook, there was a 10 minute intro on how to prepare some of the ingredients of the night… I learned how to store parsley, roast a garlic, and how to cut a shallot properly (score! — I’m terrible in the kitchen).
My team was assigned to make 1 of the appetizers: crab and shrimp brioche. All the ingredients were laid out on the table along with the recipe. Every once in awhile, a staff member would pop in to see how you were doing and offer you any tips. In my case, I learned how to properly insert a lemon into a juicer (I attempted to put the entire lemon in without cutting in half — doh! Managed to get a few laughs out of the staff though)
Combined with the wine, everyone really enjoyed cooking the meals. The best part is, you only have to prepare the dishes… all the details like plating, serving and cleaning are taken care of by the staff.
It also was a plus that the person leading the event (Scott) was pretty funny… helped to loosen up the crowd and get everyone excited about the night.
At the end, you get a discount certificate to Sur La Table and you get the recipes + pictures from the night sent to you. Can’t wait to get mine in the mail!

After seeing tickets on Bloomspot, my husband and I decided to try one of their cooking classes. Normally $ 135 per person, but it was on sale for $ 65 per person.
We took the Holiday Appetizer Cooking Class, which was perfect in learning how to make easy appetizers for upcoming holiday parties. The class was held at the White Mansion in SF, which was a home that the school rented. We actually got to tour the beautiful house.
The class had about 25 people and we were welcomed with glasses of wine, cheese & crackers, and a goody bag, which included an apron and a ceramic peeler to take home. The class was scheduled from 12 – 2:30PM, but it started a little later. It was run by 4 people (3 chefs and a dish washer).
For the first hour, the chef explained about the 6 appetizers that we were going to make. She briefly went over helpful techniques to use for each recipe. Then we split into groups and went to one of the 6 stations. The idea was for everyone to do all 6 stations, but it was impossible once everyone started that we pretty much ended up doing the one dish. We worked on Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Trout and Sour Cream. In the end, we all got to eat what we made. THE BEST PART!
It’s really a fun experience to try although I’m not sure if I’d really pay regular price for it. I suspect that it’s pretty expensive because they have to pay the rent on the venue. Great place to interact and meet new people. We saw couples, groups celebrating birthdays, mother/​daughter, best friends, etc. The chefs helped to answer all the questions we had, took photos for us, provided helpful tips, and I thought the dish washer was very efficient in constantly keeping the bowls and utensils clean so we can reuse them again. The only con was that we didn’t get to try every station.

5 stars made easy by these folks
ventured here with my wife and cousin and close friend for some couples cooking, fairly large group maybe about 20 people we may have only prepared appitizers but all the food was excellent, the staff was very helpful, easy to talk too and walked you through literally everything. If you dont know how to boil water to save your life these folks will be sure to teach you how to and on top of that teach you probably 3 – 6 other dishes.
some of the appitizers made
— mini ginger cupcakes — did not have a taste of ginger at all haha
— breaded chicken on skewers — chicken was juicy inside and flaky outside jhum
— salmon mini bite — mini sandwiches with salmon and i dont recall if it was cream cheese or something else cut in a circle and served as a mini bite sandwich
— persimon wit brie cheese wrapped in bacon sprinkled redwine — anything if not everything is better with bacon
last item i could not recall it was simliar to a bread with spread on it, i will have to check the menu haha
again good fun, good for small or big groups oh you bring your own bottle of wine to share more then enough wine to go around
food ***** everyone has a dish to make broken in groups all food is excellent
price $$ price can vary for us it was $ 50 per person
service ***** excellent
ambiance ***** in the dacor building it is more or like you are on the set of cooking network yee yee haha with a large mirror on the ceiling so you can view what each sou chefs are prepping at the main stove and table
definitely would go back !!!

My boyfriend and I love to cook (and bake!) so I was really excited when he surprised me with «just because» tickets to Parties That Cook’s Date Night Couples Cooking Class. The class was held in the Dacor showroom kitchen in South San Francisco. Although, we didn’t get to cook in the showroom, it definitely gave you appliance envy walking through (I don’t even use microwaves and I can’t stop thinking about their beautiful touchscreen microwave on display!)
Everyone brought a bottle of wine to share and Parties That Cook provided some crackers and cheese while we waited for all 13 couples to arrive. The event was supposed to be from 6:30pm-8:30pm and I was surprised that they waited till 6:45pm when all the couples arrived to begin. Chef Sarah welcomed us and gave us a 15 minute demonstration of some basic kitchen tricks (e.g., how to mince garlic, how to dice an onion, etc.)
Then we broke into small groups of 2 or 3 couples and scattered to the 6 cooking stations. We were told that we would be able to rotate through multiple stations throughout the night so we could try multiple recipes and learn to cook a variety of items but this was not the case unfortunately (which made it that much more important that you liked the first station you picked!) I personally think instead of having people pick stations couples should be divided by skill level since some newbie cooks were actually at some of the more difficult stations (and thus held everyone else up). Thank goodness for the wine and music to keep the rest of us entertained.
Basically you’re given the supplies, ingredients, and recipes and just start cooking. The six recipes our group of 13 couples made were:
–Batter fried green beans with spicy ponzu (our station)
–Polpette di Melanzane: Crispy eggplant croquettes with melted scamorza centers and tomato sugo (very yummy!)
–Little fish tacos with cucumber salad and chipotle-​lime aioli
–Albondigas — meatballs in almond, garlic, and parsley sauce
–Crostini of Artichokes, Picholine Olives and Shaved parmesan (pretty good)
–S’mores: Chocolate graham cracker cookies with homemade marshmallow frosting
Overall it was an OK experience, but pretty pricey ($ 160 per couple) for what you get (basically you cooking but not having to do dishes or go grocery shopping).
So, you may be asking yourself, so why do they have a 5 star review on Unilocal then?
Well, interestingly enough, Parties That Cook try to bribe you to write 5-​star reviews! When they send out the email with information regarding the recipes and pictures after the event, they also state:
«If you had a blast at your event, please consider joining our Raving Fan Community with a 5-​star Unilocal Review!
*You’ll enjoy fun perks and giveaways throughout the year.
* Plus, receive the invitation to an incredible event, exclusively for Raving Fans. Allow us to say, „thank you“, as we share delicious bites and spectacular wine. Juicy details to come…»
Parties That Cook’s efforts to inflate their Unilocal review ratings is really what dropped them from a 3-​star «A-​OK» experience to a 2-​star, «I will not return nor will I recommend this to anyone». I use Unilocal to get real, truthful reviews, not to read content that was written just so someone can get some free swag. Consumer BEWARE!
Bottom line, they provide the ingredients and recipes, otherwise you’re paying $ 160 to make your own dinner — IMHO, save your money and go to a nice dinner instead or sign up for a cooking class through Sur La Table, Williams-​Sonoma, etc. Regardless, I was lucky to have a great date to the event — he makes any evening an enjoyable one!