Cavallo Point Cooking School

After seeing all of the amazing reviews my husband and I attended for a date night for tacos and tequila. #1 we weren’t on the list and were told to wait until the chef got there… even though we had tickets and proof of purchase— ok, fine. Then once we were cleared to sit we were immediately split into other groups not seeing each other for most of the night. In the sub groups we only each got to learn how to make two of the 10+ dishes that were served and i spent the majority of the time juicing limes not learning. The recipes weren’t awesome, our assistant chef didn’t know the recipe and apparently we learned it wrong. Lastly, the best dish was one the chef braised the beef for before we even got there, so we didn’t get to learn that one. I’ve attended two other cooking classes at other locations, both were less expensive, with excellent hands on instruction and the food was amazing. I wouldn’t go back to this one.

My second time around and it did not disappoint. I brought my mom for a Mother’s Day class «Cooking With Mom». We cooked food from the farmer’s market. I really enjoyed this class because I get overwhelmed by the choices at the farmer’s market, I end up buying kettle corn and running away. We were actually provided very simple recipes that we could attempt at home, it was a great learning experience. My mom enjoyed the class and bragged about it to her friends. My next goal is to be able to save up to be able to stay at the actual hotel and take another class for my birthday, a girl can have dreams can’t she?

Attended a class here and had a fantastic time. Chef Jayne and her staff were very professional and focused on really educating us on how and why they use certain cooking methods and its impact on the food. Atmosphere was perfect for a date night/​a girls’ night out/​birthday gift to a parent and all the attendees were very social. I’d say this class would be appropriate for beginner/​intermediate students.
The food was ACTUALLY really good. Chef Jayne was in charge of cooking the main entrée protein but I really didn’t mind since it would have been unfeasible to complete a slow braised pork shoulder in a 4 hour class (only about 1 of which is used to actually cook– the rest of the time is dedicated to listening to Chef Jayne’s lecture and eating/​drinking).
Special shoutout to Enriquez wines who provided the wine to pair with our meals. I didn’t really expect much since it seemed like a marketing ploy but the wines were also well conceptualized and complemented the dishes.
Would purchase again!

My wife, brother and sister in-​law attended the cooking class last night with a wine pairing from Enriquez Wines. We had a wonderful time. The chefs were knowledgable, professional and patient. Highly recommend this experience!

We attended the Cavallo Point Cooking School last night for a work event and had an amazing time! Jayne and her team were so informative… we all learned a lot and had so much fun doing so. Not to mention the delicious meal we got to eat! Definitely recommend this activity!

AWESOME EXPERIENCE AND AMAZING FOOD!!! This was a really cool thing my gf and I did with one of her friends. It wasn’t too hard (they did most of the prep before we got there and already had cooked the ribs — we just threw them on the grill to warm up). To the negative reviews complaining that they couldn’t take food away (or couldn’t eat outside food there): they don’t have the license you need to be a restaurant. It’s not a restaurant, it’s a service. It would be illegal for them to let you take food home with you after you paid for their service.

I had a fantastic evening here with my mother-​in-​law and we enjoyed Viola’s Italian cooking night. Viola took the time to study her attendance list and had every guests (approx 12) name down for the duration of the event. This was a smaller class and it felt intimate and fantastic. We both enjoyed how hands on the class was, plus the beautiful space and wine pairings didn’t hurt. The staff was very friendly, and I can’t wait to go back again. Oh and I can’t wait to DIY a porchetta dish at home for my hubby.

I went with a group of friends to a Tapas cooking class at Cavallo Point cooking school, hoping to learn how to make some Spanish appetizers for upcoming holiday parties. First, this should have NEVER have been called a TAPAS cooking class. The definition of Tapas is small bites or appetizers. The menu was a pomegranate salad, a skewer of pork, a rice dish, a squash and leek dish, a stuffed pepper and an almond cookie, hardly small bites
Forgetting the menu when you attend a cooking class the usual expectations is to learn how to make the I dishes that are on the menu. We were divided in groups of 3 or 4 participants to prepare one item. We never were taught or shown how to make any of the other dishes. So much for it being a cooking class. We were given the recipes to take home to make but we could have saved money and just bought a cook book. The class was suppose to be from 6:39 to 9:30. We started promptly at 6:30 and was finished cooking before 7:45. We ate what was prepared and were ready to go by 8:15
None of the dishes, with the exception of the skewered pork would I serve at a cocktail party and the other dishes I wouldn’t even make for a dinner party. The almond cookies were made out of potatoes (yes potatoes). Save your money and buy a cookbook of dishes you would really like to serve or better yet try another cooking school

I was so excited to be attending a cooking class tonight but got sick with a heavy, heavy cold. I didn’t think it would be fair to subject the other participants to me — pretty unhygienic — so explained my situation and requested to move to another class. I got a very solid NO. Policy is policy, apparently. Tells me that Cavallo Point is only interested in protecting their profits and not their customer experience.

The cooking class on 10/​12/​2013 was a lot of fun! Everyone’s fun to cook with.
Here’s a list of what we made:
— Japanese rice balls with tuna salad filling and salmon filling
— chicken skewers with shiso leaves and freshly-​made plum/​sake sauce
— Kombucha croquets
— spicy prawns
— Seafood egg custards (seafood steamed egg soup)
— Pork tonkasu
— Seared Ahi Tuna
— sashimi rice salad with wasabi aioli
Everything’s delicious and fun to make! We drank lots of wine and sake as well! I would recommend this place to family and friends and I would definitely go back again when the menu looks good to me!
p. s. The chef instructor and her assistants were all very friendly and fun to cook with!

A friend and I signed up for the knife skills class and loved it! There were only 6 of us in the class so we all got a lot of attention. We will definitely be back for something else!
Tip: If you have time before a non-​eating class, eat at Farley’s Bar!

Bait and Switch.
We were given a gift for a cooking class at Cavallo Point. We were unable to attend the original course/​date and cancelled (well in advance). Cavallo Point (1) lost our course pre-​payment record, (2) demanded that I repurchase tickets for the class we chose until they reviewed their records and (3) once we presented our pre-​payment records, it still took a special review by the GM. I had over 10 calls and emails to try to remedy a simple situtation. The Cavallo Point staff was generally not helpful and often rude. Not only bad business practices — probably not legal either.
To pour salt int he wound, we had signed up for a specifically for a demonstration class on asian cooking, as we wanted to relax, watch and learn some asian techniques. I also have a bad back and am not supposed to stand for extended time. I confirmed when I made the reservation that it was a demonstration (not hands on) course.
When we arrived the day of the class, they had changed it to a hands on class and assigned each of us to a course, regardless of what we preferred. My vegetarian guest was required to do skewered chicken hears and I had to do fried chicken (I don’t make or eat fried food). Our instructor was snippy, even rude and clearly did not get along with the main instructor.
Even after the very negative business experience, this class was not the demonstration class we signed up for. It might be a fine course for those who wanted a hands on course, but it was not what was advertized or even confirmed when we made our reservation.
I am still waiting for my refund of their required re-​payment in advance of the course, when they couldn’t find their own records of our initial payment. We are also still waiting for the recipies which were supposed to be emailed the next day to all participants.
There are much better cooking classes in Marin, San Francisco and Napa, with much better attitudes toward their clients.

Too bad I wasn’t paying attention to our instructor’s name, but the main reason I am giving a 4 star review is because of him! My husband and I came to a knife skills class just before Thanksgiving. It was relatively inexpensive ($ 70 for the two of us) and it was a short, 2 hour class. We learned really practical skills about how to most effectively and efficiently cut veggies and fruits, and equally important, how to care for our knives. Everyone practiced with their own knives and food items, and the instructor came around to anyone needing assistance. He was a younger guy, maybe late twenties, but extremely knowledgeable, fun, and good at teaching. Not every great chef can explain how and why to do something!
Given that Thanksgiving was two days later, we were a little surprised that we only got to watch him cut the turkey properly (we did not get to try on our own). I suppose it was because there was only one turkey and 20 people, but it would have been helpful if we could have been involved somehow in doing some of the cutting.
Overall a great learning experience, very useful, and we can’t wait to go back for a cooking class!

If the experience we went through is indicative of their general business practices, I would STRONGLY encourage you to spend your money elsewhere.
My husband and I forked over $ 250 for the cooking school. Day of the event, his back went out and we wound up in the emergency room. I called and asked if we could possibly carryover the reservation, this was a birthday gift and we really can’t afford to throw away $ 250. The woman on the reservation line told me no (very rudely, I might add). I said that while I understand their 72 hour cancellation policy, I was hoping that in a unique situation like ours they could extend some consideration and a bit more flexibility. The woman’s response (and this is verbatim) «That’s simply too bad. We don’t DO flexibilty».
Gee — in this economy it must be nice to be so well off that you can afford to treat your potential customers like crap.

We went to Cavallo Point cooking school for our anniversary, and it was great. Chef Jane runs a well-​oiled machine. The location is lovely, the other participants were so much fun. And, best of all, we made a terrific dinner. It was well paced, not too rushed or too slow. The other instructors Dave and Jen were very friendly and helpful. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth it!

I took my mom here for a shellfish-​themed cooking class for her birthday and we had an absolute blast. The class was taught by Jayne, who had clearly spent the entire day exploring the greater North Bay to get exactly the right ingredients for the class. She was assisted by Chef Jen and Chef Rosalyn (probably spelled wrong), who were incredibly patient with their clumsy students and incredibly generous in sharing their knowledge.
The school itself is an amazing room, with a huge island in the middle with HD cameras and screens set up so you get a birds-​eye view of the what the chefs are doing at two different cooking stations. We began with a quick review of the recipes (printed out for you to take home) and some tips for buying and cleaning shellfish. We split up into groups to prepare different dishes for the evening, with a chef from the Cooking School leading each group. As you prepare each dish you learn some of the basic techniques — from how to properly hold a knife to cooking stock.
One of the best things about the evening was the other students. Everyone was so friendly and jovial, it made for a fun atmosphere and by the end of three short hours we were all friends. They even sang happy birthday to my mom, who has since said it was her best birthday ever.
This would be a great thing to do as a girls’ weekend, a romantic away-​from-​the-​kids anniversary gift, or even as a corporate retreat (PLEASE someone send me on a corporate retreat here). The classes are all different, with varying degrees of hands-​on experience, so you may want to call or email the school for details about the class you are interested in.
The Cooking School classes are filling up quickly these days, so make your reservation early. You get a discount on rooms (our discount was $ 40/​night) when you enroll in a class, so spend a little extra $ and stay the night at Cavallo Point Lodge.

We were taking pictures of Kelsie Kerr, the culinary arts program developer for a magazine. We started with her shopping in San Rafael’s farmers market. Getting local produce for cooking in the school, my what amazing vegetables, some I’ve never seen before. The bay area growers showing their proud vegetables, cheese, grains. If I was vegetarian again I would think I died and gone to heaven. OK, bay area is heaven to me. But back to the cooking school, the atmosphere was fun in a big kitchen area with many tables so we could sample the local cheese and vegetable she bought that day. If you couldn’t see what was going on with the wine and just listen to the voices and the talk about local foods, you would think it was a holiday party, not a cooking class. The pork roast season with lemon slices and herbs went perfect with the wine. The upside down pear, yes local pear cake flipped by Kelsie from heavy iron skillet to cutting board to my mouth was the grand finally that said cooking school is the next big vacation. Don’t miss out.
Never the less, it was an informative and fun class in beautiful Cavallo Point in Sausalito. If anyone ask where should they go or what should they do and learn about our bay area, this is the best answer.

Within ten minutes of starting this class, my friend and I (both completely clueless cooks) managed to drop sharp knives dangerously close to toes, mispronounce carpaccio, and ask insultingly simple questions about how to sprinkle salt without getting it all over the floor.
Any sane instructor would have let us slice our own fingertips off with the vegetable grater, but not here.
All the teachers were incredibly patient, knowledgeable, and full of useful and memorable advice.
The cooking room itself was warmly lit in a fabulous location overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, and the people in the class were friendly.
The dozen or so people in the class (mostly in couples) broke into three groups to prepare appetizers, a main course, and dessert. At the end we all sat down at a long table to enjoy our creations and drink more wine.
Excellent all around.

I scored some major hubby points on this one.
My wife’s birthday — what to do? She loves to cook. She loves to learn new things. Hmm… but will she take it as an insult that I’m sending her to cooking school? Aw heck, I’m going for it…
Wow, what a blast. Arriving at Cavallo Point one is immediately struck by how beautiful and prime this location is. It’s worth a visit to see.
Entering the classroom you are greeted warmly with a chilled glass of wine. Some snacks are laid out; bread, cheese, olives, etc. tasty stuff. The evening’s menu/​recipe list is handed out and everything gets a quick rundown. We break into teams and each team takes on a course. I made Crème Fraîche Ice Cream with a Cara Cara Orange Caramel sauce. Maybe I should mention that it’s my job at home to make the salad and it’s good night when it doesn’t get burned…
To make a long story short, the evening was incredible. The staff was amazing. Jane — you rock. The ingredients were all fresh and tasted like heaven. I asked one of the staff for seconds and she immediately beamed a huge smile and said, «nothing makes me happier than to feed a healthy appetite!». I think I fell in love right then…
So whether you already know how to cook or are a complete novice, the Cooking School can handle you; whatever your level. The menu changes often, and the dishes, while semi-​complicated and something you’d expect to see in a restaurant, were actually pretty easy to put together. Just watch the caramel. You turn your head for just a few minutes…
Oh and by the way, they offer discounted rates if you want to stay the night at Cavallo Point. VERY reasonable for VERY nice accommodations. I love this place!!!

I had a major geek out moment here last night. We were lucky enough to be one of the first groups to come through this cooking school/​teambuilding location/​event space. Sixth in fact!
Hosted and taught by three amazingly kind and friendly people — January, Jane and (geek alert) Kelsie Kerr. Yes, the Kelsie Kerr that cowrote Alice Waters’ latest book. Yes, the Kelsie Kerr that worked with Alice for ages. Yes, the Kelsie Kerr from Café Rouge (
). Yes, THIS Kelsie Kerr:
So yeah, I geeked out a little. I seriously felt like I was living in Ruth Reichl’s books when she was describing these amazing home cooked dinners she’d have in this area; the «cooks» of which went on to be world renowned chefs or foodies in their own rights. I felt so lucky to be learning from, cooking with, getting compliments from, and then sitting down and eating with a person who could cook circles around me. The entire team was incredibly down to earth, warm, knowledgeable and fun.
The location can host cooking demos for 30 or so, classes for 20ish and they do tastings for hotel guests and other customers. Not surprising at all — the school focuses on local, sustainable meals given that we live in the best pantry ever. Kelsie picked up the ingredients for our dinner at the Ferry Plaza that day, and could tell us about every vendor, every item — they all had a story. THIS is cooking. THIS is learning. I have notes scribbled all over my recipes, I took a gabillion photos with my iPhone, and I had at least one too many glasses of wine.
For a foodie, this was a night I will never forget. For people new to cooking who may not be that into it, I have a feeling it was still a night they’ll never forget. We all got hands on, we all took ownership, we all contributed to this amazing meal. I would eat here every night if I could. Especially since Jane wouldn’t let me do the dishes. I hate dishes.