Sur La Table — Attraction in Town of Guilderland

My friend and I attended a cooking class this past Saturday (Albany), and I was shocked by the experience. In the midst of COVID, flu, RSV, and other illnesses, I paid $200 to have strangers handle my food with their bare hands—no gloves. While washing hands was encouraged, it wasn't mandatory. Not everyone washed their hands, and about 50% of those who did didn't use soap. The class involved cooking a meal family-style with total strangers, which made us uncomfortable. During a break, we ended up booking a reservation at a local steakhouse for dinner after the class—despite the fact that the class featured a steak dinner. Everyone touched raw meat, eggs, fruit, and crumbly goat cheese with their bare hands, all of which were shared by others. It felt unsanitary and unsafe. I didn’t want to make the couple cooking with us uncomfortable, so we stayed to cook, but we skipped eating the meal and let them take the leftovers. I would never do this again. To top it off, they served coffee and water in tiny bathroom Dixie cups. Don't waste your money; it wasn’t...

Cooking class review only - I participated in the "Savoring Spain" cooking class. Menu - Chicken & chorizo paella, Serrano ham-wrapped dates with goat cheese, gambas al ajillo (sautéed shrimp in a sherry garlic sauce), and olive oil ice cream with marcona almonds. Good class, with lots of information provided by the chef instructor, Rachel G, who also happens to be the manager of the store. She was generous with her culinary knowledge, attentive to the myriad personalities in front of her while also keeping an eye on several dishes cooking on the induction burners. The constraints of time meant most of the mise en place was already there in front of us. My only critique albeit a big one....more hands-on opportunities please. Some of us are tactile kinesthetic learners; we learn by doing. If everything is done for us, we might as well be watching a video. Plus side - Enough food was made so that each participant took home...

First of all, I want to applaud your new location at Stuyvesant Plaza - it's very nice to see the plaza reborn and your place there is beautifully done. The kitchen area specifically looks very inviting for your classes.

Unfortunately, we did not find it up to Sur La Table levels, and certainly not as advertised.

Part, if not most, of the fun is participating in the class, with the class, and interacting with the chef as we (the students) prepare the meal, appetizers, and desert.

I want to let you know that we expected the class to be hands on, with full participation. Allowing us to practice techniques demonstrated by the chef as indicated in your class description on your website, emails, and in our experience at previous classes. We specifically pick Sur La Table for this reason over other...