Cookology Culinary School — Local services in Arlington

We purchased a certificate for a Cookology kids birthday party at our preschool auction on May 6, 2021. Our daughter’s birthday is May 4. When we contacted them on April 18 to book the party, I noticed that it expired on April 1, 2022. We contacted them by email asking if they would please still honor their donation to the preschool, even though we were a little late in contacting them, and our daughter’s birthday happened after the expiration. They replied asking for the certificate and how old my daughter was. After several follow up emails and two voice messages, their manager, Kori, called me on May 4, my daughter’s actual birthday, to say she regrettably could not honor it. I was surprised they wouldn’t be more flexible. Kori offered to redeem the certificate, but would still charge us $317 for a service fee not referenced on the certificate and for the increase in food cost. This was supposed to be a donation, not a break even endeavor. If you don't want to give, then don't. I told the manager I needed to consult with my wife, as I was very disappointed in the conversation, tone and poor customer service from this company. My wife called back to ask some clarifying questions, as she still wanted to have the party there, shortly after and was treated very poorly by Kori, who raised her voice and belittled her. I understand we contacted them after the certificate expired. That’s on us, but that is no excuse for the abysmal treatment. At the end of the day, this was supposed to be a fun birthday cooking class for kindergarteners from a preschool donation. We were really looking forward to it. Instead it turned into a contentious battle.

My six-year-old daughter thought she was having her birthday party at Cookology, but we will never patron there. Just be nice....

My wife and I attended a class at Cookology in Arlington and left disappointed. At $130 per person I expected a true hands on cooking class experience with real guidance and technique instruction. There was a live demonstration, but it only happened once per dish and the chef stayed in his corner while cooking rather than coming around to actively teach or show us techniques up close outside of a small green onion cutting demonstration. Most of the class consisted of being told what to do and then doing it without real coaching. Tasks like kneading/rolling dough and preparing/frying the chicken were simply verbal directions and then we were left to hope we were doing it right. Staff came by occasionally to see what we were doing but mostly just said "you're good" without offering actual instruction. The chef was very friendly, however the instruction felt minimal, and the broken camera setup made things worse since we could not clearly see what he was doing. For this price point I expected a more hands on, guided learning experience, not a follow along exercise with limited demonstration. It basically felt like you were cooking with a YouTube tutorial playing in the background. The positive parts were everything was portioned out beforehand so it was a little easier for people new to cooking. Also everyone got their own cooking station and prep area, which is a plus compared to other cooking classes offered in the area. All in all it wasn't a bad experience, we just expected more for the...

I've gone here twice - both times I did the cake decorating class and both times have been very enjoyable. Depending on the day, you may be paired with only a couple other people or 15, really depends on how popular the course is. Both times I had a solid instructor, the instructor for the smaller class was definitely more attentive but, that's understandable given the second class had closer to 15 people attending. I liked that they had a bar where you could get drinks while you cooked and the atmosphere was very laid back, fun and casual. Only grievance I have is the price. For the cake class, it was $65 and it tends to vary greatly depending on what class you're attending and what you're making. That being said, at this price, it's definitely more of a special occasion type event. That being said, it was still...