Schola — Local services in Baltimore

Went for a "Cooking With Beer" class, which was supposed to use beer from Waverly brewing. We were supposed to start at 6. The instructors ignored any questions and just had us mill around for the first half hour.

The courses were advertised as: Beer battered onion rings, beer braised beef sliders, mussels, beer mac and cheese, and beer-batter brownies.

We showed up, expecting Waverly beer to sample and cook with. Instead, we were greeted with Natty Bohs and a few Heavy Seas, seemingly just picked up from the liquor store 10 minutes prior.

Instead of teaching us how to make anything, we were basically just prep cooks. They had us chop onions and garlic, then did any other prep work themselves, including making the beef beforehand in a pressure cooker. The mussels were just cracked open and cooked in an oven (also before we got there).

The food, when completed, was absolutely terrible. Onion rings were raw (thanks to no guidance from the instructors). Beef was overcooked and tasteless.

When we finished dinner, the instructor mentioned that she had forgotten to make the brownies, so instead we were going to deep fry CVS-brand cookies.

To top it all off, about three hours later, I spent an hour throwing up from the food.

So all in all, we paid $50 / person to bring our own beer, perform a minimum-wage job, eat horrible food, and get sick off of it.

Seemed like a scam, I would urge anyone looking to take a class here to save...

Recently took a private group cooking class at Schola and we all greatly enjoyed it. They offer cooking classes based on different regions, themes, etc. Our focus was on the Maryland region, specifically the food we get from the Chesapeake Bay. DELICIOUS! A unique one I remember one of the instructors mentioning was Chinese Food Takeout, as well as classes from regions such as Morocco, Thailand, Southern California, and more. The two instructors were great, nice, informative, and great chefs & teachers. They also did a great job at letting our group enjoy our time, they did not go from one thing to the next without letting us ask questions, discuss it with each other, and joke & laugh throughout the evening. The kitchen and rest of the class area is beautiful, with an abundance of professional appliances and materials. The place was kept very clean with hands and dishes, etc. being washed throughout. I recommend taking a cooking class at Schola to anyone interested in cooking or simply an evening of learning, a great and fun experience, as well as very good food. Located in Mount Vernon in the heart of Baltimore City, easily accessible from I-83 and metered street parking (there is a parking lot directly across the street but unsure of any details). I hope to return for another unique and fun cooking class at Schola in the...

Was given this class as a gift and I'll just say we made the best of the situation.

We arrived and were not greeted for quite some time as we just stood in their lounge area. They gave an overview of the stations and what we would be making as a group and then just said have at it. Everyone in the class awkwardly walked up to a random station that had ingredients taken out and then a piece of paper with handwritten ingredients and no recipe. We had no idea what do. It pretty much came down to the two instructors making most of the dishes in front of us . This was the least hands on cooking class I've ever taken.

I was mostly unhappy with the lack of safety and hygiene in the class to be totally honest. They suggested to was your hands but very little people did before picking up foods to prepare. I saw one guy in the class pick up a piece of fennel bring it up to his nose to smell and put it back! There was no overview on any kind of kitchen safety and I watched one lady answer her phone while she was cutting an onion and the instructor walked right on by. We were just told to help ourselves to whatever tools we needed anywhere in the kitchen. Very hands off and very little to no guidance for a "class". Giving it two stars instead of one because the food was good at the end but not overly impressed for...