The Culinary Playground — Local services in Derry

My 9-year-old daughter received a baking class gift certificate from Culinary Playground as a Christmas present. She absolutely loves baking — it’s her passion. She watches baking shows, reads baking books, and was over the moon when she got this as a gift. It was the highlight of her Christmas.

We signed up for a class months in advance due to the long waitlist. She talked about it nonstop — to friends at school, to family members — counting down the days with excitement. Then, the day before the class, we got a cold, impersonal text saying the class was canceled because it “didn’t make.” That was it. No call, no apology, just a quick note and a refund offer.

She was devastated. Absolutely heartbroken. She cried and cried. This wasn’t just a missed appointment — this was something she had dreamed about and built up for months.

I understand that businesses have to make decisions based on numbers. But when your service is geared toward children, there is a deeper responsibility. The way Culinary Playground handled this was shameful — cold, transactional, and completely lacking empathy. If you run programs for kids, you need to understand how much these things mean to them.

We took our money elsewhere and will never return. I suggest other families do the same if they want a business that actually cares about its...

I can't say enough wonderful things about Chef Jack and the entire experience at Culinary Playground. I was gifted a private cooking lesson as a Father's Day gift and we (my daughter and I) had the best time making our dinner and dessert together.

Chef Jack was wonderful with my 11 year old daughter. Informative but patient and encouraging. He provided both technical cooking instructions, history of food lessons, and great anecdotes - all while teaching us and walking us through making our meal.

Highly reccomend doing a private cooking lesson with your cooking curious kid, your partner, or even just yourself if you want to have an awesome time, learn some great techniques, and have...

What a fabulous place for everyone and anyone to embrace and enjoy the art of cooking! Kristen has created a truly wonderful environment and culinary program that is both educational and delicious! From youth cooking classes to private date night cooking experiences and every type of program in between there is something for all at the Culinary Playground. I tried the Mediterranean menu- Tuscan white bean soup, egg cups and roasted salmon. I learned new knife skills and sauté tips. The food was so yummy. BYOB and the wine pairing I did went perfectly. Can’t wait to come back for a group girls night and get the kids to try a...