Sur La Table — Local services in Newport Beach

My girlfriend and I decided to try out this cooking class for a new date night idea as we both enjoy good food. The idea of a cooking class had a lot of potential, however throughout the night there were a few things that were misleading & a bit frustrating. When we arrived early (as instructed) there were no guidance as where to sign in or where to wait. At 7, we were told to grab a name tag and go behind a cutting board. We started the class and realized that it really wasn’t a couples cooking class, more of a group cooking class. We had 1 lemon between 4 people to zest. 3 zucchini between 4 people to slice. 2 shallots between 4 people that we cut in half so we could all do something. The only thing we all got that was our own was a knife. The instructor told us that there was an issue with their delivery (Instacart) and the wrong pasta was delivered. Not a big deal, but not only was the pasta wrong but some of the ingredients were missing and to top it off, the dough he prepared didn’t rise at all. During the actual cooking, he missed multiple directions, someone in the class even asked if what we prepared needed to be added and he said “oh, oh yeah go ahead and add that too”. There were about 12 scallops (3 of them broken) to share between 4 people. The dessert was half asked at best. Instead of injecting the chocolate (Nutella) into the pastry, he just decided to slap it on top. The dinner was at best a 2 out of 5. The kitchen staff was useless… they just did dishes and looked miserable as if they didn’t even want to be there. LOOK the potential is there but whoever runs it, seriously needs to look into how things are being ran there. I’d like to give it another shot but most likely won’t use this...

My cooking class was a hectic mess and though I’ve reached out to the company, they have yet to respond.

Unfortunately, the experience did not meet expectations for several reasons.

First, the class was listed as a sourdough-making class, yet we only made French bread and focaccia. Many participants, myself included, expected to learn about sourdough, and this discrepancy was misleading.

Additionally, the instructor appeared unprepared and unfamiliar with the material. She read directly from the printed instructions we received and often provided incorrect information. For example, she initially instructed us to use whole milk instead of heavy cream for making butter—contrary to the recipe—only to later correct herself after rereading the paper. She also miscalculated dough measurements and struggled to answer basic questions.

Midway through the class, another staff member stepped in, gave conflicting instructions, and was noticeably rude. She dismissed participants’ efforts, accused us of not listening when we had followed the original instructor’s guidance, and ultimately took over parts of the bread-making process, undermining the hands-on experience we signed up for.

Overall, the class felt disorganized and frustrating, leaving me dissatisfied with what should have been an enjoyable learning experience. I would not come back here for...

WASTES TRAGIC AMOUNTS OF FOOD EVERYDAY!

I was very disappointed with my experience taking a cooking class here. Nowhere is it explained that you do not get to take the food you cook with you at the end of the class. As part of corporate policy, the staff HAS to throw away the food. It's not their fault, but with three classes a day on weekends alone, that is an OBSCENE waste.

The company should have a waiver on hand that cooking class participants can sign, releasing Sur La Table of liability if they take their food with them.

There is no excuse for throwing away that much food on a daily basis.

Again, I know this is not the staff's fault, but store management should be bringing this level of waste to corporate's attention. Store management and store employees have to take some responsibility because they're the ones who are seeing the waste everyday! Shame on those who just keep their mouths shut because it's not their problem and they didn't make the rules. CHANGE...