Cooking Class - For the Italian Gourmand

Our experience was decent overall, but a few adjustments could have significantly improved it. To start, it would have been helpful if the chef demonstrated each step of the cooking process before asking participants to complete it. Instead, demonstrations were done individually at each station, which led to extended downtime. During that time, some groups made assumptions—like how finely to chop vegetables or which course those ingredients go in—only to later learn they had done it incorrectly. A brief group demo before each step could have prevented confusion and kept things moving more smoothly. For the main pasta carbonara dish, we weren’t involved in key parts of the process, such as boiling the noodles, mixing the eggs and cheese, or cooking the bacon. These steps were completed for us without explanation of quantities or techniques, which made it difficult to understand how to recreate the dish at home. While I understand that time constraints may require some steps to be pre-prepared, it would have been nice to be more involved or at least receive guidance on how to replicate the dish ourselves. There was also a 30-minute break for shopping, which felt unnecessary since most attendees had already shopped beforehand or could have done so afterward. This break might have been more welcome if we hadn’t already experienced so much downtime waiting for instructions. Several participants asked for recipe details during the class, and we were told they would be emailed afterward. Unfortunately, that follow-up never happened. Without ingredient quantities or a written recipe, it’s hard to recreate the dishes we made. In previous Cozymeal classes I’ve attended, chefs shared background on the dishes—such as cultural context, ingredient history, or cooking tips and tricks. That kind of insight adds a lot of value and depth to the experience. This class didn’t include any of that, which made it feel more surface-level than others. Lastly, we noticed that most of the leftovers were given to staff rather than participants. Given the cost of the class (over $100 per person), it would have been appreciated if guests had the option to take home their own portions.

Had a lovely time getting hands on with making pizzas! Appreciate the guidance and tips and tricks to bring that high quality pizza home. Chef Peter did a great job balancing kitchen protocols and 2 hour pretend chefs.

Great and informative class!