Cook Street School of Culinary Arts

I have a recent addiction to cooking classes. I took my first class back in December, and have decide to treat myself to one new class every month all year long. My class at Cook Street was my third cooking class ever, but my first time at Cook Street. I’m actually glad I tried a few other classes before checking out Cook Street because I was able to fully appreciate the level of professionalism offered at Cook Street.
When I first arrived, the nice lady at the bar gave me two drink tickets. We were making sausage, and the class included two complimentary beers. There was a plate of meat and cheese and homemade bread for us to snack on as we pleased. Other classes I’ve taken have offered this as well, but this plate was waaay more delicious.
We were given packets including the recipes for the sausage we were to make, aprons and name tags. There was a brief introduction, then we got started. Cook Street is a culinary school first and foremost, but they offer classes for the home cook as well, so the kitchen is a very well equipped commercial kitchen with a built in seating area surrounding it. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to use some of their commercial equipment. The instructors encouraged hands-​on, and were incredibly helpful, entertaining and knowledgeable.
At the end of the class, we enjoyed a meal of our homemade sausage (3 types), warm potato salad made ahead by the instructors, and homemade strawberry sorbet. I am now confident enough in my sausage making that I wouldn’t hesitate to tackle it at home, although my wimpy KitchenAid meat grinder is pretty unimpressive compared to their Hobart.
I very much enjoyed my experience at Cook Street and I have a feeling I’m going to become a bit of a regular.
(Side note: parking out front is usually not a big deal, but it’s only 2 hour meter parking, and the classes exceed 2 hours. The instructors will try to remind you to feed your meters, but if you want to play it safe, you may as well pay $ 6 – 10 to park in a nearby lot.)

My friend and I came here for the French Classics course yesterday morning. I was hoping for a nice, clean atmosphere. I walked through the door and immediately checked that off my list. They have a café there so if you come to a class early you can get a beverage or food. For the class there was an antipasti platter out so it was a nice snack before the class got started.
For the French Classics course, we made mussels, hanger steak with a peppercorn sauce, dutchess potatoes, and crème brulee. The course is both informative and hands on. We had 9 people in the class so the two training stoves required us to have 3 singles and 3 pairs. Not a big deal to me.
The instructor was engaging, funny, and really informative. You could tell he really enjoys cooking which is the type of person you’d really want to learn from. The recipes were great but let’s be honest, anyone can google recipes. The part of the class I enjoyed the most was learning French techniques.
I’d recommend Cook Street to anyone who wants to take a cooking class. It may seem intimidating but it’s worth it. Do what I did and go with an awesome friend and it’ll make it even better!

I’ve been here twice now. The food tastes good and the instructors are knowledgable but the classes are WAY too big. 24 people the first time, 22 the second. It’s simply not that big of a facility. With too many people in the class it just wasn’t as interactive or as hands on as it should have been for that price.

Great place for dates and girls’ night out, especially for the foodie in your life. Love the staff and the experience. Expect to eat later… but having spent enough time in Europe, I don’t mind the later dinner time (especially given the amazing antipasta platter placed out for you to enjoy while you are cooking your meal.) I found Cook Street thanks to a gift card and have never looked back. I also attended the 180 Professional Program and loved every minute of it. While I never intended to go into the food industry, I realized if I decided to, I certainly could thanks to all of the education and training I received at Cook St.

I had a Thai cooking course last night. It was amazing. The chefs were entertaining, and informative. We learned a lot. Had great food and drinks. I would go back again. You get a great bang for your buck. Ihope to try some of the recipes soon. You get a print out of all of them.

I attended Cook Street for the first time for an event to build Gingerbread Houses for Denver Kids. Though I haven’t taken an actual cooking class here, I wanted to review because this was truly a special event. The staff was incredible — patient, available for questions, hard-​working. They gave great tips to the kids. Additionally, the gingerbread houses were already solidly built, and they had a seemingly endless supply of candy and icing to decorate. They also served some pretty delicious pizza for lunch.
If this is any reflection of how they run their cooking class, I can imagine they are GREAT! A cooking school with heart — check them out!

Took the essentials class (4 weeks). What a joy, John was brilliant. As in the first class I received a bound folder of all the dishes and things we made… treasured and used because everything we made was fabulous.

This place is fantastic. I invested in a somewhat expensive four week «Cooking Essentials» class, and it was so wonderful I have and will sign up for more. And I’ve been recommending Cook Street to everyone who’ll listen to me.
What’s so great about it?
First, the instructors (and I’ve had three different ones) are that perfect combination of knowledgeable and entertaining, like your favorite professors in college.
Second, what you learn is really, really useful! I’ve learned a hundred things that have improved my cooking and, more importantly, my enjoyment of cooking.
Third, the food! Every class results in a meal that you get to enjoy with your classmates and they are always wonderful. Since you made it yourself, it’s extra tasty. Bonus, they serve wine throughout the evening!
Fourth, your classmates. Every class I’ve taken is full of nice, smart people who also enjoy good food and wine. As someone who’s new to Denver, I found it a great way to meet people. In fact, I took the same class as Kimberly S (see her review from 10÷2÷2013). And she’s a good example of the kind of fun people you’ll meet.
Fifth, the space is really nicely designed to be inviting and homey but still be a full professional kitchen. And it’s centrally located in downtown Denver. While there’s not a lot of free parking, there’s plenty of reasonably priced, paid parking within easy walking distance.
Regarding some of the reviews that call out organizational or billing issues, I can say that I’ve never had a problem.
To sum up: take a Cook Street class! You, and anyone who eats your cooking, will be glad you did.

The hubby surprised me by signing us up for Cook Street’s French Bistro Classics class last night. What an awesome surprise! We learned how to make a quick version of ratatouille, country pâté, steak tartare, individual quiches, and (OMG) crème brûlée! When we arrived there was a lovely charcuterie platter waiting for us, which we got to nibble on throughout the lesson, as well as a couple of glasses of French wines that were perfectly paired to the dishes we made. Chef Erin is an awesome teacher! She kept the pace going while explaining all of the steps to us, keeping us entertained as well as informed. There was a good balance of hands-​on activity interspersed with demonstrations. At the end of the lesson we all enjoyed the fruits of our labor. We love Cook Street and are already planning our next lesson here!

We made the mistake of coming to a class on the 1^st time it was offered. It was badly organized, ran about an hour over (turned into a 4 hour class), and was way too full of a class for the materials offered.
That being said, it was a fun time and I truly learned a lot of things. My wife has taken classes here before and they are usually much much better so I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I could definitely seem coming here again.

I’ve taken 2 of their «A World of Taste» evening courses and both times I’ve enjoyed the menu, the relaxed style and the food. These classes are usually offered during the evenings once a month for each theme. Starting at 6pm with some snacks, good selection of cheese and beer and wine, you begin with some basic instructions. and end a few hours later enjoying your cooked meal.
You get a printed copy of the recipes so no need to take notes… and instead you can be hands on in the preparation and/​or take small breaks to enjoy some wine/​beer throughout the evening.
We took the World of Taste India and a World of Taste Thai… the Thai menu was our favourite with a nice menu of seafood curry and chicken stir fry. They classes go for about $ 80/​person but it is not much when you add up a 3 course meal, snacks early on, wine and beer on top of the lesson.

I got a gift card for Christmas that was good for one free class at Cook Street and finally got around to using it a couple of weeks ago. I purchased one for my girlfriend and we took the French Classics class. Having never been to anything like this I wasn’t sure at all what to expect. How was I to know what an incredible experience it would be!
Upon entering we were told to help ourselves to a first class spread of meats, cheeses, and bread. Good way to take the edge off the day, and since we were cooking it would be a while before we had dinner. Then we were given a glass of wine before starting the cooking festivities.
The main instructor chef was great, as were her assistants. They led us through creating a 3 course meal that started with crepes stuffed with a tasty chevre mixture and topped with duck confit. The main course was half a game hen with pearl onions and some greens. The dessert was a chocolate and Grand Marnier soufflé topped with crème anglaise. It sounds like it would be impossible to prepare such a meal but the chefs walked us through each step, which removed some of the mystique around food like that. We had a few glasses of wine and a shot of brandy while we cooked too, which helped add to the fun.
The facility is mind blowing, a dream kitchen setup. I’ve been out of the food industry for a while now so it was great to use such awesome equipment!
Sure, there were a couple of snobs and a couple of know it all’s in the class, but they didn’t affect our enjoyment of the evening one bit. In fact it was kind of funny watching them go through their motions at times. There were about 15 or so of is in the class, so the vast majority were really cool and fun to hang with. We know we’ll be back soon for another class — or two!

Just finished the Classic Techniques of French Cooking class. It was amazing. the facility is top notch. Parking is best at the lot on the corner of 20^th St. & Market (enter from Market St.) at $ 6 for the night and it’s virtually next door to Cook Street. They provide all the cookware and utensils and aprons. Very hands on. Fantastically fun. Wine pairings could be stronger… we had one wine with each course. I can’t wait to take another Cook Street class!

Love the artisan bread class! Chef Brian and chef Cindy are very knowledgable and patient. Can’t wait to take the other series classes they offer!

I just finished my Personal Chef training course there. I loved the class, the instructor, and the staff.
They provided meals for two days we were there and both were very yummy — had a lighter lunch on Sunday so the chef said he whipped up something for dessert and when he came out it was chocolate soufflé.
I hope to take many more classes at Cook Street. The atmosphere is warm, inviting and makes me want a kitchen just like theirs. If I only had a bigger house.
Great place to take classes.

Here’s the big secret: Just inside the doors of this stately cooking school is an EXCELLENT coffee bar serving lattes, cappuccinos from 6 – 6! They use Elly coffee and its good. REALLY GOOD. If you live in LoDo or Five Points, you’ve got a great little hidden spot for coffee!

I recently took the Classic Essentials I class and absolutely loved it. Chef Peter and Chef Charles where awesome. They were informative about the dishes we were making, patient teachers and all around fun!
Learned tons about everything from knife skills to sauces to meats! It was the perfect speed for a novice cook like myself. Most of the lessons are hands on, but some of it is just observing the chef. Each night we prepared an entrée and dessert and dined on it while we sipped wine :)
It was a bit pricey, but you really learn a lot and get 4 meals/​wine out of it so when you look at it that way it is worth the $$. My only tip would be to eat a light meal before class since you won’t eat until 9 or 9:30p every night!
Highly recommended.

The first time I came here was for a Unilocal Elite party (
) which was a great party. For this time, I came to celebrate my friend’s 50^th birthday…
The Cook Street is a great option for birthday parties, especially if you are a foodie, like to cook, and is fascinated in learning new things. This school has a good size kitchen, limited seating areas, lots of culinary books, and their pantry has almost everything you can imagine, ranging from in house-​made stocks, different kinds of vegetables, fruits, and meats.
Party started with guests mingling drinking a fine selection of wines, champagnes and beers, plus an assortment of cheeses, cold meats, and olives. The show case was the dinner preparation, from learning step by step how to sear scallops, to grilling a perfect wagyu (kobe) steak, then finally making a chocolate soufflé for dessert. The setup was perfect because we didn’t have to cook for an army, we got to learn the processes of making it; the staff did the rest, as far as cooking for everyone.
Definitely this was one of the best party I’ve ever been.

Having our originally selected class date canceled (due to the snow back in December), The Dude and I picked last night’s Vegetarian Feast class as one last hoorah before I started school again. Hoorah.
But really, minus the 9:30+ pm eating time, it was a fantastic experience. He doesn’t really cook (unless Marie Callender’s pot pies count…) and I cook quite a bit when I have time, but despite our varying levels of knowledge and experience we both learned some things. And to be perfectly honest, I fell a little more in love with him seeing him in an apron with chef’s knife in hand. As weird as that may sound.
Anyway, last night’s «feast» consisted of an «Autumn» salad of greens, apples, pomegranate seeds, chevre, and a nice light vinaigrette. The two «mains» were a Mushroom-​Tomato Galette (with more chevre… drool) and Butternut Squash Risotto. Which. was. amazing. Dessert was ginger-​baked pears with ginger-​pecan cream cheese. I could have done without those; they weren’t that great and if I’m going to do dessert I’m going to do it right (usually with chocolate and/​or flour). Everyone got to help chop, sautee, stir, mix, and eat eat eat. And boy did I ever.
I was quite past the point of full but it was so good and even better because, you know, that whole pride thing. I helped make this stuff and the two chefs who conducted the class were great. Chef Bryan is quite the entertainer. And what’s more, before class started they had light finger-​foods out to snack on (cheese, almonds, dates, etc.) and throughout class they had a red and a white available to sip on (because first time with a knife + too much alcohol can = bad things).
I would definitely recommend taking a basic class to someone who’s not super-​comfortable in the kitchen. Or even someone who is and who wants to expand their culinary horizons, pick up a few new tips, make some new dishes, and eat the delicious fruits of (3 hours+) labor. I’m certainly glad we decided to give it a try (and even more glad The Dude had a gift certificate ;)…).

What a cool place! Our Christmas party was held here and the food was fantastic (students did the cooking). While I haven’t had the experience of actually taking any of the classes, I have checked out their website and am impressed.
A nice little spot… check it out!

Signed up for three cooking classes. All were canceled either due to low enrollment or a «private function». How can you cancel a pre-​scheduled class for a private function mid-​week?! Accounting department does not return phone calls and requires too much legwork to get a refund!
Would have liked try the school but was disappointed by the management.
** A follow-​up to my above review. I was contacted by the accounting department and issued a sincere apology. They also offered me a free cooking class in regards to the three canceled classes.
Definitely a bit rough around the edges in regards to scheduling classes, but a top notch customer service department that is truly interested in correcting errors and having repeat customers. Worth trying out!