Sur La Table Cooking Class

Great place to have a good time on a date, chill out, eat some good food and learn a few tips… not a place to learn how to cook. Go to culinary school if you want to learn how to cook. Bring your own wine and have fun!

Great place for team building or maybe even a date night. We had a party of 16 and had a blast. We learned and ate great food.

Took a class with my wife on Asian street food, for the most part it was an enjoyable experience. We did get partnered up with another couple and it was fairly cramped in there. The portion sizes were on the small side, but we expected that going in. We made quite a few dishes, the pace was a little on the fast side, I think we would have benefited from one less dish and more time on the others.

I attended the Healthy and Delicious cooking class with my mom and sister as a surprise birthday outing for my mom. We’ve been on a health kick lately so we thought this class would be perfect. The menu contained pork medallions with an orange, date and jalapeño relish, chicken with white bean and kale stew, salmon with red quinoa soaked in chicken broth and shaved Brussel sprouts with Parmesan and walnuts. Let me just say, everything was delicious! The pork with the relish was my absolute favorite and I can not wait to remake it at home. They give u a packet with all of the recipes and the kitchen items used to take home. Our chef was nice and seemed knowledgable, but when I got lost, I would reference the packet and I noticed that she skipped a few steps. The class was a little over 2 hours and we definitely didn’t walk away hungry. Everything was tasting portions but we left feeling full and satisfied. The only thing I can say that messed up our experience were the gnats all over the place. The kitchen looked clean upon first glance but they really had a gnat problem. That is the only reason my review of this place is 4 stars. Other than that, everything else was fantastic!

The class was way too packed and my girlfriend and I had to work with another couple. There was 3 cutting boards only though so one person always just watched. Extremely cramped and since there are 4 people doing one dish, you normally only get to chop one thing and that’s it. This is definitely not enough food either. My girlfriend and I went immediately to Straights where we got an entrée each… that’s how little food there was. Plus, the «main course» wasn’t ready until 8:30 so we were starving at that point. Would not recommend to anyone.

I attended a cooking class here. The store itself has everything you need to pretty much cook anything. I have no problems with the store, I just didn’t enjoy the cooking class. The instructor need to get a course on constructive criticism. She talked AT us the whole time. She would call people out on their techniques, and point out what the learners were doing wrong in a very derogatory tone. It was NOT enjoyable at all. Not worth the money.

Took a Macaron making class. The chef was awesome and my girlfriend and I had a blast! You also get a 15% discount coupon afterwards and will def use it in the future. Girlfriend is sure to want more classes from here…

A few of my girlfriends and I took a Mediterranean Cooking class here. The class was both fun and informative. The teachers were great, making the class fun and interactive. I really enjoyed my time here. The price is high as is all cooking classes, but I think this one is the most worth it. There’s lots of food to be eaten at the end!

Having to be forced to learn to cook while living on your own doesn’t suck that bad thanks to cooking classes. I’ve taken a few other cooking classes (Italian and Indian) here in Houston before but this is my first time at Sur La Table for a French cooking class. It is located in the City Centre right next to Studio Movie Grill. The cooking classroom is actually located in the back of the Sur La Table. The actually store is like an upgraded Bed, Bath and Beyond minus everything but the Kitchen items. They do have high end knives, pots, pans, kitchen devices and etc… (Upwards of $ 1,000). I’m a sucker for small kitchen gadgets that seem useless like a device to portion out pasta, automatic can openers and more.
The classes are smaller compared to the other classrooms I’ve been to. It feels a bit more intimate as the proximity of the chef to students is relativity short. You can either view the chef (instructor) in the front of the class, in the mounted LCD screen or a 45 degree angled mirror set just in the front of the class. Once you walk in, you’re instructed to wash your hands and grab a seat. In that seat you will find a white apron (located in the front of the apron is a place to hold your pen which comes in handy), the recipes that will be cooked that session, a pen and a survey/​review page.
You get an introduction of the chef (her past work experience), what the meaning/​history of course taken (French Bistro, equipment/​cookware/​gadgets that will be used the different dishes that will be cooked and some other stuff I just didn’t pay attention to (my mind tends to wonder). Then you get to ask her questions and she answers the questions that again not paying attention too.
The following are the dishes that were cooked:
Mixed Green Salad with Port-​Walnut Vinaigrette — Actually just mixed together the ingredients in a bowl and whisked them together. It was very simple vinaigrette.
Whole Roasted Chicken with Parsley — There was actually two styles to cook this chicken. One was to cook it in a glazed ceramic pot and one just in a regular pan (both in the oven). I did learn something new as you should separate the skin from the chicken meat to insert spices and herbs. The chicken in the glazed ceramic pot was my second favorite dish. The chicken meat was so moist and flavorful throughout from the white to the dark meat. The other chicken wasn’t bad but I think I’ll be buying a glazed ceramic pot because of this class.
Pistachio Pistou — This was my least favorite thing made. It was so bland and it was supposed to go on to the chicken but, I didn’t put any on.
Caramelized Onion and Gruyère Potato Gratin — This was by far my favorite dish that night. The caramelized onions, soft potatoes and the creamy sauce made this so good. I don’t every caramelized onion but when I do I’ll be doing it just like in this dish. Mmmm… potato
Pan-​Roasted Asparagus — This was child’s play. If you can’t pan cook asparagus there is no hope in you ever taking care of yourself, a dog, a cat, a pig, a bid, etc…
Crepes Suzette — This was the first time I made a crêpe. We did it in a pan and not on one of those crêpe hot plates. It was really simple, fast and fun to do.
Did I mention it was BYOB? This can only happen after the knives are put away. Apparently we all can’t be adults, drink alcohol and weld a sharp object without hurting others in the proximity. I was checking some of the other people using their knives (as they diced onions) and I was deathly afraid someone was going to cut of her/​his finger. I didn’t bring a bottle of wine but, lucky there was a Max’s Wine just across the street which I was able to cure my alcoholic tendencies. There was a 10 minute break during this class.
All the dishes were very easy to make and the chef was good. She did have to stop the guy in front of me a few times to tell him you’re doing it wrong. She wasn’t harsh but, I did find it very comical. Everyone gets a chance to make/​help in each dish.
In all I had a great time and I did learn a few new tricks. You’ll leave stuff with food as there was plenty to go around. Cooking classes can be enjoyed alone, coupled-​up or a group of people. I’ve been told women find it sexy when a man cooks. So I’ll be chipping away at that wall to see if it’s true.
Why is this review so long? If you read to the end of this review, I’m giving you a virtual high five!