Epicurean School of Culinary Arts

My wife bought be a gift certificate for a class at this school and every time I tried to redeem it, the class was cancelled. When I asked the school for a refund, they never responded. I would recommend that you look elsewhere for cooking instruction unless you're interested in getting ripped off! more

I took the beginners class here, which was $500 for 6 classes, which is roughly $83 per class. The space itself is not the best acoustically, which can make it hard to hear the instructor with their voice echoing off the walls. The blasting music from the yoga studio next door, as well as the trucks barreling down Melrose and La Cienega don't help. The instructor insisted on leaving the front door open for ventilation, which allowed lots of street noise to seep in. That said, one of the instructors was excellent... the assistant instructor was a bit militant for what seemed to be a hobbyist's class. They often gave conflicting information, and the asst. instructor was prone to chewing people out for not adhering to her standards. The recipes were good, but the biggest problem was that you could only make one dish out of five per class. And only 2-3 students per recipe. Therefore, if you don't get there early and rush the sign-up sheet, you could get relegated to making something uninteresting, like a Caesar salad, while others make more complicated dishes. The equipment and supplies are decent, even though they're a bit old. The knives are sharp, the cooktops high grade, and you feel as if you are in a commercial kitchen. The pricing for the workshop is a bit steep... around $85 and you'll probably only get to cook one recipe. For those who want to take the professional classes, the tuition, while seemingly high, is much more reasonable than similar classes at Cordon Bleu or Kitchen Academy. Pros: Plenty of hands-on time. Generally 2-3 students per stove. Cons: A bit pricey for workshops, noisy location. more

I recently took the Beginners Course at Epicurean. I heard about it from a friend who said she took the class several years ago and the recipes she learned are still some of her favorites. The class was great. The instructor was informative, helpful and upbeat. The working environment was perfect. I looked forward to the class every week and look forward to taking more classes there with friends. Pros: talented staff/instructors more

I just finished the Professional Baking I program with Suzanne Griswold. She was fantastic. I researched a few other baking programs in Los Angeles and decided on Epicurean because of it layout and its Wolf ovens. Pros: great working space more

I have taken a few classes at Epicurean, I consider myself a fairly good cook but Epicurean taught me how much I don't know. The class moves really fast with a lot of hands on action while the instructor provides you with tips, background on the dish your making, and even encourages you to take the fundamental basics so you can add your own twists to the dish. Its also a great social event. Everyone seemed to want to help each other and at the end of the class there is sort of a communal tasting of everyones dish. One of the best ways to spend a Saturday in L.A. Pros: A lot of great instruction in a short period of time more

I just wanted to stop by and write about the great time I had in the knife skills workshop. It's amazing how much time I saved myself after learning the correct way to slice and dice. I use the skills I picked up over and over. Thanks again! Pros: so many classes to choose from, so little time. staff is friendly, classes are FUN! more

I've taken cooking classes where the focus is on having fun and when it's over, you haven't learned anything. Then there's the classes where you're lectured to and you don't even want to eat what you cooked at the end of the class -- you just want to get out of there. At the Epicurean cooking school, the class I took was the perfect balance. I'll totally go back for more! It's also a great deal, especially for Los Angeles. Pros: Teachers have amazing credentials, good value Cons: none! more