I certainly don’t claim to be any expert on cooking schools, nor interior decorating for that matter, but The Dirty Apron Cooking School is gorgeous. Located at 540 Beatty Street, just a few doors down from Chambar and Medina, the School had their open house this past weekend and it definitely was a popular place to be.
Made up of three large rooms, it instantly struck me as a very inspiring space; not overly decorated, but just enough character to become a place where one could really be creative.
Exposed brick, unfinished wood tables with rows of bentwood chairs and elegant chandeliers filled what I would imagine to be the classroom of sorts.
The kitchen, complete with killer appliances (thanks to partnerships with All Clad cookware, Wusthof knives, Wolf ranges, and Sub Zero fridges) is an open layout, with workstations around the perimeter for the hands-on classes. Co-owner and Chef David Robertson was cooking up a storm (pictured here alongside Takashi Mizukami), in the mighty fine looking kitchen.
The School claims to be “Born out of a passion for great food and a desire to spread the love…will combine state-of-the-art kitchens with expert tuition and a healthy selection of the finest locally sourced ingredients to create the ultimate playground for food lovers.” Instead of a full-time student curriculum, they seem to be focused on you and me as potential students, and offer both hands-on classes for those who want to dig right in, and demo style classes on French and Contemporary West Coast cooking. You can also sign up to learn the secrets from the Chambar kitchen in a class taught by Chambar Chef Nicco Schuermans.
At this point in my (non chef) career, French cooking is just a bit intimidating, I think I’ll look into The Ocean Potion class…I really would like to know how to clean and portion a whole salmon. And Chocolate Persuasion for sure, who wouldn’t want to learn how to make things like chocolate fudge and hand rolled truffles? ~ JK
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m going Thursday, I can give you a follow up if you like.
Looking forward to it.
Please do!
Took Chambar Nights Class Thursday.
Saw Evan’s creme brulee =)
Anyways, honest review:
1. Facilities – gorgeous
2. Equipment – top notch
3. Demonstration area – ok, minot tweeks needed
4. Quality of Instruction – good
(in comparison to other cooking schools)
5. How close to the printed instructions the chef did the demo – pretty close
6. Friendliness of the staff – excellent
(very personable and friendly (chefs, sous chefs, dining room server) – hope they can keep this up and not let the excitement of the grand opening wash away); Lady in the dining room looked after everyone really well – such a nice touch.
7. Quality of ingredients used – very good, just some minor tweeks needed
8. Cleanliness – very good (but it’s brand new, let’s see over time); some ‘tweeks’ needed
9. Workstation and utensils/pots/pans etc – minor tweeks needed
10. Doggie bags – big bonus was that you just put your name tag on your leftovers and she magically packed them up for you to take home when you left for the night.
Tweeks:
1. Chef – microphone would have been nice
2. Hygiene – tasting with fingers – a no no – using a spoon for tasting once then putting it to wash is ok, but double dipping – no no
2. Demo area – double sided mirror to show what is cooking on the range was missing – big thumbs down in this regard
3. Workstations – layout – a bit crapped so when you trying to move, u keep bumping into your neighbor; needs tweeking
4. Demo area – more space between both rows of chairs would be nice; kinda cramped
5. 5 min break after first demo would be nice to allow people to plug the parking meters; lots of people received tickets last night – how unfortunate
6. Ingredients – some of the herbs look rather pathetic as they were all wilted
7. Big trash bins strategically located would have been nice
8. Extra cloth or paper towels that one could use to wipe down the workstations would have been nice
9. Separate cutting boards for meat and produce to avoid cross contamination
10. Pace of course – very nice, smooth pace; great to take a break in between demos, make the food, sit down and enjoy it and then another demo, more hands on – excellent
Dishes made:
- excellent, very flavorful, colorful and tasty; could not believe I could make something like that
- Course delivered as promised
- Rating – 8/10
- Recommend – most definitely
Took another course.
I hate to say it, but I think that they have let the cleanliness side take a bit of a nosedive. Hopefully, they will ensure that each new class has a workstation that is thoroughly cleaned and utensils, knives, gadgets that are just as pristine as day one.
Consistency and quality of teaching, facilities is what will make or break them. Word of mouth travels fast. Due to cleanliness, I have downgraded them in ratings.
Rating – 6.5/10
Cleanliness – 6.5/10
Recommend – maybe
Okidoki – thank you for your very honest review. Though it’s tough to hear when someone has something negative to say about our cooking school, I value your critique.
I’m sorry to hear that your cooking station was not up to our usual standard of cleanliness, which is a top priority at The Dirty Apron Cooking School.
Please know that, thanks to your last post, we will ensure that no station will get overlooked again, and that at your next visit you will find that our standard regarding cleanliness is still as impeccable as it was on opening day, if not even better. I hope you were still able to enjoy the cooking class as a whole that evening.
^ If only my cel phone company was as receptive and professional in their response to criticism…
This is as good as it gets as far as hands-on cooking classes in Vancouver. I attended the Knife Skills class on Friday, which cost $140, and I had an absolute blast and really did learn quite a few things. There were about 10 people in the class so each person got their own cooking station, which is ideal. The class started with a demo of basic knife skills and then we had the opportunity to cook and eat two recipes we made ourselves. For each recipe there was a brief demo of how to make it, then you went to your station and cooked it yourself while the instructors went around the room helping and giving tips where needed and then you got to sit in the dining room and eat your food while being served wine and chatting with other participants. There was also a lovely cooking store where you could purchase many of the items you used throughout the evening.
I think you really get what you pay for with The Dirty Apron, a top notch hands-on cooking experience with quality ingredients in a high-end kitchen that has a modern yet cozy feeling to it. The pace of the class is geared is for the average person however basic cooking skills are helpful. I can’t wait for my next class!