Reviews Widget | ClassBento

Cooking with James was a gift. I loved the farmers market scavenging to meet vendors since I own a place nearby and now can navigate better! We returned to his home - a respite from the rain with an inviting charcuterie plate to greet us. It was a new experience making pasta and the results were delightful. Next time I’d like to actually cook the noodles as well and the sauce. I will sign up again. Overall James was an ideal teacher and host and I really enjoyed the young couples in our group. I was solo to connected with a single gal to form another couple. I’m spreading the word now great this is on my social media!

Dan Markosky • Jan 2023

James was a great host, and we loved meeting several of his favorite vendors at the farmers market. He then welcomed us into his beautiful home where we spent time learning pasta making while enjoying company with the group. Amazing day and we will definitely be booking another event with James!

Anna Iurchenko • Dec 2022

Artisan Pasta Making Class

I invited friends to celebrate my birthday and learn how to make an amazing pizza together with chief James. It was so much more than I have expected! James is such a wonderful host and a chief and his space is amazing!

He served us yummy appetizers at the beginning and gave us plenty of time to open presents, to mingle, to chat and just enjoy time together. When we moved to the kitchen he demoed how to make a pizza and shared all the tips on how you can achieve great results at home. All guests got a chance to cook any pizza they want with variety of ingredients and then share it with the rest.

James was very attentive to all the guest and also made everyone welcome: one of the guests was allergic to wheat and James found a way to accommodate their needs by finding a wheat-free pizza crust, that was also really yummy!

I have very warm memories about this Birthday cooking party with chief James! We just had fun learning how to make pizza and enjoyed wonderful food that we made and chief James made for us!

Priya Ryali • Dec 2022

Amazing class! We loved the whole experience in making fresh pasta will be coming back!

Libby Palomeque • Dec 2022

French Cooking Class: Classic Bouillabaisse

Warm, funny, and welcoming, James made every guest feel instantly at ease. And the food was magnificent Highly recomended!

Jean Nelson-Rodriguez • Dec 2022

I did this class with a couple of girlfriend. The setting was in his house, which was lovely. James is a well traveled chef, which his stories added to the experience. I've been making bouillabaisse for Christmas the last few years and I hadn't found a recipe that seemed restaurant quality. The bouillabaisse James made was delish and I am excited to recreate it at home. Of course he made everything seem so effortless! I highly recommend cooking with James.

Amanda Jones • Dec 2022

Excellent experience all around. James is the real deal. He knows his way around the Farmer’s Market and the cooking experience was warm and informative. We are already planning our next adventure with him. Such a fun experience!

Cooking class review by Amanda Jones - San Francisco

Brent Stapleton • Nov 2022

James was great, he was very knowledgeable, friendly, and had a beautiful kitchen. The paella we made was a very accessible recipe, and the resulting meal was delicious.

Anne Gamino • Nov 2022

We absolutely enjoyed this cooking class with Chef James! He was personable, professional, and he gave us lots of tips and answered all our questions. The class format was relaxed and intimate. The entire experience exceeded our expectations, and we look forward to signing up for another class with Chef James again soon!

Jon Ezell • Sep 2022

Italian Cooking Class: Sardinian Gnocchi

Che James was a great teacher and host. Beautiful setting, relaxed atmosphere, great pizza, great fun!

Glen Fisher • Sep 2022

A wonderful experience - James was great to work with and provided an engaging (and delicious) experience for my team of 10 colleagues.
Jame's hospitality, hands-on teaching and the venue (a turn-of the-century Edwardian home) made it feel like we were visiting a friend's home for dinner! Will definitely do it again and recommend to others.

Rachael King • Sep 2022

Cooking Class: Saffron-infused Prawn Risotto

James was an excellent teacher, incredibly knowledgeable about Italian and Spanish foods. The class was in his beautiful home and he made us feel welcome. If you’re looking for a hands-on class, you might try the pizza class. The saffron risotto with prawns was more of a demo class but it made for an excellent date night as dinner afterwards was delicious! My date said this was the most fun he’d had in ages!

Michael Cott • Sep 2022

James did a great job! Friendly, informative and knowledgeable. He made everyone feel at home and we all really enjoyed the paella

Christa Guevarra • Aug 2022

Cooking Class: Saffron-infused Prawn Risotto

Chef James was absolutely amazing! He was so informative about what we were doing and about a lot of other things. Provided little snacks & gave us recommendation of where to find certain ingredients! Great experience & highly recommend him for all your Italian cooking needs!

Florence Lockhart • Aug 2022

Our evening with Chef James was inspiring. We learnt not only about the art of making risotto ( which was deliscious) but also how to create a fantastic meal for friends with a charcuterie board, a starter, risotto, salad, and dessert, using gorgeous fresh ingredients , from farm to table! Chef James has a tastefully decorated historic home which was spacious and the perfect environment to enjoy our 5 star meal in comfort. Thank you for inspiring us to repeat the experience in our own home and share what we’ve learnt with family and friends Chef James ! Florence and Roger and Wes

Cooking class review by Florence Lockhart - San Francisco

Steven Tran • Aug 2022

James was courteous and accommodating for our group. We had an amazing time and enjoyed our workshop making pizza where James provided education as well as an opportunity for everyone to create our shared meals.

Daniella Schepps • Jul 2022

Spanish Cooking Class: Cooking and Conversation

Our evening with Chef James was unforgettable! His house is stunning and the most perfect vibe for an evening of cooking and fine food. James was informative, interesting, and it was the best paella any of us have had. He made for a really special for me family and me.

Cooking class review by Daniella Schepps - San Francisco

Kelly Fitzpatrick • Jul 2022

We had a great time with James! The food was delicious, wonderful Spanish wines. Very homey & in a fun part of San Francisco.

Christina Cowan • Jun 2022

We had a wonderful time! James was an amazing host and gave us a night to remember!

Shannon Shelby • Jun 2022

Had a great time. Very interactive and informative. Great atmosphere, will definitely sign up for another class.

Becki Cowan • Jun 2022

Spanish Cooking Class: Cooking and Conversation

James was organized, relaxed and knowledgeable. The atmosphere in his home was beautifully appointed and inviting. He let us settle in and began when we were all ready to learn. He shared bits about his journey and passion for Spanish and Italian cooking and was a good listener when one of us wanted to share our own culinary experiences. We got to take turns using our hands to prepare the dough and create the gnocchi. We all enjoyed the entire experience from the delicious charcuterie ready when we arrived to dessert and chocolates after the salads. I would definitely encourage my friends to take these classes

Luke Taylor • Jun 2022

James was great, very hospitable and welcoming us into his home to cook an amazing meal. Raw ingredients were excellent and led to the best paella I've ever had. I think the class could be improved slightly if the students were able to be more hands on and take the lead cooking with guidance by James, but we still learned a lot and will be trying to make our own paella at home soon. Thank you!

Rajan Ladhwa • Jun 2022

Chef James is just amazing! Do yourselves a favor and book this experience. James is an excellent host and we had a ridiculously good time with him. Far and beyond our high expectations!

Thanks James for hosting an incredible team cooking session and dinner!

Michael Langbein • Jun 2022

Enjoyed this class a lot and will make much better gnocchi now. Thanks a lot!

Ameya Borwankar • Jun 2022

The class was quite educational! James is a great teacher and gracious host. Throughout the class James peppered useful cooking tips and tricks that helped us while cooking gnochi. He has an intimate dining space as well, where we enjoyed all of the food, which didn't take long because it was so delicious!

Suvita Viswanathan • May 2022

It was a great class. We absolutely enjoyed our evening of learning and eating great food!

Chetan Verma • May 2022

We went to James' place as a team and make Neapolitan pizzas with them. James is a great host and we loved the time we spent there. He makes sure the vibe is relaxing and fun and is great with engaging in conversations and sometimes letting people chat among themselves if it's a private group. The food was delicious and we learnt many tips and tricks for making pizzas! Definitely worth the time and the money, will recommend strongly!

Mark Ciopyk • May 2022

James was unbelievably kind, fun to talk to, and very informative. I look forward to not only trying the recipe at home, but reserving our next time with him.

Claudia Guerra • Apr 2022

Great experience with chef James. We were a small group of 4 people and we felt at home during the class and experience. We learned how to cook paella over great conversation amongst friends. If you would like to have an amazing intimate evening immersing in the Spanish food and culture, I absolutely recommend it.

Cooking class review by Claudia Guerra - San Francisco

Sarai Gallegos • Mar 2022

Italian Cooking Class: Sardinian Gnocchi

Delicious, knowledgeable, and such a fun time. This was a great way to celebrate my fiancé’s birthday. Chef James made us feel so welcomed and we learned so much!

Amanda Priest • Feb 2022

Chef James was the best! We prepared a delicious gnocchi in his adorable kitchen. He provided delicious nosh to start before we dove right in. He was super interesting and fun, would highly recommend anyone check out his classes :) they're well worth it!

Marissa Pardini • Jan 2022

This experience was great! James was extremely knowledgeable. I went with my Dad and we had a blast. The food was delicious and it was really interesting to learn about the background and history of the food.

Lauren Williams • Jan 2022

We had a wonderful experience learning how to make gnocchi and preparing and eating a delicious meal with James. We felt right at home when we walked in and were greeted with a lovely appetizer spread. James was a delight to talk with, and we enjoyed his company and learning about the food we were making. He had a lot of interesting knowledge to share. We will definitely be back to take another class with him in the future and will recommend this to our friends.

Michael Poole • Jan 2022

thanks Chef James for a super fun evening of pizza making/eating in your lovely home! Learned a lot and looking forward to putting new skills into practice. Highly recommended! MP

Lorenzo Calvani • Dec 2021

We had a great time making pizza with James. He is extremely knowledgeable and he's an amazing teacher. Love his passion! A+

Aileen Appe • Dec 2021

The class was fun and Chef James was very personable, knowledgeable, and made everyone feel included. He also prepped a delicious spread for us to start the evening, a really nice touch!

Mein Roger • Jul 2021