5.0 (5)

18k followers

James grew up on a 50 acre horse farm near the Salinas Valley. His great grandfather emigrated from Yugoslavia into the Central Valley and started an apple farm. His grandfather later moved to the very fertile Salinas Valley and started one of the first produce companies. It was called Sun Harvest. My mother raised us mostly on local fruits and vegetables though there was still the occasional cooking “out of a can” given the generation. Canned beets! The one thing we always had was a bowl of fresh fruit, cut up and put into a bowl for us before we went to bed.

James earned a masters in Spanish literature and linguistics through Middlebury College and lived in Spain for two years. He later entered into the technology business and worked at various advertising agencies in San Francisco over a 12 year period. Along the way he started cooking as "therapy" for his corporate day job. CookWithJames was created 15 years ago as an underground supper club. James would prepare multiple course regional Italian and Spanish dinners in his home for guests and friends. James staged at Quince restaurant after they opened in 2004, and has also lived and cooked in both Italy and Spain. After leaving his day job in advertising in 2009 James launched CookWithJames as a full-time business, offering private sit-down dinners as well as cooking class parties for all occasions.

Classes

Neapolitan Pizza Making Class

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$125

5.0 (3)

Italian Cooking Class: Artisan Pasta

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$139

Italian Cooking Class

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$150

Spanish Cooking Class: a Night in Spain

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$125

Italian Cooking Class: Rustic Meatball Supper

Runs regularly

1 to 14

$125

Cooking Class: Saffron-infused Prawn Risotto

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$125

Cooking Class: Four Course Seasonal Lunch

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$175

French Cooking Class: Classic Bouillabaisse

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$125

Italian Cooking Class: Sardinian Gnocchi

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$125

Spanish Cooking Class: Cooking and Conversation

Runs regularly

1 to 15

$135

Reviews

(5)

Lauren Williams • Jan 2022

Cooking class

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

Neapolitan Pizza Making Class

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

Neapolitan Pizza Making Class

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

Neapolitan Pizza Making Class

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

Cooking class

Chef James was amazing, being hosted in his charming home we immediately felt like family. His kitchen was an excellent workspace for our hands on cooking instruction. Chef James started us off with an variety of appetizers including cheeses, and charcutier board. We brought some wine, and Chef James also provided some wine. Great way to start this adventure into Italian cooking. Every step of the + more

Cook With James