Joni Sare

I found Chef Joni Sare on Cozymeal and booked her for my team offsite as my 3 other team members found her Master Italian Classics Cooking Class to be a fun learning experience. Boy were we right. If you don't read my full review, all I can say is that Chef Joni was an EXCELLENT instructor and my team members and I had such a good time. We were smiling ear-to-ear the entire time we were there. Highly recommended from this Yelp reviewer.Detailed review below:Communication (5/5): We used the Cozymeal platform for everything and found their interface amazing. Chef Joni was very pro-active and communicated with me several times before the event date on January 17, 2020. What stood out about this communication was that she really wanted to know us. She asked good questions like "Why did you choose this class?", "What do you hope to learn from it?", "What are your goals?" etc. Really appreciate this since she can cater the class to exactly your needs. She was also very accommodating when I told her that one of our team members was a vegetarian so she made sure she had a vegetarian option on hand during our class. Finally, before the event, she gave us extremely detailed directions to the location of the event (including a picture) and what to expect. Really outstanding communication here.Location (5/5):Her location is in her house located in Sunnyvale near major highways. Lots of street parking once you arrive so no issues on parking. The inside is well decorated and everything seems to be remodeled including her kitchen which was very modern. See pics to get an idea. Food (5/5):The Master Italian Classics Cooking Class contains the following menu:1.) Antipasti - Cheese, crackers, almonds, pepper jelly to snack on throughout the whole meal while you are there2.) Handmade Fettuccine Alfredo3.) Ragu (Mushrooms, many vegetables) - Our protein was lamb for the meat-eaters and tofu for our vegetarian team member.4.) Tiramisu - for dessert.I don't want to spoil too much of the class but I'll share some of the highlights for me at least. Preparing the Fettuccine Dough from scratch including folding it, kneading it, was a really fun experience. Also running through the dough through the pasta machine to stretch it and finally cut it into actually the noodles was such a cathartic experience. I'm really happy I got to experience that. The Ragu was so delicious and so healthy at the same time as we barely used any vegetable oil and we put in so many vegetables. Finally, the tiramisu making was actually pretty easy but delicious at the same time. Now that I have been through how to make Tiramisu, I am confident I can make it for a party without issue. Also, if you can't finish all the food you make, Chef Joni gives you take-out boxes to bring home so you can enjoy the food again! Our group also had leftover uncooked fettuccine and we got to take that home. Chef Joni (5/5):Last but not least Chef Joni was an excellent instructor. She was so bubbly and easy to talk to and really put the group at ease very quickly. She was masterful on dividing up certain tasks in the kitchen so we can all participate in the cooking journey and made sure we were doing the steps properly. We asked her so many questions during our time in the class and she happily answered every single one of them without being annoyed. It was nice to finish the class with all of us including Chef Joni eating at the table. Chef Joni's passion for cooking really shines through her class and we had a great time!Our team can't wait to come back. Thank you Chef Joni for a great class.

We cooked with Chef Joni in the "Traditional Thai with a Twist" and it was absolutely amazing!We were a group of 4 friends, and she did a great job of making sure we were all busy without ever feeling rushed. She also did a perfect job of pulling us all back together to show us a technique or part of the recipe that needed the full groups attention. Even though we were working on different tasks we still felt as if we were one group all working together in a real kitchen (Which we were!).Joni also was great at catering to our wants for the class. Plenty of time for photo's (all about the grams! #cookingwithjonisare) and eating, as well as explaining how she found and modified existing recopies based on her experiences. It was great because we didn't just walk away with a recipe and a tutorial on how to make it, but a great understanding of how the ingredients worked together and tons of tips on how to practically apply that, and what to look for at restaurants so we could also start to modify and adjust our own cooking beyond what was covered in the class.Chef Joni was a fantastic and I couldn't recommend her more!

My boyfriend and I had a wonderful lesson with Chef Joni over the Jul 4 weekend. She was willing to accommodate us even though we arranged the lesson pretty last minute (only 2 days before).She was very responsive when we were arranging our class, and suggested a great menu when I mentioned that we wanted a class on fish.She went through a revision of basic knife skills with us, corrected our knife handling and posture. She also taught us how to spot freshness of fish, the different techniques to cooking fish, as well as how to build flavors.She was patient, well organized, and very knowledgeable. Highly recommended! :)

Silicon Valley Friends - recommendation for Chef training for teaming... I had the pleasure to take place in a "teaming cooking lesson" at "The Hidden Kitchen" with Chef Joni. We learned to cook and had 5 minute "uncover your passion" sessions with Urvi Bhandari and it was incredible. The kitchen is hidden in a non-descript house near Mountain View and is amazing inside. It was so relaxing and fun to cook with my fellow board members and gave us an opportunity to get to know each other in a whole new way. I highly recommend it! If you are looking for team building, a team workshop, a team bonding experience, personal coaching, team coaching, a memorable event venue, I highly recommend this! We are even subscribing to a quarterly cooking and coaching engagement with Chef Joni and Coach Urvi! We can't wait! Who needs another team dinner when you can cook! Also, I learned that she does unique couples nights, date nights, bridal showers, and girls night outs! Love, love, love Chef Joni and Coach Urvi!

On 3/2/2018, my wife attended Chef Joni's cooking class, Secrets ofPaella (www.cozymeal.com/cooking-class/4718/secrets-of-paella).Chef Joni definitely put a lot of thought and preparation into theclass to make it such an enjoyable experience. The class was held inChef Joni's amazing kitchen in Cupertino. The environment feltrelaxed and fun with plenty of opportunities for everyone toparticipate. Each dish was well organized (printed recipes,ingredients gathered/staged in advance), and relevant techniques/tipswere explained in real-time (good pace).The evening started with learning to prepare a potato dish to add to aspread of appetizers. After making sangria using Chef's Joni'singredients (wines BYOB), guests enjoyed appetizers and sipped onsangria before working together to make the orange Valencia cakebatter. As the batter baked in the oven, guests learned to makepaella. While the paella cooked, guests decorated their own slice ofcake with various toppings including Disaronno Amaretto liqueur. Thebest part of the evening was when guests sat down to enjoy the paellawith a nice Rioja and finished with the orange Valencia cake. ChefJoni provided containers, so guests split the remaining paella andcake to take home.Highly recommended for both foodies and novices to the kitchen!

I booked a company team off-site with Chef Joni. It was easily one of the best events I've attended. Chef Joni and Kim were super attentive and friendly, and taught us a bunch of new skills ranging from knife skills to how to deglaze a pan. Chef Joni's location was also super warm and cozy, and was wonderful for spending some quality time with our team!

My boyfriend surprised me with a private cooking class with Joni at her house in Cupertino, CA for Valentine's Day. We arrived to a beautiful, clean home and were greeted by Joni and another couple also celebrating Valentine's Day! The class was to make a Spanish-inspired Paella dinner. We made all the courses with the help and support of Joni. Starting with an appetizer, Sangria, Paella, and dessert! My boyfriend had requested prior to our arrival that the meal was to be gluten-free as I have Celiac Disease. Joni completely understood and had all gluten-free ingredients. Which was another awesome thing; I didn't have to pick up any ingredients. We simply brought a bottle of red wine and showed up! Oh, and we did not have to clean after enjoying our meal! THANK YOU, JONI!We had a lovely time and Joni is a patient teacher! She took the time to show all of us knife skills and how to properly plate the food. Additionally, her communication and demonstration was clear and easy to follow. Joni made sure that we were 100% apart of cooking each course and every step of the meal coming together. I would recommend this experience to anyone who loves cooking, wants to learn more about cooking, is a newbie in the kitchen, and/or has kids wanting to get in the kitchen. Joni has a special gift of making you enjoy the process of cooking and bringing you into a new world of flavor!

Chef Joni is a pro!! What a wonderful evening.From fresh herbs for our ragu from her garden, music reminiscent of Italy and pasta made from scratch - it was a perfect night! And also our latest night out since New Year's #2020. We started off munching on appetizers including rosemary almonds and some delicious cheese and crackers while we made our dishes. The last time I made pasta from scratch was in my seventh grade cooking class during which I was always worried about being late to the next class period since the teacher never left us time to clean up. And I had to bribe my Spanish teacher to not mark me late by giving him my finished product. Needless to say I did not remember anything and this time was a much more pleasant experience. The pasta machine is super cool and I won't share the secret to the best alfredo sauce...you'll just have to take the class and learn it yourself!Then while we let the pasta sit we worked on the ragu. Veggies galore and Joni is great at ensuring everything can be vegetarian and working with your dietary preferences. Joni shared many different techniques and also the science behind the making of the food. For example, reasons that cooking a veggie a certain way provides more flavor. For dessert, tiramisu. Honestly, we were stuffed but always leave room for dessert! Anything you don't eat you can take home! Joni is super organized and was very accommodating of my wild schedule. Her kitchen set up is outstandingly beautiful with high end appliances and also ensuring COVID-safe measures. Plus the candle-lit dinner and recipes to take home are just a few of the wonderful detailed touches. Plus LEFTOVERS FOR DAYS. Like leftovers for a week. Of it all!A great date night in Italy!

Love Joni!It's all about continuing to move forward to share the gifts that we have with others to support and uplift them. Joni definitely helped do that for my 15 year old son, Kaden during this time. We signed up for weekly lessons for Kaden to cook with Joni. He had such a great time in the kitchen and felt proud of his efforts. We have a budding chef in the making. She is so easy going and light hearted that he really felt relaxed from the beginning. Thank you!

My girlfriend got this private class for us as a bday present. We did the Italian dinner. Joni made this a absolutely incredible experience. She was very curious, professional and very knowledgeable. Even during covid everything was extremely clean, she had sanitizer on tap and she made us feel completely safe. She started us out with a delicious cheese plate to snack on. We then cooked the meal, It was a delicious Ragu sauce, homemade delicious pasta, and out of this world alfreado! Her recipe on tiramisu was pn point as well!she guided us very well and the food was delicious. She gave me some solid tips that you can't get from cooking books and youtube videos. Not only was the meal and the experience amazing, she got some amazing pictures of Me and my girlfriend together and we even framed one. Her kitchen was absolutely gorgeous and her house so inviting and clean! I would 100 percent do this again and if you ever want to try a private cooking lesson even if you have no experience..she is the one to book. No need to think about it! Just do it! Thank you so much chef joni for an incredible unforgettable experience!!!-James