Chop Wok & Talk

Absolutely fantastic experience. My wife and I were gifted this cooking class from my mom. First off, the people labeling Dorothy as rude must have absolutely no sense of humor. Yes, she is forward, and will tell you what you are doing wrong, but there is always a bit of humor in each comment and she's very willing to teach newbies how to do it correctly. It appears to me that she and her assistant have a great relationship where the assistant completely understands Dorothy's humor. Yes, she asks that when you are in the kitchen that you pay attention and leave social conversation for the dining room. This makes sense in a room full of people trying to learn and with regards to the fact there are hot stove tops nearby and knives everywhere. Plus, the event is 3 hours, half of which you spend at the dining room table getting to know each other and talking there. You by no means need to know how to cook at ALL to take this class. They will show you the fundamentals of cooking, teach you want why certain types of ingredients are different (like types of salts) and give you options for substitute ingredients so cooking at home is easier with respect to having all the ingredients. We went to the Thai class and thought the food was spectacular. We had Coconut Chicken soup, Fried Chicken with a Thai Sauce, Pad se Ew with beef, and panang Curry pork and rice. There is so much food you get to bring home a lot. One thing to note is that future reservations must be made in private groups of at least 4.

If your looking for something different to do, try Chop Wok and Talk. It's a cozy place in Bloomfield. It's BYOB, fridge space to keep your beverages cold. It's hands on and fun! We cooked one course at a time, enjoyed In dining room. Back to Kitchen to make the next step. We joined a Date night event. It was nice to meet new people. That enjoy Culinary Arts.

Chop Wok and Talk is a fun time. I'm more of a eater than a cook, however Dorothy made everything super easy for the parts we contributed to. I do think this experience was very worth it to those looking to duplicate this later ( she sends you the recipes) however, for those who are less experienced in the kitchen it's a fun meal but nothing beyond that. I didn't learn any "kitchen skills" there is a basic need for you to understand some tasks that I did not. I recommend this more if you truly enjoy being in the kitchen.

I did a Tuscan cooking class with my mom at Chop Wok and Talk and had a wonderful evening. My mother has been cooking for our family and holiday events for 40 years, so while she is not professionally trained, she does have a lot of personal experience and skills. We are Italian and my mom selected the Tuscan class in particular to refine some of our techniques and also acquire new ones and flavor profiles. With that being said, we expected to have some conversation with the instructor, Dorothy, and discuss the different techniques she used. Dorothy wasn't particularly interested in conversing- she was much more interested in teaching. She is extremely knowledgeable and a very talented chef, but she is a bit intimidating. Some people on here have very poor reviews of Chop Wok and Talk for this reason, but I never got the impression that she was mean or hostile. She very much wanted to teach us a lot in a short amount of time so she was just to the point - and we DID learn a lot. Dorothy was great at explaining why to use certain ingredients and pointing out the nuances in the recipes that were particularly important to get right. The space is a bit crowded for a party of 9, but it's also very homey. You feel like you're cooking in Dorothy's personal kitchen, which is really cool and adds to the experience. I overall had a really wonderful time. I learned some valuable skills, added some fantastic recipes to my collection, and enjoyed a very nice dinner in good company. I'll definitely be coming back!

Beware: not a good activity if you're looking for light hearted fun. In the kitchen, there was no "chit chat" allowed. Our group of 8 made a few quiet comments amongst ourselves and were scolded because Dorothy couldn't focus with any noise. Also, the kitchen was very hot and smoke filled at a couple points. The pregnant member of our group left to get some cleaner air and ice water in the connected dining room and was yelled at for leaving the kitchen. At 9:00, we were told to "get out" despite dessert just being prepared at 8:50. Dorothy also sat down with us while we ate, took her mask off, and proceeded to talk for 20 minutes about food poisoning and people being sick. She finished off the night be acknowledging that she had been "a bitch" (her words). Overall, the environment was hostile and the food was meh and not worth the price at all. Trying to find the positive...if you want to have a very serious learning experience with no fun and average food, you might enjoy this place.

Full disclaimer, this review is for the corporate events. I would not choose to do an Asian cooking class as an individual based on my experience, but if you are looking to do a corporate event, I think Chop, Wok and Talk is a pretty good option. It's not authentic Asian which bothers me, as they are a cooking school. I wish they would caveat the menu with "Asian inspired" or "Asian fusion", since I found quite a few people had never had these dishes before (like Pho or papaya salad)... it's misleading. Nonetheless, authenticity aside, it's a pretty good, fresh way to do a work event. I've done the corporate team dinners twice now with Dorothy and her staff, at the Sigma conference center location. The dinner took about three hours and we were divided into teams, each tasked with preparing a different component of the meal. Dorothy can be quite authoritarian, but it's probably necessary given the timeline. Everything was well organized and the food, while not completely true to the flavors you would expect, was good. If you keep an open mind (and keep on sipping your wine) you can have a pretty good time!

Three of us + Greek night. We loved it! Dorothy was engaging and cooking was fun! There were 7 students overall, including one person with a walking boot, one vegan and one gluten free gal - everyone was accommodated. Aprons and towels provided, BYOBThe kitchen is small: good because you can see everything (unless you're the stove person). True to the name on the door, you will Chop, Wok and Talk - another plus from the close quarters.We made panzanella salad, spanakopita, pastitsio, lamb dumplings with tzatziki sauce and baklava logs....and then you sit at the formal dining table and Talk some more... cooking tips, travel talk - great convoCannot wait to go back!

I had an amazing experience cooking a Korean dinner with Dorothy and her assistant Amy. I highly recommend and would return for another class. There are numerous cuisines to choose from and Dorothy is very knowledgeable with great cooking tips and easy to follow recipes.

We just did a Girls Night Out Italian cooking class with Dorothy and her assistant Julie. We usually visit a new restaurant in the burg every 6 weeks but this month decided to try a cooking class instead. Welcome to Chop, Wok & Talk. A wonderful culinary educational experience which is not limited to just Italian cuisine. Italian was just what we chose. Dorothy sees that everyone participates and is a wealth of information and tips that she gladly shares. She is more than happy to answer questions and is very engaging. She guided us through making 2 different pasta noodles; ravioli & 3 sauces as well as a salad. Everyone had a fabulous time, We will be back for another class soon. Everyone is thinking Chinese next! Thank you Dorothy and Julie

I did this class with my family for a christmas present and we all LOVED it. Such a cool experience in a private setting. Dorothy was very knowledgeable, we learned so much. We also greatly appreciated her sense of humor. We chose a steak dinner and every course was delicious. The portions were big enough that we had leftovers. I would go back in a heartbeat and highly recommend this for anyone looking for a fun and unique dinner experience!