The Abundant Kitchen

A friend and I took The Abundant Kitchen's macaron cooking class & had a great experience. AK's owner provided a prep demo to go over the recipe & provided many do's and do not's she had either learned by experience, or from local macaron business owners in the twin cities. The demo was very helpful before we broke in to groups and tried it out for ourselves. Due to this class' popularity - the group sizes were a bit larger (we had 5). Although we all found tasks to divvy up, we did feel bad that most didn't get to really try out all the steps of making this high-maintenance cookie to really get hands-on experience. Becki, our instructor & AK owner, was very interactive and helpful throughout the whole class. She provided good tips and tricks & created a fun environment, encouraging & fostering great group interaction. During the baking time we took a brief "shopping break" to explore the store. Becki has so many practical, high-quality cooking items it is a great store. You could find absolutely anything you could possibly need in your kitchen! Back to class, Becki had prepped the buttercream for us to fill the cookies. She went over different combinations we could try with jelly fillings & then we got to try our hand at filling. We only wished we had remembered to ask a few questions about making the buttercream, since we didn't get to mix this up during the baking phase & gain hands-on experience. We are always so impressed with the variety of classes Becki offers, her passion for cooking, & we loved the great environment she fostered during the class. The members of the class were from all over the metro, proving it really is worth "the drive" to Buffalo if this is not a close location for you. AK's Facebook page and website are updated frequently to keep you in-the-know on all upcoming events. Time flies by during class! But you leave with a good experience, tactical skills, a recipe card, and for this class we each took home ~10 macarons. Bon appetit!

The "Abundant" Kitchen feels like a bit of a misnomer. This place is pretty new and pretty small-time in a small town. As such, I suspect it's still working out some kinks. I attended a demo course which was advertised as such (although we were promised that "every student will get a chance to volunteer in front of the class for a portion of the recipe," which--maybe thankfully if you've tried my cooking--didn't really happen), and while I had a decent enough time, there were moments that felt off. At one point, I asked if I could take an extra baked good for a friend who wasn't able to join me, and I was chastised harshly, like I was a naughty child. Okay, no worries, but really? Was there no other way that could have been expressed? "Sorry, we sell the extras" or "we like to donate the leftovers to the poor." Nope, it was "you may have ONE!" Wow. So much for abundance?Still, kinks aside, I suspect this will be nice addition to a small downtown that seems to be attempting to revitalize itself. (Although I fear that, in expressing my opinion, I will once again incur wrath.)

Everyone here is so nice!! The sales stuff is good, albeit pricey, but they even offer high quality cooking classes that are definitely worth taking. The owner is super friendly and a fun person to be around. Workers are helpful and the store offers a wide variety of utensils. 10/10

What a hidden jewel in Buffalo! Great shop with hard to find gadgets and a big selection of spices from local producers.

This is the word for word description of what we would get in the class, directly copied from website:"Menu: Thyme & Garlic New York Strip Steaks with Béarnaise Sauce, Eggs Benedict, and Monkfish (the poor man's lobster) with Clarified Butter. Class price includes printed recipe copy, one glass of wine, beer, or non-alcoholic beverage, and a full meal of everything prepared."Again, this was a CLASS. I assumed it would be like other cooking classes I have attended, where i would, you know, actually cook. Instead, the only cooking I did was to peel one poorly cooked soft boiled egg. The "teacher"/owner Becki who responded to my only three questions with "I am not sure" each time, had to ask someone in the class what the printed out instructions said, and did 90% of the cooking. The rest of us watched. She had another person whom she identified as a friend who was a home cook that actually sous vided regularly, she admitted she had not done it often. It appeared she had not done it AT ALL. As for the "full meal of everything prepared" that consisted of 2x 1/4 inch slivers of steak, 1 slice of english muffin topped with ham and poorly cooked soft boiled egg, and 2 small one inch cubes of monk fish. This was held from 6-8, so needless to say we went out to dinner immediately afterwards. There was no option to purchase additional beverages either. We do NOT recommend for date night.Edit: Per the response below, I believe my points were made. The first thing she brings up was about beverages, although that was a very minor note (in fact the last) in my original review, a fact without any negativity associated with it. Apparently a PSA for other yelpers looking for a date night is a scathing review and worthy of implying intoxication. We were not the only individuals at the table who were still thirsty, and no additional beverages of any kind were offered or suggested after requesting a second beverage. As first timers, I suppose we should have just KNOWN about the cooler on the other side of the room.And yes, Becki, I do expect a cooking instructor to know how to make a mother sauce without referencing a recipe. I do expect a cooking instructor to know what types of plastic bags are safe to use for sous vide when I am learning a class about sous vide. Most plastics on the market, including those advertised as BPA free, release non-BPA chemicals that disrupt hormone activity. If we are feeding this to our families, we should at least know it is safe. And yes, I do expect to cook in a cooking class. As mentioned previously, this was not my first cooking class, or even my 10th, and was entirely a different experience altogether from others.I am sorry you are so disappointed you got your first negative review. In general, these are opportunities to improve, not respond with pettiness. Everything I posted was factual, which you confirmed in your response.And yes, the 2 bites of steak we were so privileged to consume were delicious.

Experienced my first class tonight (with my oldest daughter)! What a wonderful place! Learned some great things and the food was amazing - definitely going back again! Didn't spend near enough time in the shop but it contains some great kitchen gadgets and other items as well. Owners and others who work there were all very knowledgeable and incredibly gracious. Many many thanks for an excellent evening!