Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen

I attended a Korean cooking class conducted by Alyssa at the Atherton Market.
The class was well organized, well presented and a good value.
I enjoyed meeting new people as I went alone and worked at a table with three others. Super nice people.

OMG, what a great place. I took the basic knife skills class tonight. Just onion trick alone was worth it. Chef Alyssa is great. So is Andrew and her other asst, how I forgot her name so sorry… They make it a pleasure to learn to cook. Can’t wait until my next class.

I have taken two cooking classes with Chef Alyssa and they both have been amazing! I am not the best cook and I felt like she explained everything very well! The venue is perfect and the food was great! I would absolutely recommend taking one of Chef Alyssa’s classes! Make sure you book early because they fill up fast! I will be taking another one soon!

Wow. Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen was an AWESOME venue for my company to hold a client appreciation event. Alyssa was great at instructing the class on what to do and made it fun at the same time! Everyone raved about the Thai food we made and the experience. We will most definitely be coming back to Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen with our company!
Thank you Andrew and Alyssa!

Fantastic lesson on Moroccan cooking and how to adapt to your kitchen. We made lamb tangine and couscous. Chef Alyssa taught us in easy to understand steps and the helpers brought around the ingredients. I loved the goat cheese honey lavender cigar desserts. We went as a date night Valentines present and it was awesome. You can reserve the date night table for a little more and cook together for more romance!

I picked up a French cooking class as a Christmas gift for my fiancé and it was terrific. We both learned a few tips from Chef Alyssa, had a great meal, and even got to listen to a member of the Charlotte Symphony while we cooked. Definitely a fun date night.

My husband and I attended Chef Alyssa’s Dressed Up Game Day class in September. What a cool venue and a very fun date night! We brought a bottle of wine and enjoyed meeting the other members of our kitchen team that night. We have already made the sweet potato wedges twice since the class and are looking forward to making the baked wings (SO GOOD!) soon. We are looking forward to booking another class soon– maybe with some friends this time.

A date invited me to join him in a beginner’s class recently. What a fabulous idea! I already know how to cook and enjoy it so I was interested mainly in learning some new tidbits while enjoying a fun date. Alyssa’s delivered! The evening was about 3 hours from start to finish.
I’ve never taken a cooking class before so have no basis for comparison. The only things I found awkward were watching Alyssa prep a dish and then following after, the large screen on which we watched Alyssa prep was dim and difficult to see clearly, and the setup of freestanding prep tables (with no sinks or ovens nearby) makes full participation in meal prep from start to finish impossible. I would have preferred chopping, mixing, and cooking along with Alyssa rather than watching first, but that’s probably just a logistics issue considering there are 22 students.
It was fun, I learned a few things about chopping efficiency, and the meal was yummy! I would do it again.

I got to try this out thanks to a gift certificate and took the Paleo II class.
It is easy to see why Alyssa is an award winning chef as her menu items were both innovative and delicious. So if you want some great recipes and some wonderful tasting food the night of, you are going to enjoy yourself.
Now as for the class itself:
The Good:
Alyssa and Andrew are top notch and super friendly! Alyssa gave great instruction from the steps to make the food to why she chose certain ingredients. It really helped not only understand the process but how to potentially use some of the same ingredients in other recipes.
Alyssa is very patient and if you need to go back over a step, she is right there to help. She and Andrew also take care of the little things such as making sure the ingredients are portioned out for each table, food is put in and out of the oven at the correct times and they take care of the cleaning too.
While Alyssa is demonstrating the recipe, Andrew is filming it and putting it on a projector screen so everyone can see it easily.
The recipes she came up with (and put in the cookbook you get to take home) were delicious and creative.
The bad:
I had signed up for one of the more advanced classes because I like to learn by doing but can already cook. While it was nice to have some steps taken out for time’s sake, I like to measure stuff, I like to look in the oven and observe the color and consistency to know when to take it out. I’m sure if I had been assertive and asked, they would have allowed me to, but it was not built in as part of the class.
You are working in teams of 2 – 4. If you are a stickler for quality control like myself, this can affect things.
Because we divided up steps, I didn’t get to put in all the work on all the recipes which would have been nice. I also had to trust my food to other cooks. As a result, my sliders were overcooked and very dry and the sweet potato buns were poorly formed and thus very crumbly.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my team and it was great working with them but you may have to be prepared to adjust your expectations.
But hey, that is what this is all about right? Learning. I only mention it because I went in with the expectations that I would be doing 100% of the recipes and work.
I think if you chose to take one of Alyssa’s classes, you will have few regrets. It’s a good time, a terrific learning environment and outstanding food.
*I’d add half a star if I could. The only variable that keeps it from being an outright 5-​star is that someone else can potentially ruin part of your meal.

My husband and I attended one of Chef Alyssa’s classes last night and we were BLOWN AWAY. I thought it would be something fun to do for his birthday and boy was I right. We both had an absolute blast! Chef Alyssa is AWESOME — she’s so nice and helpful and makes preparing the dishes super easy. We had all of the ingredients and necessary kitchen gadgets waiting for us just like on Food Network. ;-)
Chef Alyssa does a demo of the steps and then she and her team walk around to help each table as they go through the steps themselves. Once you complete those steps, she does another demo and comes around to help again. It’s a very interactive class and she does a fantastic job showing you each step so that you can complete it yourselves. Everyone at your table helps and then when you’re finished you sit down to eat an amazing meal including dessert!
All of the ingredients are fresh and local, most of which came from other booths in Atherton Mill Market (fresh bacon, fresh veggies, fresh fruits, etc). Chef Alyssa explained why we used certain ingredients (like coconut oil instead of olive oil) and she also gave us great tips on how to chop the veggies without chopping our fingers as well as why we should use fresh, local ingredients.
I really can’t say enough great things about Chef Alyssa and her team. It was a fantastic evening, a wonderful meal and a great birthday celebration! We will definitely be back, hopefully with a bunch of friends in tow!

I had attended a handful of cooking classes the past couple years in Charlotte, and after Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen, I realized that those could only really be described as demo dinners.
Chef Alyssa classes are the real deal. She let’s you get your hands dirty and even trusts you with sharp objects! The majority of the lesson is taught with Chef Alyssa at the front of the class and some helpful camera work projecting an up close view of the important moves on the screen above her. Her helpers walk around frequently to provide guidance and take care of distribution and clean up. Once in awhile Chef Alyssa well also check on your progress and answer any questions.
It was so fun cooking and nibbling and making new friends at my station. At the end, she invited us all to sit together on the cool long custom bench made of repurposed doors and dine together on our proud creations.
The food was so good that I immediately put her complimentary cook book of the night’s lesson to use and repeated the meal the next day for family. Thanks for making me look good, Chef Alyssa!

I had the pleasure of participating in 4 classes as 2 date nights and 2 family dinner events. Each class was unique and they were all a really great experiences. After the first class we learned so much about cutting techniques and ended up making a hearty Italian menu that was incredibly delicious that we had to go back.
I can proudly say that I am much more comfortable in the kitchen because of Chef Alyssa. My family dinner duties have extended past clean up and errand boy to bringing some sort of dish for the meal!
It really is a perfect date night, bring a bottle (or 2) of wine and get social with your table-​mates. I highly recommend Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen!

Very cool thing to do! I went to a cooking demo as part of a meet-​up group special so I did not get to do any actual hands-​on cooking :-(still I had a great time. Chef Alyssa is super-​sweet & very receptive to questions. She keeps it very practical and simple in her instruction (think «cooking for dummies» ;-). I actually left the demo feeling like I could potentially make the dishes that were featured (ha!).
After the demo, we were given samples of what she had prepared. My only gripes is that there were no alternative options prepared for the samples that are offered for people who may not eat meat/​beef. I can’t detract a star though because I don’t eat beef, she was great!
Chef Alyssa is located within Atherton Market. I visited on a wk nite and the lot was packed, so just a tip to arrive early to allow time to find space. I certainly recommending trying at least one class as she offers quite a variety of types of classes. I certainly am looking forward to attending an actual class soon!

If you’re looking for the perfect date night or in search of fun things to do while in Charlotte and at the same time delight your palette, Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen is the place to go. Set up in the pristine South End neighborhood that’s prime for all things quaint and classic, you really need to check them out. You will be so grateful you tried it out. Love Alyssa, she’s a fabulous Chef!!! Charlotte is so lucky to have her.

Looking for something fun to do with either a group of friends, date night or team building? Check this place out.
I have never taken a cooking class before, so I was super pumped to try out Alyssa’s Kitchen for the first time last night for Mediterranean Cuisine night.
Four people to a station. Pick wisely… you have to cook with these people for the next couple hours. They give you everything you need. Ingredients, pots & pans, kitchen gadgets & tools… even an apron. The only thing you need to bring in (I mean that you can bring in): wine or beer. The classes are BYOB.
Chef Alyssa walks you through each dish and all the steps. They use a camera to put her on a big screen. She also walks around to answer any questions and help. I had a battle with my artichokes. Chef Alyssa came to my rescue to show me up close how to fight them… er, clean them.
We made three dishes last night: Stewed Artichokes, Stuffed Grape Leaves and Olive Oil cake. We were going to sear some fish too, but the fish and pans were not getting along. She improvised and showed us how to season them properly… then popped them in the oven.
This class is well worth the money. They range from $ 45-​$ 60. You get to cook, eat the yummy food and get a little book to take home that has all the recipes in it. Check the schedule! There are all kinds of different classes available. all levels. Some of the upcoming include a knife class and a Superbowl spread one. Hello spicy pulled chicken sliders. Yum.
Super convenient location too… right inside Atherton Market on South Blvd. I will definitely be back.

I took my fiancé here for a date night and it was awesome! Neither of us had ever done a cooking class, so we definitely consider ourselves amateurs. The best thing about Alyssa is that she won’t make you feel like you are an amateur, and is a great teacher. The dishes we prepared were really easy to learn, and definitely things we would be able to make at home.
All in all, it was a great class but more importantly it was a really fun time. Their location is also super convenient right in South End, inside the Atherton Market. I recommend you check out the classes she has available and schedule something soon. With as much fun we had, I imagine all of her classes will be booked full!