Viva Cucina

My 13 year old son and myself had the privilege to cook yummy desserts with Barbara on a 1:2 private lesson. She spent a lot of time educating my son on all the cooking tips for making bread pudding, strudel and molten lava cakes. Her kitchen was extremely inviting and a perfect place to learn. No detail was missed!!!
My son can’t wait to return for the «Sauce» class and start creating savory dishes with Barbara. I highly recommend Barbara and Viva Cucina. The recipes are easy to make and ones that we will definitely make again and again. Cooking with Batbara is a treat. Thanks again for a great evening. Hope to see you again soon.

For our office’s Christmas party we decided to try something new and take a cooking class together. One of my coworkers has taken several classes with Barbara and suggested we all give it a try. She was gracious enough to accommodate the 7 of us and we had a blast. Her home, where the business is located, was festively decorated and she laid out some cheese and crackers for us as we were gathering.
She provides aprons and hair ties and then gave us a run down of what we’d be preparing. Breaking off in to teams, we each tackled part of the meal (main course, veggies and dessert.) Along the way, Barbara is there to coach you on the meal prep and help time everything being cooked. In addition to some fun team building, I learned a few valuable tips on properly roasting veggies and making some killer «smashed» potatoes.
The meal came out delicious and the best part was the table was set for us and all the clean up done by her and her assistant for the day. Once we all sat down together to share the meal we created as a team, we marveled at how much fun it was and how many great cooking tips we learned. Barbara was an amazing teacher and gracious host. Our office is small and close knit, so sometimes we can be a crazy handful. She rolled with our silly selves and truly seemed to enjoy spending time with us. What makes the Viva Cucina experience amazing is not just the food and education but the hospitality and kindness of the owners. Highly recommend checking it out for a couples or team outing,

My husband and I received a gift certificate for one on one cooking class at Viva Cucina as our Christmas gift. We had no idea what to expect other than the website description of the types of classes and the choices of food you can learn to cook. The website cannot begin to describe the warm, friendly, and enjoyable experience you will have because of Barbara.
We chose to learn and prepare filet mignon and stacked potatoes. Barbara also added roasted carrots for us to prepare and served a chocolate flourless cake for desert that she had made previously. The food and flavors were incredible. We both appreciated that Barbara created an enviroment where we felt very comfortable to ask questions. The information was presented in a straight forward and uncomplicated manner that makes it easy to pick up on the techniques and lessons being taught.
However, the best part of the evening was spending the evening with Barbara and her husband. They are very warm and gracious hosts who in a very short time make you feel like a welcomed old friend who has come to visit.
The night was the whole package… great food, great company, and a great environment to learn some new things about cooking food.

My girlfriend and myself have been talking about taking a cooking class together for quite some time. We never could find any that we really loved and had amazing reviews and sounded delicious. Also, we were concerned that a rudimentary class would be great for her, but I’m only slightly more advanced. (I do the cooking at home.)
While looking again for classes and with my girlfriend’s birthday coming up, I figured this was a great time and class for us. It was absolutely awesome. The kitchen was awesome and very fun to cook in. Barbara has lots of techniques both «head chef» and «mom’s way of doing things» and teaches both.
Viva Cucina has a great menu for the 1 on 1 lessons (actually teaching up to 6 on 1 in a private setting). It was perfect for my girlfriend and I. Once we had cooked the dinner (risotto and red pepper stuffed chicken) Barbara and her husband joined us for dinner, some wine (bring your own, she doesn’t mind, but doesn’t serve) and some awesome conversation. We talked about almost everything! We ended up going over the 3 hour class time by quite a bit, but never felt rushed to leave. Oh, and the best part of all… no cleanup. Barbara and her husband take care of it!
Barbara has also been talking about doing more wine pairing nights and I told her when she does, I’ll get a group/​party together and we’d do it in a heartbeat.
Her prices are very fair for the lesson and food. And I will absolutely be going back to learn how to make her Molten Lava Chocolate Cake.
Thanks for the lesson Barbara!

Kudos to Viva Cucina and to owner/​culinary instructor Barbara Kelly. What a fun and unique way to learn personalized, practical cooking techniques in a lovely, homey, social setting!
There were three of us at our hands-​on Viva Cucina cooking class last December. With the support of her two able assistants, Barbara had planned a very well-​considered selection of customized recipes for us to learn. Donning our Viva Cucina aprons, we actively participated in all aspects of preparing, coordinating, cooking, plating and serving a gracious, uncomplicated dinner for eight, including a tasty rib eye roast, the best mashed potatoes (Yukon gold) ever, delicious roasted corn on the cob, and a crowd-​pleasing apple strudel.
After, we adjourned to the lovely Viva Cucina dining room to savor our culinary accomplishments over wine and lively conversation — a memorable event with very special people.
Barbara Kelly is truly talented and knowledgeable, accommodating and personable.

My bf and I have been talking about taking a hands-​on cooking class. We didn’t find many out there. When we did find one, they were already booked months in advance.
The other day, I stumbled upon Viva Cucina online and she happened to be available this past Sunday evening. I decided to surprise my bf with the class, hoping the time wouldn’t interfere with Sunday football.
Barbara is the owner and the class was held at her house in Danville. Her place is gorgeous and her kitchen is a dream. We made a mushroom stuffed porkloin with roasted vegetables and polenta cups. Everything was delicious!
It was great because the class was just for the two of us. I chose the menu from an extensive list of options. I told Barbara that we wanted to work on our chopping skills, so she suggested menu items that would allow us to incorporate more of it. We did all the cooking with instruction from Barbara. We asked all the questions we wanted. The class was designed at our pace and level. At the start of the class, my bf was thinking the class would be too basic but Barbara quickly caught on to our cooking skill level and adjusted accordingly.
We are thinking of hosting an event with friends and inviting Barbara over to teach a class. She will come to your house or venue of choice and bring all her own equipment and clean up afterwards.
The cost of the hands on class was not expensive at all compared to others I have seen. I would definitely recommend Viva Cucina. Barabara was great!