About SFCS

San Francisco Cooking School is committed to building an anchored institution for culinary arts education in San Francisco that reflects the global influence and on-going conversation of California Cuisine.

At the core of San Francisco Cooking School is a rigorous career-training Certificate Program designed to prepare aspiring food professionals to jump-start their culinary careers after six intense months (or ten if enrolled in the part-time program). Certificate Programs are offered in both Culinary and Pastry Arts.

Our School is distinguished by an updated, hands-on curriculum that was developed with an advisory board of contemporary chefs, and stands apart by drawing upon California food values while celebrating global cuisine. Tossed out are old-school mainstays such as isolation teaching, and outmoded subjects like aspic and ice sculptures, and instead students will learn how the best chefs are cooking today.

SFCS offers an attentive private school experience with no more than 14 students enrolled at a time. The state-of-the art kitchen is the classroom where students learn and cook in a fast-paced environment, just like a restaurant. The Program takes full advantage of the “campus” San Francisco has to offer by immersing the students into the food community with teaching field trips to farms, kitchens, and artisan producers, and culminates with an highly managed externship placement.

In addition to career training in culinary arts, SFCS offers the largest program of hands-on recreational cooking classes in the Bay Area. Our 5,200 sq ft. facility functions as a vibrant culinary center for book signings, chef dinners, celebrity demonstrations, and private cooking parties.

The building which houses our main campus at 690 Van Ness Avenue was erected in 1910 and stands as one of the earliest auto showrooms on the historical “auto row” on Van Ness. In 1988, chef Jeremiah Tower transformed the building into a restaurant and named it Speedo 690 in homage to the building’s previous tenant, Speedo Carburetor Shop. Along with Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck, Jeremiah Tower is widely recognized as a founding partner of “California Cuisine”, so the building’s food history makes it a natural home for San Francisco's new educational culinary center.

Faculty

Jodi Liano

Director of Programming and Head Recreational Instructor

Prior to founding SFCS, Jodi was a lead cooking teacher at Tante Marie’s Cooking School where she worked for 14 years. She is also a veteran of food media with experience ranging from working the kitchens of the Food Network in New York to recipe development for Bon Appetit to writing multiple cookbooks for Williams-Sonoma, including the popular “Cooking from the Farmers’ Market”. Her latest book, “Panini”, will be released in March 2013, published for Williams-Sonoma.

Jodi is thrilled to be realizing her dream of operating a cooking school in San Francisco. Over 15 years ago, Jodi was a recruiting executive who switched careers after returning home from a one-week cooking vacation in Italy with Giuliano Bugialli. She remembers the decision to “go back to school” quite well to become a culinary student, so she’s very excited to introduce a new certificate program designed for aspiring food professionals who demand a challenging educational experience that will prepare them for today’s food business.

Catherine Pantsios

Director of Culinary Arts and Head Chef Instructor

Catherine mentored Jodi Liano 14 years ago when she taught and oversaw the professional cooking program at Tante Marie’s Cooking School for over eight years. She also taught avocational classes at Draeger’s, Sur la Table, and Ramekins.

Prior to teaching cooking, Catherine developed her extensive culinary knowledge over many years in restaurant kitchens, including Zuni Café, Hayes Street Grill, the Ritz Carlton in Chicago, and the Quilted Giraffe in New York. She was also chef and co-owner of the critically acclaimed Zola’s Restaurant in San Francisco for nine years. Most recently, Catherine was the culinary supervisor and test kitchen chef at Ketchum Communications, a PR firm with a broad portfolio of agricultural commodity and ingredient clients.

During the initial development of SFCS over two years ago, Jodi immediately thought of Catherine as the natural choice to run the professional Certificate Program in Culinary Arts. A career chef and instructor for 25 years, Catherine shares Jodi’s passion and talents for imparting knowledge in the kitchen through teaching and mentoring.

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