
Our Date Night classes are one part cooking class, one part happy hour, and the perfect alternative to restaurant reservations. Designed with couples in mind, we'll have you laughing, cooking, and creating together. These classes are less cooking-intensive than our other offerings, giving you plenty of time to mix and mingle while preparing dinner.
What You'll Learn
By the end of the class you will:
- Know which ingredients are required for a traditional paella (the paella pan, paella rice, the sofrito and the socorrat)
- Understand how to work with Paella rice and how it differs from other rice varieties
- Learn how to prepare a variety of proteins, including meat, fish, and chicken
About This Class
Tired of battling for reservations on date night? We’ve got you covered. Ditch the restaurant and bring your date into the kitchen for a Paella-inspired evening! You and your date will work side by side, along with other couples, to cook up an incredible Paella that will transport you right to Valencia, Spain.
We will greet you with cava and tapas, and while your paella is cooking, we’ll mix up some sangria, toss a salad and leave you plenty of time to mingle. The night will be capped off with dinner around the table, enjoying what you’ve made.
Menu
Paella Mixta with Chorizo, Chicken and Shrimp, Seasonal Spanish-Inspired Salad and Fresh Sangria
Details
- Wine included
- Full meal served in class
- Work in teams
- Ages 18+
FAQ
All students must show proof of vaccine before entering school and will be required to wear a mask unless eating/drinking.
We understand and respect that lifestyle decisions during Covid are an individual choice. If you test positive for Covid while the class is in session, you will be asked to send a friend in your place until you have a negative test. Classes will not be rescheduled, credited or cancelled. Once the class session starts the class is non-refundable. This was our policy pre-Covid and continues to be our policy today. We hope you find this policy acceptable and understand that this policy is required for a small school like SFCS to operate and open our kitchens for great food experiences.
The average duration of our current cooking classes is 4 hours, which is predominately hands-on work. You will be standing for the majority of class, cooking at your work station as your instructor demonstrates techniques and walks around providing individual feedback. Most of the time you’ll be working with a partner or small group on a few different recipes.
Doors will open 10 minutes prior to class starting and we will begin promptly on time. Students will be asked to queue up outside the door of the school to have their vaccine cards checked the first week of class (these will only need to be checked once).
Please arrive at the school with your own mask on. New, disposable masks are available should you need to replace yours while in class.
Wear comfortable clothes and close-toed shoes (remember, you’ll be on your feet cooking). The kitchens at SFCS are fully equipped with everything else you need, including clean aprons.
You will sit down with your classmates to eat what you’ve all prepared, along with some wine. We do suggest you have a small snack before class as dinner does happen towards the end of each session.
Wear casual clothing you can easily move around in, and comfortable close-toed shoes. Long hair must be pulled back and masks are required while in the building.
Cancellation Policy
Margie Kriebel

After earning a professional culinary certificate from San Francisco Cooking School, Margie founded Local Flavor, a personal chef company providing small event catering services, in-home cooking classes, and recipe testing & development. When she is not in the kitchen cooking, she can be found with local farmers, ranchers, and fisherman learning about their craft and products or cultivating her backyard vegetable and fruit garden. In addition to teaching cooking classes, Margie also helps in the vegetable garden at the local homeless shelter.
Mark Lusardi
Mark Lusardi has been part of some of the best restaurants in New York and San Francisco over the past two decades, including Aqua, Rubicon, Vertigo and Mustards Grill. Mark was most recently the Director for Market Hall Caterers in Oakland and has previously been Executive Chef of eleven restaurants. His culinary passions are for rustic Italian and French, Southeast Asian, Japanese, and of course, California cooking, emphasizing pure, vibrant flavors, sustainable seafood and local organic produce.
Margie Kriebel

After earning a professional culinary certificate from San Francisco Cooking School, Margie founded Local Flavor, a personal chef company providing small event catering services, in-home cooking classes, and recipe testing & development. When she is not in the kitchen cooking, she can be found with local farmers, ranchers, and fisherman learning about their craft and products or cultivating her backyard vegetable and fruit garden. In addition to teaching cooking classes, Margie also helps in the vegetable garden at the local homeless shelter.
Patty Ponciano

After spending almost 20 years leading travelers all over the world and exploring delicious and exotic cuisines, Patty decided to pursue her passion for cooking. She enrolled and graduated from the Professional Culinary Program at San Francisco Cooking School. Patty trained at the highly rated Italian restaurant, Perbacco, in San Francisco where she learned first-hand the intricacies and complexities of food preparation, presentation, and service. Today, Patty works as a private chef, teaches cooking classes, and still makes time to travel.
Margie Kriebel

After earning a professional culinary certificate from San Francisco Cooking School, Margie founded Local Flavor, a personal chef company providing small event catering services, in-home cooking classes, and recipe testing & development. When she is not in the kitchen cooking, she can be found with local farmers, ranchers, and fisherman learning about their craft and products or cultivating her backyard vegetable and fruit garden. In addition to teaching cooking classes, Margie also helps in the vegetable garden at the local homeless shelter.
Margie Kriebel

After earning a professional culinary certificate from San Francisco Cooking School, Margie founded Local Flavor, a personal chef company providing small event catering services, in-home cooking classes, and recipe testing & development. When she is not in the kitchen cooking, she can be found with local farmers, ranchers, and fisherman learning about their craft and products or cultivating her backyard vegetable and fruit garden. In addition to teaching cooking classes, Margie also helps in the vegetable garden at the local homeless shelter.
Christine Gallary
After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, Christine moved to Boston to test recipes at Cook’s Illustrated / America’s Test Kitchen, to teach children how to cook, and to work for Chef Barbara Lynch at her newly opened demonstration kitchen, Stir. Upon a return to California, Christine became a food editor in the test kitchen at CHOW.com. She is now the food editor at The Kitchn and loves the process of cooking as much as she enjoys eating the finished product.