The Seasoned Gourmet

Took my girlfriend here for her birthday for a cooking class/demo. The staff was very nice and the chef did a good job. The food was excellent, we were there for Greek night. My biggest complaint would be that the chef needs a microphone. It's dinner and people are going to socialize and it was often hard to hear her speak.

A group from my company was traveling to Wilmington for a meeting. We were looking for a group activity for everyone to enjoy. There were about 40 people in the group. Seasoned Gourmet set up 2 seatings for a cooking class for our team. They did an amazing job of managing all of the accomodations for the various food allergies/ preferences. They also set up a ravioli makimg competition! It was great. Thank you to Erin for the organization of the event and being a fantastic host and Alix and Suzanne for their support during the event and to Chef Michele Griesmer.

Excellent products and great customer service. I ordered a wok, and they took the time to call me to mention that the top dimension described on the website as 14: was actually 13.5". They wanted to confirm that the 1/2" difference was OK. When I confirmed it was, they shipped it out immediately. Great company. I will definitely shop with them again. (I ordered some delicious spices as well.)

I LOVE the "Sinfully Salted Pecans"....worth every penny. My husband loves all the peanuts. Whenever in Wilmington, I always stop and purchase items. Love giving the gift baskets to friends & family. I have heard great things regarding cooking classes.....can't wait to attend with some girlfriends and a date with my husband.

The Seasoned Gourmet was a delight to visit! Not only do they have a respectable selection of wines, gourmet seasonings, and legitimately professional gear, their staff are pleasant and genuinely kind. I purchased my very first professional 7" Santoku and, when explaining that I wasn't a professional, the lady was accommodating and loved the stories I told of growing up in my dad's restaurant! They didn't care that I wasn't a professional chef, they gave me the same level of service and attention as the clear professional chef who was also in the store. They also offer cooking demonstrations and if I lived in Wilmington, this would be a regular stop for me.

I had a horrible experience! My daughter received a gift certificate for Christmas for what we thought were kids cooking classes. the first class we signed her up for in September was canceled with less than 24 hrs notice so we rescheduled for the kids class in October. My daughter who is 10 was expecting to have some kind of cooking experience because this is what we were told when we bought the gift certificates. This was not the case and she was soo bummed. They should call the classes "kids tasting classes" because that's all they do is taste food the instructors make for $45 a class! I had 1 more class left on the certificate because they would not do a refund so we did the november kids class. Unfortunately my daughter came down with the flu on Friday so I called to let them know on Friday and they told me unfortunately they have a 72 hr. notice policy and they couldn't offer a refund or reschedule my daughter. I told them how disappointed I was that the instructor was able to cancel with less than 24 hrs, but my daughter who was throwing up couldn't reschedule for another class. They told me I could either come pick the food up, offer the class to someone else or if she was feeling better she could try to come in. Horrible policy and customer service, not to mention false advertisement!!

I had such a nice experience here with my kids. It was a perfect place to stock up on local gifts for friends who recently moved to town, and the service was amazing as well! We will be coming here often.

This cooking class is authentic Thai dishes. Lots is tasting plates!! Can always have a bottle of wine as well.

I like quality kitchen tools, and that is their specialty. They also offer classes, which I intend to explore in the future.

It was ok. Selection wasn't that grand and prices were a little ridiculous. The wine selection seemed like one that a real wine connoisseur might enjoy...random bottles All stacked up in slight disarray that an actual collector might find some hidden gems amongst. Wine not my thing though, so wasn't really for me. Same random miscellaneous pastry/baking selections as most "specialty" stores I find scattered here and there. Nothing special to brag about. Prob wouldn't go back again. Did find one seasoning I really Liked...piment d'espellette. Made it worth visiting that one time, but probably wouldn't go back if I was on a "hot the best" timeline

This review is solely about the cooking classes and management of The Seasoned Gourmet. This last Christmas, my big gift for my husband was a Seasoned Gourmet/Cape Fear Food & Wine Club cooking class, with food prepared by Chef Keith. I know this sells out so I was excited and knew my husband would be thrilled (he was). I reached out to the shop ahead of time to let them know I'm a vegetarian and they were responsive to that, which I appreciated. I LOVE cooking stores and loved this one immediately. The wine was inexpensive. Then began the challenges. The seating was impossibly tight. We were expected to eat a meal, but not all of us could fit at the table at one time, so we had to sit staggered. As the night proceeded, it became clear that this wasn't going to be a "class" as described on the website and that there was not an educational component. Chef Keith did very little actual cooking in front of us and also let us know that some of his staff and family had helped with cooking the meal. So at this point I realized 1) Our seating was super uncomfortable and 2) Our "class" with "food prepared by the chef" was neither a class nor prepared by the chef. I made a mistake in leaving in a frustrated state rather than complaining, but I was pretty surprised by the misleading description. Chef Keith IS awesome, by the way. If you want to share space with him, listen to him talk a bit, and eat food prepared by him and his team, his food truck and Catch are both great places to do that. So I reached out to Seasoned Gourmet. I explained the things I loved as well as the things I didn't. I invited her to contact me to speak further. I said how excited I'd been to give that gift to my husband. I did mention to the business that I'm an online reviewer but that I prefer to resolve issues with the business directly rather than writing reviews and that I think direct communication is important. My initial response from the General Manager was relatively kind but did not help me feel happier with my experience.. She offered to extend my membership (one needs to pay to be a member to take a class) for another 30 days so I could take another class. I have to admit I was surprised. I was unsatisfied paying my first $105 so I was supposed to pay MORE to give them another chance? I had paid for something that I hadn't received so the idea that I should give more money to this business in order to improve their reputation with me felt off. I'm a pretty careful, thoughtful person so I delayed writing back. When I wrote back I mentioned all of what I've said above. The gist of my response was that I didn't receive what I'd paid for and, at this point, wanted a refund. Again, I tried to be calm and rational. I thanked her for her time. So I was truly surprised when I received the next response from the GM. I'm limited in word count here, but the essence of her message was: ~That I was someone "with an agenda" ~I should have complained at the event itself ~I "clearly didn't find much real fault so [I] had to threaten a poor internet review to bolster [my] complaint. Here's the bottom line: this is extortion." The ONLY mention I made of a review was in my 1st message in which I said, "I'm a foodie and often post reviews on Yelp, but wanted to reach out and let you know of my upset more directly, rather than simply positing a poor review on Yelp." I didn't say I'd post a nasty review. I didn't say I'd post a good or bad review depending on her response. I didn't suggest I was going to write a review of The Seasoned Gourmet at all. I will own that I can be sensitive and somewhere between being made to feel like I was doing something wrong by wanting what I paid $105 for and my actions being referred to as "extortion" I'd had it. I wouldn't threaten to write a bad review; I'd just do it and base it on facts. I have to add that in the second message she sent me (after referring to my non-existent threat as "extortion" and telling me what I should have done as a customer) she offered to give me two free classes, up to $70 value total, to be taken with her. Again, maybe this is the sensitive person in me, but I have no desire to share a space with someone who would refer to my actions as "extortion" and falsify what I said in my messages. It was bad enough being out $105 and not being given what I'd paid for, but it's far worse to be treated this way by someone whose job is partially customer service. I don't want something for nothing - I just want what I paid for. The good news is, lesson learned. No one I know will go there. I'm posting a review (the GM let me know that the industry basically thinks Yelp is worthless, but I think my fellow Yelpers may beg to differ). If I can save someone else the frustration I'll be happy. But it could have been simpler. They could have delivered on what was promised on their website. And given that everyone makes mistakes, they could have handled theirs in a far different way.

I had a horrible experience! My daughter received a gift certificate for Christmas for what we thought were kids cooking classes. the first class we signed her up for in September was canceled with less than 24 hrs notice so we rescheduled for the kids class in October. My daughter who is 10 was expecting to have some kind of cooking experience because this is what we were told when we bought the gift certificates. This was not the case and she was soo bummed. They should call the classes "kids tasting classes" because that's all they do is taste food the instructors make for $45 a class! I had 1 more class left on the certificate because they would not do a refund so we did the november kids class. Unfortunately my daughter came down with the flu on Friday so I called to let them know on Friday and they told me unfortunately they have a 72 hr. notice policy and they couldn't offer a refund or reschedule my daughter. I told them how disappointed I was that the instructor was able to cancel with less than 24 hrs, but my daughter who was throwing up couldn't reschedule for another class. They told me I could either come pick the food up, offer the class to someone else or if she was feeling better she could try to come in. Horrible policy and customer service, not to mention false advertisement!!

"Thai" cooking class review General: ~$50/person. I did not complete the booking, so I don't have any input on the setup/booking process Seating around the counter ~10 people instructor completes the majority of the prep prior and cooked while we ate large portion sizes, more than just a tasting The good: -a fun group bonding experience. some of us wanted to cook, most just wanted to eat and mingle, and the instructor caught onto this pretty quickly -dietary restrictions were taken into account in the meal planning The bad: oh there were so many. Our menu consisted of pot stickers, a pork dish, fish, and banana eggroll. -authenticity of the menu was definitely questionable. the food tasted well enough -my biggest knock against the cooking class was the terrible, ignorant, yes, IGNORANT, instructor. I'm Chinese, and was not the only Chinese person in our group. Our chef/instructor made multiple offensive broad and generalized comments about Chinese food in a matter of fact and smug tone throughout our 2 hour class. These varied from making fun of chopsticks to how the Chinese don't cook fish or have desserts. And bonus, there are more Chinese desserts now, since they have become more Westernized. Note, we were in a THAI cooking lesson. She is a nice enough person, however, my biggest offense to her comments is that she is TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT MY CULTURE, when she clearly knows very little, has had limited research, but believes she knows everything. There was no sense of respect for the food of my people. The food of a country is a huge part of its history, people, and culture. This woman was spouting untruths, to god knows how many people in her career, and she was so coy and smug about it. Even a death stare into her soul did not stop her. Facts I wish she knew: Chinese and Thai food are DIFFERENT. Also, when preparing another cooking class menu, there is no such thing as "Oriental food" The saddest part about this place is there is another one review from a different Yelper calling this place a "racist establishment" Please, Seasoned Gourmet, I urge you, be better. Stop perpetuating ignorance and subtle racism. Hire instructors that are knowledgable and actual experts in what they are cooking/teaching. If you don't actually know a country's food, you can't be teaching it to people. And if you can't respect the culture and people, then play in your own sandbox and keep your mouth shut.

Four star cooking class... I took a cooking class at The Seasoned Gourmet and really enjoyed it. The topic of the class was Knife Skills and I picked up some really useful tips. The class was limited to eight people. I was able to ask the chef/teacher questions and he was friendly, knowledgable, and explained the "why" and not just the "how" when answering questions. We were served a delicious lunch which everyone in the class helped to prepare with our newly acquired skills. We were offered wine as well. The whole experience cost $80 and I feel like I got my money's worth. I signed up for three more cooking classes (all part of a series on "Kitchen Basics") and am very excited to go back. The Seasoned Gourmet is also a retail store but I haven't bought anything yet so I can't review that aspect of the business.

This store has got to be one of my favorite places in Wilmington. The staff is always so friendly and helpful. I want to thank everyone involved in making my sister's Bachelorette party an evening we will never forget. We all loved the cooking class and the wine and dessert were the icing on the cake.

Went to the wine pairing class. For $35 I got 5 sips of wine and a few bites to eat. The lady in charge made me feel like a moron from "checking in" to when I asked for a new plate (hold onto your plates!). Anyway after an embarrasing moment and the Wine Nazi holding out all night for herself, I am bitter to ever come back.

Racist establishment. As non-white customers it was very obvious the staff had no desire to help us. Whenever we asked if they had any more merchandise the clerk would reply with, "Nope." Without even checking to see what we were asking about. Aside from looking at us as we came in, they never asked if we needed any help or took the time to acknowledge us. I've never experienced such a negative environment in my life. We came to spend money, however our money was not good enough.

Can not wait for Seasoned Gourmet to open on their new digs on Market Street. I have missed their terrific selection of cooking gear and wonderful array of spices. The cooking classes and demonstrations are so much fun too and the new place looks like it will be more spacious allowing more of these. Hooray!

The Seasoned Gourmet is a really cool store. If you enjoy supporting local businesses, awesome cooking classes with great chefs & unique cooking things you should definitely stop in & take a look around.

I can't say enough about this place. I've taken 4 different classes over the past year with my last class being the Taste of Spain with Wine Pairing. Not only was the food wonderful, but my guests and I learned quite a bit about the history of wine in Spain. Among the 6 courses we were served, my favorite was the gluten free fried calimari! Ok the braised short ribs were pretty spectacular as well...and there was the dessert. And I must add that the servings of wine were much more than just a taste... Susan has a wonderful way of sharing her passion for food with us each time. She is knowledgeable, humorous, and about as down to earth as they come. Susan always inquires about food allergies and makes accommodations where she needs to. I so appreciate that. Suffice it to say, I love this place and am really looking forward to my next class tomorrow with the amazing Keith Rhodes of Catch and Phun. He is such a pleasure to watch in the kitchen and he's another chef with a terrific sense of humor!

Had a great time in the cooking class with Chef Dean Neff from PinPoint Restaurant. We made yummy food and he taught us a lot about cooking in general. Learned insider tips for collecting fresh local ingredients. Took a few recipes home too. Would highly recommend his class!

I cannot say enough good things about this place. Every one is so friendly and knowledgeable about what they sell. Susan is a fantastic cook and instructor. They have other great chefs at the cooking classes also that are fantastic...money well spent. Did I mention the adult beverages, the best wine selection in Wilmington. So happy you are expanding and can't wait to the Grand Opening One of Wilmington ' s best kept secret Seasoned Gourmet and Cape Fear Food & Wine. Robin & James Aydlett