Review of George Brown's Culinary Arts 1 Course
One of my fav dishes I’ve made in the program, braised lamb shank with mashed potatoes (yum).
Tomorrow marks the final day of my cooking class at George Brown. When I started, I was hoping to solidify my cooking foundations and decide whether investing $10-20k in a future Le Cordon Bleu program in Europe would be worthwhile. Now, as the course ends, I’m left with a mix of confusion and clarity.
I learned how to cook a mirepoix—a mix of roasted carrots, onions, leeks, and celery that adds aroma, color, and flavor to a dish. Along the way, I also discovered a few things about myself: I’m not a fan of sharing ingredients, and I have a lot of room to grow in organization and time management in the kitchen (I was often the slowest cook at the table—and in the whole kitchen... oops!).
Interestingly, I didn’t cook much at home while taking the program. In fact, I probably cooked more outside the program than during it. I also realized that I’m not that motivated to make dishes I don’t love eating myself—like poached fish. On the flip side, I got to try my hand at new recipes, like beef stroganoff, and tackled some fun but time-intensive ones, like quiche. Making the quiche was definitely a highlight for me—it’s something I’ve wanted to try for ages but never got around to. Shoutout to my friend Sophie for inspiring me with her homemade quiches in the first place!
Moving forward, I’ve decided to take a break from the George Brown cooking courses and pick things back up in March with the fresh pasta class. Pasta is one of my favorite things to eat—especially when paired with Asian fusion sauces—so I’m excited to learn dishes that I genuinely love. The French-inspired fare in this program, while foundational, didn’t resonate with me as much.
Choosing what to do next wasn’t easy. Not taking another course would feel like I’d be leaving the experience half-finished, missing the chance to build on what I’ve learned so far. I also considered Korean and Japanese cooking since I love those cuisines, but I’ve already attempted most of the dishes I’d want to make, so it didn’t feel worth the investment. Pasta, on the other hand, is both practical and challenging—something I enjoy but haven’t dared to try making on my own.
Program Overview:
Structure: 4 hours/week for 12 weeks or 8 hours/week for 6 weeks (I chose the less intense 12-week option).
Cost: ~$900, covering uniforms and weekly ingredients but excluding tools ($100–$400).
Class Flow: Arrive early to change into your chef outfit. The teacher preps ingredients for your table of four, gives a brief overview, and then demonstrates dishes. Students cook individually in shared spaces, followed by cleanup in a detailed washing process. Dishes are to be taken home.
Things I Liked About the Program:
Access to High-End Ingredients: Cooking with items like 84% milk fat butter, beef tenderloin, and saffron was a rare treat. (Although I wish I’d realized sooner that I could take leftover butter and other extras home!)
A Glimpse Into the Kitchen World: The program gave me a small taste of what it’s like to work in a professional kitchen. Cleaning grimy dishes, smelling like food at the end of the day, and dealing with sticky cooler bags reminded me of my brief stint in fast food.
Great Recipes: Some dishes, like braised lamb shank, turned out surprisingly delicious and are ones I’d definitely recreate.
Amazing Classmates: My final tablemates were the highlight of every class—they were incredibly kind, cheerful, and fun to work with. Their positivity made the kitchen a better place.
Cooking for Loved Ones: Sharing my weekly creations with my family and friends was deeply fulfilling. They’d ask what I made in class and were genuinely excited to try my dishes. For my family especially—who’ve cooked for me for over 20 years—it felt meaningful to give back in this way and treat them to new flavours and dishes.
Learning New Concepts: I picked up interesting techniques, like using a cartouche (a parchment paper cover) to keep poached fish juicy. I also tried searing many different kinds of protein (fish, chicken, beef, lamb) for the first time. These small but impactful skills added to my cooking knowledge.
Things I Didn’t Like as Much About the Program (or Considerations):
Highly Instructor and Group Dependent: My experience varied significantly based on the instructor and my tablemates. Initially, in the Thursday class, people rushed through tasks, didn’t interact much, and the instructor wasn’t very approachable. Thankfully, I switched to a Tuesday class after three sessions, where the instructor was welcoming, hands-on, and the tablemates were incredibly supportive and fun. They even lent me tools and shared reminders I often forgot!
Instructor Variability: My first instructor answered questions in a way that felt dismissive, as though I should’ve already known the answers. He also called me out in ways that felt unnecessary, which dampened my enthusiasm. In contrast, my later instructors were much better—one, in particular, had a great balance of humour, expertise, and a hypeman vibe. The quality of dishes during demos also felt varied based on the chef’s background. Some felt like “hotel food,” while others were elevated and luxurious.
Tiring Schedule: Attending class after a full 9-to-5 workday was exhausting. I eventually started arriving early to nap on the couches, which helped me stay awake and attentive during lessons.
Heavy Reliance on Recipe Books: Many foundational concepts were left to the recipe book rather than being explained or discussed by the instructor in depth. I would have appreciated a more interactive teaching approach.
Demo-Heavy Structure: The program relied heavily on demos for the first two-thirds of the course. I would’ve preferred a step-by-step approach where the instructor demonstrated one step, and students followed along before moving to the next—similar to how Gusta Cooking Studio operates.
Large Class Sizes: My Tuesday class had 12 people, which felt intimate and enjoyable. However, the original Thursday class had 24 students, making the environment feel less personal and harder to engage in.
Uneven Portion Sizes: The portion sizes of final dishes varied wildly—sometimes enough to feed six, other times barely enough for two. Occasionally, we made dishes that required finishing at home, like roasted items that needed another 2-3 hours in the oven. This makes it hard to predict how many friends I can share food with on Wednesdays.
Slow Ramp-Up: The course started with soups, salads, and sauces, which are important fundamentals but felt a bit slow-paced given the $75-per-class price tag. It wasn’t until about a third of the way in that we moved on to more exciting, full recipes.
Underutilized Time: Many classes didn’t use the full four-hour slot. I calculated the cost-per-hour beforehand and chose this program partially because it was affordable compared to others like TDSB’s Learn 4 Life. The underutilized time sometimes made it feel less worth the price.
Limited Recipe Reusability (Subjective): I’m unsure how many of the recipes I’ll actually make again at home (due to personal taste).
Unnecessary Tools: The program required a long list of tools to purchase, but many weren’t used. For instance, knife-sharpening tools were on the list, but we weren’t taught how to use them.
Recipe Formatting: Ingredients were listed in a seemingly random order, unlike online blogs that group them by sections (e.g., soup base, curry, or garnish). This lack of structure made recipes harder to follow.
In-Class Cameras Underused: The zoom cameras in class were rarely utilized, making it difficult to see what the instructor was doing in their pots or pans during demos.
Not a Fan of French Terms: I realized I’m not particularly fond of French culinary terminology, which added to the disconnect.
All smiles in the kitchen until I freak out trying to figure out what the next step is because my mind is blanking.
Accidents and Lessons:
Knicking my finger due to unprotected knives in my bag.
Dropping veggies during a failed pan flip.
Mistakenly pouring eggs into quiche before tempering them with milk—thankfully, my instructor helped me salvage it.
While I don’t regret taking this course, I probably wouldn’t repeat it—not because it wasn’t valuable but because the dishes didn’t resonate with me. This experience reinforced my love for cooking as an act of care and creativity for loved ones, rather than as a job. I crave the freedom to cook intuitively and experiment with flavors, not follow recipes (though many teachers did mention that recipes are simply a guideline).
As I continue exploring specialized cooking classes, like Italian cuisine and food styling, I’ll carry these foundational lessons with me. Maybe one day, I’ll even host an at-home chef experience, where cooking feels personal and fulfilling—just the way I like it.