Who we are
|
Celebrity Kitchens was founded in September, 2001 by Angela Martinez and Cindy Weiner. Angela and Cindy were both practicing attorneys when their passion for cooking developed into a unique idea for a new business. They created a completely new dining experience, where guests can enjoy a meal prepared by a master chef right before their eyes. Celebrity Kitchens hosted its first guest chef demonstration on March 11, 2002, with Chef Ethel Hoffman. At Celebrity Kitchens, guests are invited to assist the chef in preparing the meal during hands-on classes. Celebrity Kitchens offers kids cooking classes, private parties, and business and corporate events. It’s an intimate and educational experience where guests can learn to cook a meal, enjoy the meal, and take home the recipes. Services:
Why did you decide to open Celebrity Kitchens? How are the classes structured? What days are programs scheduled? Do you get a sample of food prepared by the chefs or eat a full meal? How do I know what is being served? What else should I know about attending a Celebrity Kitchens event? Do you sell gift certificates? Where is Celebrity Kitchens located? At Celebrity Kitchens guests enjoy an exceptional dining experience. The region’s top chefs cook table side for our guests. We feature a different guest chef and menu each night. It is dinner and a show combined into one event. Guests enjoy eating fabulous foods, and they go home with the chef’s recipes. It’s like being a part of Food TV, but better! At Celebrity Kitchens, you actually eat the meal prepared by great chefs who are just a few feet away when cooking your meal. The chefs explain how they are preparing your food and you have the opportunity to ask questions. We offer both hands-on and demonstration dining events. During a “hands-on” meal, our guests cook under the supervision of the guest chef. At our “demonstration” dinners, diners sit back, watch the show and enjoy a great meal. Guests always enjoy a full meal. Celebrity Kitchens is a great place to bring your friends for a day or an evening out. Groups and private parties are also welcome. Why did you decide to open Celebrity Kitchens? The unique Celebrity Kitchens concept is the 2001 brainchild of Angela Martinez and former owner Cindy Weiner. Angela and Cindy opened Celebrity Kitchens’ doors on March 10, 2002. Cindy reflected, “I was always passionate about cooking ever since I was a child. However, my career path took me to law school and practicing law for a number of years in Pennsylvania. That’s where Angela and I met. She was my boss and we worked together for years as prosecutors in Family Court in Pennsylvania. We are best friends who regularly brainstormed about how we could go into business together and be able to retire from practicing law. 2001, was a pivotal year in my life: I was fighting to overcome cancer and the tragedy of 9/11 struck. Both reminded me life is too short not to pursue my true passions. I always liked to entertain and when I invited friends to my home, they always ended up in the kitchen. The kitchen has been such a wonderful place for gathering, sharing and creating memories.” From this vision of friends and family gathered around the kitchen cooking, chatting, eating, laughing, and drinking wine, the concept of Celebrity Kitchens was born. Angela is now the sole owner of Celebrity Kitchens. Eventually, she plans to own a chain of Celebrity Kitchens but for now there is only enough time for the Wilmington, DE location. We have specialty classes to appeal to everyone. We also are available for private parties such as rehearsal dinners, bachelorette parties, anniversary parties, surprise birthday parties and the like. In addition, we offer nightly dinner programs which are open to the public although advance reservations are required. For information about the nightly guest chefs and dinner menu being created, please see our calendar of events. We also offer children’s classes, kids summer cooking camp programs, heart healthy cooking, vegetarian cooking, food and fashion, food and fitness, food and fun, parent/child joint cooking classes, cooking light, quick & easy meals and corporate bonding retreats. We invite all to let us know if there are other cooking interests, and we will be pleased to add them to our course selections. How are the classes structured? Generally, each class is an individual class and not part of a continuing course. Occasionally, we offer a series, such as our COOKING 101 program. Our chefs are from many of the top restaurants and catering companies in the region. Our chefs are selected based upon both their cooking and teaching skills. Classes are small giving our guests the opportunity to better interact with our chefs. The hands-on dinners are limited to approximately a dozen guests. The demonstration dinners are limited to 26. Classes typically last 2 hours. No, we are not licensed as a BYOB. We can not permit you to bring your own bottles, however, we do offer complimentary wines which have been paired with our dinner menu. What days are programs scheduled? We are open for dinner, Monday through Saturday. Advance reservations are required. Generally, our dinner programs start promptly at 6:00 PM. Doors open 10 minutes prior to the scheduled event. On Sundays, we periodically run a brunch program or children’s cooking program. Again, advance reservations are required. Do you get a sample of food prepared by the chefs or eat a full meal? Unlike a lot of cooking programs where you only get a taste, at Celebrity Kitchens you will eat a full meal while learning great cooking tips. How do I know what is being served? We email a monthly calendar to our guests. You can also view the chef’s menus on the Calendar, which can be viewed in the main menu of our website. The calendar provides detailed information about the dinner programs, including the name of the chef, the menu, the start time for the program, the cost, and whether the dinner is hands-on or demonstration. If you have any difficulty printing our calendar, we will be glad to fax or mail it to you. Yes. Reservations are a must due to our limited seating. Also, since our menu changes daily, we prepare only for the number of reserved guests. Full payment is due at the time a reservation is made. Payment may be made by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and by check. Like any concert or show ticket, the reservations are NON-REFUNDABLE. For private parties, when you confirm your reservation for a specific number of guests, you are responsible for payment for the number of confirmed guests regardless of whether all guests show up. What else should I know about attending a Celebrity Kitchens event? Dress Code – professional casual dress is appreciated. Cell Phones - please turn off cell phones as a courtesy to the chef and other guests once the performance has begun. Doors Open – Doors open 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time for each program. Do you sell gift certificates? Yes. We sell gift certificates in any amount. Most customers pick a monetary amount rather than a specific dinner event because it allows the recipient the flexibility of choosing a date convenient to their schedule. However, either option is available. If you would like to order a gift certificate, please call us at (302) 427-2665. We accept payment by Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express. We can mail the gift certificate to you or send it directly to the recipient, whichever you prefer. We include information about Celebrity Kitchens in the gift certificate package as well as our calendar of events. Most of our dinner programs range between $45 and $65 per person. Our dinner classes last about 2 1/2 on average. Our Kids Cook programs usually cost $25. The menus for the programs are posted on our website or we can send them to you via email. Where is Celebrity Kitchens located? We are located in Wilmington, DE, just off interstate 95 on Route 202 in the Independence Mall Shopping Center. Click here for Driving Directions. The selection of meals and chefs and special programs can be accessed on our Calendar page, or you can call us at 302-427-2665. Visit our Contact Us page for directions and other information. |
