Dirty Apron Cooking School & Delicatessen

If you are looking for a gift for someone who has everything and is a food lover, Dirty Apron is the place for you.
They have pre made gift boxes and they also create them with you as well. I wanted to make one for $ 150 filled with oils, balsamicos, pasta, munchies and chocolates. The staff member who helped me (I didn’t get his name) was awesome.
We thoughtfully added the best options for the person receiving my gift and we added bourbon maple syrup and bacon jam to the mix. It was a fun, quick exercise. The whole kit and kaboodle cost $ 152 plus the cost of the box and packaging.
I know this gift will be much appreciated. I enjoyed getting it.
Thank you D A C S & D… You are a number 1 life saver.
g
PS it smelled amazing when I went in there. Next time I get lunch…

Ah, if there’s one thing I love, it’s a good sandwich. Our old office used to be right across from here, which was a very good thing! Now, being a bit further, I don’t get to visit as often, but today I made the trip — and I’m glad I did! I had a prosuitto, fig, and brie sandwich. What’s that? All of my favourite things in one sandwich, grilled to perfection? Ah, yes. There’s a variety of sandwiches (with regular and baguette styles), salads, and soup, along with a very nice selection of what can only be called «fancy food stuffs.» Stuffs. With an extra ‘s.’ Lots of choices for gifts or housewarmings, from experience :) Back to the sandwich! $ 12.50, a little on the pricy side, but full of quality ingredients, and downtown. If you’re looking for a lunchtime spot in the area, definitely a pleasant one.

Went here last night with a work group. We had a chef named greg who was awesome. I learned a lot. It was fun and interactive in a really amazing way. Not that awkward type of interaction. One of the best nights I’ve had in a while. I really can’t say enough good things, I learned a lot. The food was amazing. They have sous chefs who prepare the ingredients and clean up but you get to cook and eat… absolute ⁵⁄₅

I have lost count the number of times I have been there. I drive at least once a month from the suburbia to have these delicious sandwiches. The atmosphere is super nice. very hip. The food is insanely amazing…
I have tried all their sandwiches — I think. Loved the one with figs in it.
Have not tried their pasta and lasagna… somehow the sandwiches always win — when I am standing in line.

We had the best experience at their couples seafood cooking class.
Chef Greg was AMAZING. Totally professional and entertaining. He offered many great tips throughout the class and was very personable and approachable.
$ 158/​per person we watched the demo, then prepared and feasted on the following dishes:
Warm lobster salad with fingerling potatoes. We learned to cook and breakdown a full lobster.
Salt crusted sea bream. We learned the (surprisingly simple and easy) method of salt crusting a full fish (to maintain its natural moisture while seasoning it) and baking it. Afterwards we learned to fillet and debone it.
Basil crepes with berry compote. Simple and delicious!
Our class started with some bread and goodies to munch on with a glass of bubbly. After cooking each dish, we sat at the communal table to enjoy the fruits of our labour and washed it down with glasses of wine.
Fantastic evening and well organized. We didn’t have to fuss about with too much prep work and no cleaning at all! The staff took care of all that before and after each course for us. We simply did all the fun stuff, which was to cook, eat and drink!
You also get to take the snazzy apron home that they give you and 10% off any future classes.

Wow! What a pleasant surprise for otherwise a boring day!
I was just walking on Beatty street and realised I was starting getting hungry then I spotted the sandwich board of a sandwich shop then it turned out to be a very nice looking deli with nice seatings inside.
I had Roast Beef Grilled Sandwich and it was with house-​roasted beef, chimichurri, horseradish mayo, charred tomato salsa, and watercress. The horseradish made me cry a bit but it tasted soooooooo goooooood!
Definitely coming back for more!
Next time I will try Confit Albacore Tuna with albacore tuna, caper mayo, smoked paprika, fennel, basil, parmesan, sundried tomatoes !!!

Trendy café shop, they have short business hours though (10:30am — 6pm) so pretty much only a lunch restaurant. Their main focus is on teaching cooking classes.
I tried their lunch baguette sandwich with roasted chicken and Chipotle mayo. The Mayo is excellent flavoured, but the chicken is a bit bland. The baguette is great. The cost of the sandwich is $ 11 before tax, tip, so definitely gastown prices.
This reminds me of the $ 3 Lee’s sandwich in San Jose, going back in 2 weeks and am going to get a few baguettes there for $ 1 each… great deal @ Lee’s sandwich.

Their cooking classes are wonderfully thought out and a great way to spend 4+ hours. Although the classes can run a bit pricey, it’s not outrageous considering wine is included with your meal and the amount of food you receive. You will not leave hungry that’s for sure!
My only criticism would be to do more of the cooking that involved the oven. The staff would take away your dishes and cook them and we never really went over what to look for when making them yourselves at home and probably as a bigger batch (since you only make 1 or 2 desserts per pair.

Always get the grilled sandwich from here for my fiancé and I for lunch. We live right next to dirty apron which i am soooo happy about. They honestly have the best soups and grilled sandwiches out there. I highly recommend this place to EVERYONE. The coolest part is that they have cooking classes that you can cook and eat your food after.

After procrastinating booking a class for the longest time, I finally got around to using a gift cert to a 4-​hour class I had received earlier this year. I chose to take the Mamma Mia: The Original Italian Cooking Class taught by Chef Takashi as I have been wanting to learn how to cook like an Italian grandma.
As soon as I walked through the door, I was greeted by the friendly staff who checked me in and directed me into the dining hall. Chef Takashi met me at the door and instantly calmed the nerves I had about doing all this. I was handed a glass of sparkling wine and mingled with other participants of the class before we started.
The class starts out with a demonstration of the dish that you make first. As this is going on, other staff members prep your station with the necessary equipment and ingredients (most of which are already pre-​measured). In this class, we learned to make pasta from scratch and filled our ravioli with a delicious goat cheese stuffing! A roasted lamb with gnocchi in a red wine chanterelle sauce and a panacotta are also on the menu for this class. There are appetizers available to snack on while you cook and drinks (both alcoholic and non) available throughout. After each course, you take your prepared meal into the the dining hall to eat.
The instructor and other staff members are constantly making rounds to make sure everyone is on the right track and are happy to give you a hand.
$ 150+ per class is quite steep but I found the money to be worth it as, being a complete newbie, I was guided every step of the way, felt totally comfortable and relaxed in the environment and learned far more than I expected.
This is a great gift to give someone who is passionate about food and wanting to create their own magnificent dishes! Or even to yourself, for a fun night out!

We held department’s Christmas party/​team building at this restaurant. We had a blast. The event was well planned. A mixed of business and pleasure. The morning was about budget, forecasts and business plan discussions.
For lunch we had to cook to be able to eat. This is where team building comes in. We were grouped into 3: appetizer, main entrée and dessert groups. It was a fun competition as we were trying to outdo each other.
The chefs assisted us in preparing our dish –from stirring to measuring, from cutting to mixing, from plating to serving.
Well done guys. This was by far the best team building event we’d been to.
If I may make a suggestion — we were in charge of dessert. We were each given different tasks. But I didn’t know what the rest of the dessert team was doing. I only knew that I was making a meringue. I didn’t know that we were also making biscotti. A brief intro of the whole dessert ensemble or a picture of what we were trying to accomplish would have been nice. Other than that our chef Kat was very pleasant.

The Cooking School portion of the Dirty Apron has been on my Vancouver to-​do list for a long time! Ever since one of the chefs at Chambar (aka my favourite restaurant in Vancouver for the past 10 years! please see separate review!) opened this teaching establishment I thought to myself, «I really need to try this joint!». At the same time, I also had to reconcile this desire with the actual cost — which I saw as an incredible splurge at the $ 150+ price tag. However, I always find it easier to justify spending on other people than myself (I know I’m not the only one!) and decided to sign up as a gift for a friend as part of her wedding present.
Having now participated in the 4 hour course, tasted the delicious creations, and then implemented my new skills and recipes no less than 3 times in 3 weeks, I can say with firm disposition that this experience has been SO worth it :)
I took the Seafood class and made a range of dishes from Pan-​seared Halibut Cheeks with Olive oil/​butter Poached Prawns and Saffron Aioli to White Soya and Sesame marinated Yellow Fin Tuna with pressed Avocado and Yuzu foam. I loved how hands on the class was and that there were several people walking around to check on you and be available for questions and tips. I felt confident in cooking and also appreciated the friendly guidance.
The pacing was perfect — you watch a demonstration for each course before cooking it yourself. Afterwards, you’re seated in the cozy dining room to enjoy your meal at a comfortable pace and with unlimited BEvERages ;) By the final course I was fully stuffed and thankfully, the staff offered us some take out boxes which I packed to take home.
Having now completed 3 new dishes and being left with a folder full of recipes and notes, I confidently cooked the dishes at home to the delight and gratitude of my husband.
Last note about the service — my friend was pregnant but didn’t tell me until we arrived at the class! I told the Chef last minute that my friend wouldn’t be able to eat the raw tuna for the second course and the kitchen was able to whip her up a beautiful salad that she enjoyed instead! It was so great that they could accommodate my friend last-​minute. They also gave her a box so that she could still make the dish and bring to her husband. Delight and gratitude also ensued ;)
For those interested in seeing more of my experience, I did a full photo essay of all the dishes and the experience on my blog:
This was such a wonderful experience and I already know I’ll be back… as part of my present to the next friend who gets married!

This place is awesome! I’ve come here twice for lunch and found the salads and sandwiches delicious. I ordered the lamb grilled panini and the roasted chicken baguette. The baguette could have been slightly more flavourful (the chicken is a little bland), but all in all it’s great value. Will be back again.

Fantastic paninis, baguette sandwiches and salads. Fresh and gourmet ingredients, excellently prepared. If you’re eating in, it can get a bit crowded and there may be some bumping of elbows with strangers at the big table but other than that you can’t ask for better lunch fare!

The flavours, food quality, and can do attitude with service was outstanding. We had the feature spicy chicken soup and croissant breakfast sandwich; it was to die for. The absolute best screamed eggs I have EVER tasted. It was seasoned just perfectly, the eggs texture was firm, agile, like velvet and not over cooked — like most places. I will definitely come back.
Weekend breakfast special; homemade croissant, prosciutto, burrata cheese, confit tomatoes, arugula, pesto, and scrambled eggs.

As an extremely belated Christmas present, one of my good friends treated me to a night at The Dirty Apron. I chose the «Viva la Vegetarian: The Art of Vegetarian Cooking» class because I thought it would be the most practical and versatile class, and I have an interest in exploring contemporary vegetarian options.
The 4-​hour class begins at the long, communal dining table where all students are offered a basket of bread to share, with dip, and a glass of wine. After everyone arrives, we are moved into the kitchen and are seated around the main table, where Chef Takashi Mizukami gives us an introduction to the class. Then begins his appetizer demonstration of the Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Walnut Tart with Arugula Pesto.
Already within 10 minutes of his cooking demonstration, I was already learning a practical array of skills that I could take home and apply to my own cooking. For example: how to make pesto from scratch (it’s super easy — just blend a bunch of ingredients together), how to caramelize onions (make sure they are cut evenly), and how to roast tomatoes (it takes two hours in the oven on low heat).
After plating our tarts (and drizzling with balsamic vinaigrette), we brought our dishes back to the communal table and ate our delicious creation, accompanied by a glass of wine. My tart was super flavourful and fresh. The goat cheese was slightly melted, the arugula was seasoned, the pastry puff was light and flakey. I couldn’t believe I made this myself!
We didn’t have much time to rest after the appetizer, we went right back to the kitchen so we could learn how to make our main course and dessert.
Following the same teaching format, first we watched the cooking demonstration, then went back to our stations to make it ourselves. We started off with dessert first. Chocolate, butter, and a bit of flour were the main ingredients of our Lava Cake dessert. We melted the ingredients in a double broiler, poured into a ramekin labeled with our names, and then moved on to making our main course.
Our main course was a Artichoke, Yellow Beet, Ricotta & Pine Nut Tortellini with Pan Roasted Sultanas (aka. raisins). A couple of the ingredients (the beets, artichoke and asparagus) were already pre-​cooked for us. All we had to do was chop and toss the ingredients in a pan, and cook with balsamic vinaigrette.
The harder part was making the pasta from scratch. The ingredients which make up pasta are simple: flour and egg. But it is the kneading of the dough, and getting it to the right consistency which is a challenge. Long story short, after you let your dough set for a while, you roll it through a small pasta machine which flattens the dough until you have a 2 ft long flat sheet of dough. You then cut out circles (like making cookies) for the tortellini shell.
The pasta filling was a delicious ricotta cheese with lemon zest and basil. You scoop the filling into your dough circles, fold together like dumplings, and drop into salted boiling water for 3 — 4 minutes. You then mix the cooked tortellini (which held its shape and stayed in-​tact) into the veggie balsamic «sauce» and fry for a couple more minutes until your pasta is coated with the mixture.
When plating your pasta, you can add in a couple of roasted cherry tomatoes for colour and additional flavour. I loved the tartness of the balsamic vinaigrette paired with the sweetness of the roasted tomatoes and the creaminess of the ricotta cheese filling. The roasted tomatoes literally bursted in my mouth with flavour. With the leftover dough, we turned it into fettuccine to bring home.
While we were eating our main course back in the dining room, our dessert was being baked. Hot out of the oven, we placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream on dessert, and sifted some icing sugar on top. Voila! The decadent lava cake dessert is done.
Overall, I thought this cooking class was quite practical and I learned skills that I could use again. I also learned to use ingredients that I haven’t used before in cooking (ie. ricotta cheese, raisins, beets, etc.) The dishes we made were versatile enough to recreate. I was exhausted after the class (cooking takes a lot of work!) but thought it was a lovely way to spend a Monday evening.

So much fun!
I was given two gift certificates for Christmas 2012. Even though I really wanted to use them, I never got around to it. Plus, since my hubby gave them, I felt as though I should bring him with me… so Couples Class it is. Umm, so they expire after a year. The blood drains from my face. You have to call in and extend them so you can book your class online. The blood went back to where it came from. I had been looking at the Spanish Tapas class… or the Hawaiian one, but there were two spaces in the Couples Class… let’s be romantic.
When we arrived for class, the front door said closed, but the door was open so we walked in. We were greeted by one of the ladies working in the store. She led us to the dining room where other people were already seated. She gave us our aprons, a file folder and some wine. Set up on the dining table were plates of hummus, olives and baskets of bread for snacking on. I don’t want to fill up on this– I want my three desserts.
Our chef’s name is Jen. She is awesome. She leads us into the massive kitchen. There are at least ten workstations all set up with what we needed. We sit and watch her make the desserts. Did you know that soufflés are really easy? She made it look so simple. She also shows us how to make crème brulee. We watch her spice the chicken and bung it in the oven. Then it’s our turn to disperse and make it ourselves. My hubby does the chicken while I make the soufflé. I screw it up, but it still works out. They take the desserts away to get baked, we put our chickens in the oven and come back to Jen so she can show us how to make the most intricate salad ever. All the while, her two helpers are busy clearing away our workstations and filling them with ingredients for the next round.
It really was the most intricate salad ever. Would I make it at home? I actually have. It was a base of watercress (at home I used arugala) with sauteed mushrooms and grilled pears topped with slices of prosciutto and rounds of fried goat cheese. I loved it. Sure it was a lot of effort, but it was delicious. It didn’t even take that long, there or at home. Once we finished plating, we moved into the dining room to eat our creations.
When we came back from our very filling salad, we had to carve the chicken. Since it was almost cooked and not totally cooked, we had to put it back in the oven. She said carving it this way was easier. Since I don’t cook whole chickens at home (I buy them from Costco already cooked), I am gonna follow this method: carve it and warm it in the oven. Next was risotto. We sat, watched Chef Jen make it and then we made it. She even brought around truffle oil after cooking to perfume the rice. Some lady beside me said it stank. Umm, no… truffles smell like wonderful. By the time the rice is done, so is our chicken. I am almost full. I really wanna try this stuff, so I eat it, but the salad was huge. Since everyone had leftovers, she gave us take out containers.
I had a lot of fun brullee-​ing. The desserts were really good. Another thing I am gonna try to do at home. Souffles seem so daunting, but it was really easy. Plus Chef Jen gave us all sorts of tips for making things in advance.
YOU GET TO KEEP THE APRON! I was telling my hubby he had to take one for the team and make a diversion so I could run away with mine. Luckily he didn’t have to and I got to keep my «dirty apron.» The nice thing about their location is that it’s close to skytrain. I had three glasses of wine during class. It was just so easy to hop on and go home. I didn’t have to worry about parking (since the class is four hours – ours was longer) or DUIs… or crashing… I want to come back for another class. For two people, it’s a little on the pricey side, but it makes a great present or special night out. Sure I am making my own food – but I do that at Korean BBQ and Japanese Sukiyaki places too… My husband and I had the best time… we never cook together because our kitchen is so small… I would probably nick him with a knife or burn him with a pan.

I found this place by accident ’cause I got lost and took a wrong turn. Getting lost paid off ’cause I found this awesome school and sandwich shop. Awesome sandwiches and a few gourmet products, however, a lot of the gourmet stuff is way over priced. Customer service was friendly.

I’d be lying if I said my group and I didn’t have fun at this «cooking class,» but we all left feeling as if some recipe cards were thrown our way and we just did the «cooking.» In other words, very little instruction or «class.»
Like others have reported, our class divided up the recipes and each pair or trio worked on each one. More disappointingly, the chef (who was very nice and fun) really only facilitated the class and we didn’t get to absorb any expert techniques.
The food we prepared was great, and I’m glad I have the recipes, but I guess I look at that aspect and feel I could Google some recipes and cook them at home. Again, lack of instruction and knowledge sharing in the kitchen is really what knocked off the stars on this review.
If you want to go prepare a meal in somebody else’s kitchen (they do all the cleaning, so that’s nice!) and bring a bottle of wine, it can be a fun experience. But if your class is like mine, you won’t learn much.
I should also add that all of the staff was accommodating but felt like they were pushing us to get out soon as if they wanted to head out for the Friday night.

Great lunch place!
My girlfriend and I usually go to Café Medina but it was busy so we walked over to Dirty Apron. We got there just before the lunch rush, the eating area is limited.
I had the pulled pork baguette sandwich. Delish! It tasted like a Vietnamese sandwich— because of the carrots and cilantro.
It was around 8.00 for the sandwich.
My girlfriend had a salad with kale, broccolini, and beets I’m not a big beets fan but I must say this salad was really good I light dressing went well with it.