Name

The Gourmandise School

Legal name

The Gourmandise School

Website

https://thegourmandiseschool.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recreational Cooking Education

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Culinary Arts & Cooking (Baking, Pastry, Global Cuisines) (EDAAAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cooking Classes & Chef-Led Workshops (THAJAGAI), Culinary Skills Workshops (Baking, Regional Cooking, Food Prep Skills) (THAJAKAE)

Keywords

• Recreational cooking classes
• Hands-on baking instruction
• Culinary education workshops
• Kids cooking summer camps
• Commercial kitchen rentals

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Cooking and Baking Classes: Hands-on cooking and baking classes for adults, teens, and kids offered 7 days a week. Includes technique classes, date night classes, series courses (4-week and 10-week programs), and specialty classes like chocolate and Asian-inspired cuisines.
2. Summer Camps: Weeklong immersive summer camps for kids (ages 8-11) and teens (ages 12-16) focusing on baking and cooking skills.
3. Gift Shop: Online retail shop selling premium baking and cooking kits, bakeware, pantry staples, and gourmet gifts including TCHO chocolate products.
4. Private Events: Private party hosting for birthdays (adults and kids), team-building corporate events, and custom culinary experiences with private chef.
5. Kitchen/Filming Rentals: Commercial kitchen space rented for television filming, photography shoots, demonstrations, recipe testing, and other production needs.
6. Business Consulting: Consulting services for restaurateurs and food enthusiasts including menu development, marketing/PR strategies, social media guidance, website optimization, and brand development.
7. Business of Food Seminars: 3.5-hour in-person or virtual seminars covering food business essentials: permits, incorporation, packaging, retail strategy, commercial kitchen operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Gourmandise School operates a women-owned recreational cooking and baking school in downtown Santa Monica, offering hands-on technique classes, specialty cuisine classes (Chocolate, Asian-Inspired, Date Night), multi-week Series Courses, Kids & Teen Summer Camps, and the Business of Food seminar. Instruction is delivered in a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen facility by chef-instructors from top restaurants and culinary schools, with classes available 7 days a week. Adjacent revenue streams include an online gift shop, gift certificates, private events, filming/kitchen rentals, and consulting services for food entrepreneurs.

Product overview

The Gourmandise School is a women-owned recreational cooking and baking school located in Santa Monica, California, operating since 2011. The school offers a comprehensive portfolio of culinary education products centered around hands-on cooking and baking classes for adults, teens, and children. The core offerings include structured class formats: individual technique and specialty classes (Chocolate Classes, Asian-Inspired Classes, Date Night Classes, Technique Classes), multi-week Series Courses (4-week and 10-week programs), Kids & Teen Classes and Summer Camps, and specialized programs like Kitchen Confidence for diverse learning needs and Business of Food for aspiring food entrepreneurs. The school extends its brand through sub-brands including Pie HQ (pie resources), the Santa Monica Chocolate Society (chocolate club), and an extensive Recipes collection. Revenue streams include complementary services such as Private Events, Gift Certificates, a Gift Shop, Filming & Kitchen Rentals, and Consulting Services. The school also partners with TCHO Chocolate as its featured chocolate supplier and offers its facilities for television and film production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cooking & Baking Classes Hands-on recreational cooking and baking classes for adults at any skill level, covering techniques from knife skills to advanced pastry, offered in morning, afternoon, and evening sessions 7 days a week.
• Series Courses Multi-week intensive courses (4-week and 10-week formats) designed to build technique, creativity, and culinary intuition, including Baking 101, Learn to Cook, Cooking 101, and Cake Decorating.
• Kids & Teen Classes Cooking and baking classes for children ages 6-11 with parent participation, and independent classes for teens, including Parent & Child sessions featuring dishes like homemade pasta and cookie decorating.
• Kids & Teen Summer Camps Weeklong immersive summer camps for kids (ages 8-11) and teens (ages 12-16) themed 'Made From Scratch,' featuring programs like Classic Bakeshop, Cooking the Classics, Sweet & Savory Skills, Global Street Food, Baking Fundamentals, Cooking Fundamentals, Great British Bakeoff, World Cuisines, and The Art of Baking.
• Chocolate Classes Specialized chocolate classes covering tempering techniques and bean-to-bar chocolate making, led by chocolatier Ruth Kennison who trained at the French Pastry School and Callebaut Chocolate Academy.
• Asian-Inspired Classes Hands-on classes exploring Asian culinary traditions from China, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Japan, India, and Bali, including sushi, dumplings, Thai street food, and Japanese izakaya plates.
• Date Night Classes Couples cooking classes featuring international and seasonal dishes with wine pairings, including Sushi 101, French Bistro, Italian Trattoria, Korean BBQ, Spanish Tapas, and more.
• Technique Classes Foundational skills classes covering specific areas of cooking including Knife Skills, Eggs, Sauces, Beef, Chicken, and Fish technique instruction.
• Business of Food Seminar A 3.5-hour seminar guiding aspiring food entrepreneurs through permits, commercial kitchen operations, recipe scaling, trademarking, food costing, packaging, and Cottage Food Act regulations.
• Kitchen Confidence Culinary skills classes designed for individuals ages 13+ with diverse learning styles, including those requiring accommodations, focusing on meal planning, safety, essential cooking skills, and creative meal ideas.
• Private Events Custom culinary events including birthday parties (adults or kids) and team-building events, hosted at the school's facility with a private chef experience.
• Gift Certificates Gift certificates available in any amount, redeemable for cooking or baking classes at the school.
• Gift Shop Online retail shop featuring premium baking and cooking kits from popular classes, top-tier bakeware, pantry staples, and gourmet gifts.
• Filming & Kitchen Rentals State-of-the-art commercial kitchen facilities available for filming television shows, photography shoots, demonstrations, and recipe testing, featuring two large kitchens with professional equipment.
• Consulting Services Business consulting for restaurateurs and food enthusiasts covering menu development, marketing strategies, social media, website optimization, and brand development.

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TCHO ChocolatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBean-to-bar chocolate company based in Berkeley, California. TCHO provides chocolate products for classes and recipes, emphasizing flavor precision, ethical sourcing, and sustainability. The partnership includes using TCHO baking chocolate in cookie recipes and selling TCHO products in the retail gift shop. TCHO is Fair Trade Certified and a Certified B Corporation.
• Global KnivescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPremium knife manufacturer. Global knives featured in classes, sold in gift shop as 'Global Knives Essentials Kit Gift Set', and partnered for special sushi fabrication events with Global Cutlery representatives.
• Starwalker Organic FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegenerative Organic Certified farm providing pasture-raised pork products. Featured in recipe content (Millionaire's Bacon) with promotional code GOURMANDISE for 10% off all products.
• Doctor DoughminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPizza producer partnered for 'Pizza, Pints & Pro-Tips' Sunday Funday events at The Gourmandise School, combining DIY pizza making with craft beer experiences.
• The Curious PalateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNeighboring restaurant at Santa Monica Place that partners with The Gourmandise School for Pizza, Pints & Pro-Tips events.
• 360 CookwareminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCookware brand offering promotional codes to Gourmandise students through the partner discount program.
• Get Hooked SeafoodminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSeafood provider offering promotional codes to Gourmandise students through the partner discount program.
• Scan PanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCookware brand offering promotional codes to Gourmandise students through the partner discount program.
• SurfasminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCulinary equipment supplier offering promotional codes to Gourmandise students through the partner discount program.
• Blue Bird Grain FarmsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGrain provider offering promotional codes to Gourmandise students through the partner discount program.
• ESPNminorOthersMajor television network that has filmed content at The Gourmandise School kitchen facilities, including segments with Chef Clemence.
• Food NetworkminorOthersTelevision network that has used The Gourmandise School commercial kitchen for filming.
• NetflixminorOthersStreaming platform that has filmed content at The Gourmandise School kitchen facilities.
• NBCminorOthersTelevision network that has filmed cooking segments and segments featuring Gourmandise chefs at the school facilities.
• FOXminorOthersTelevision network that has used The Gourmandise School kitchen facilities for filming.
• MTVminorOthersTelevision network that has filmed content at The Gourmandise School.
• TastemademinorOthersDigital media company producing food content that has filmed at The Gourmandise School facilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sur La Table: National recreational cooking school + cookware retailer offering hands-on cooking and baking classes across many US cities and online, plus a retail store and gift products — directly comparable business model to The Gourmandise School.
• Cambridge School of Culinary Arts: Independent culinary school combining recreational workshops, technique series, and professional certificate programs — directly comparable mix of amateur and career-track culinary education.
• Institute of Culinary Education (ICE): Long-established culinary school offering recreational 'Cooking at ICE' short-format classes for the public alongside professional training, similar in audience and product breadth to Gourmandise's recreational class calendar and multi-week series.

Broad incumbents

• Williams Sonoma: National cookware and home retailer that runs in-store cooking classes and technique events at scale, blending retail with paid culinary instruction; comparable mix of class-based experiential revenue plus premium kitchen-product retail.
• Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts: Accredited culinary school offering professional diploma programs plus plant-based and recreational tracks, with similar technique-first, chef-instructor-led pedagogy and a curriculum extending from basics to specialty cuisines.
• Airbnb Online Experiences / Cooking Experiences: Hosts online and in-person cooking experiences globally, including date-night, technique, and chef-led workshops; overlapping customer (adults, couples, families) and curriculum breadth but distributed, marketplace model.
• Le Cordon Bleu: Globally recognized culinary education brand offering professional diplomas and short-format recreational workshops in technique and pastry — relevant incumbent for benchmarking curriculum depth and brand premium.

Emerging players

• Whole Foods Market Cooking Classes: National grocer that offers free and low-cost in-store cooking classes and kids programming, an adjacent competitor for casual hobbyists and family audiences within grocery-driven foot traffic.
• Cozymeal: Online marketplace for in-person cooking classes, team-building events, and chef-led experiences across many US markets; competes for the same corporate/private-event and hobbyist demand as Gourmandise's classes and private events.

Others

• Surfas Culinary District: LA-based specialty culinary equipment retailer and partner of The Gourmandise School; not a direct competitor but an enabler in the LA culinary ecosystem whose customers and classes footprint overlap with Gourmandise's audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gourmandis
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCj_B019uv6vwNGIHyXWm4tg
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheGourmandiseSchool
• Instagraminstagram.com/gourmandisela

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Gourmandise School