Cooking Academy

Positive experience: We loved the products, but since we had problems with some of the thermostats and with the "promised trip" I've tried all ways to get on hold and it's being 2 years without a solution to it. Bad customer service.

Negative experience: Went to the cooking show, enjoyed the wares and bought a full package. Received 3/4 of goods purchased, and the rest was supposedly coming in two weeks or so. It’s been well over 4 months since we ordered and have received 0 communication, calls or emails back. I have called at least 15 times and left my number with reception as well as emailed to at least get a status update on shipment. We could understand a shipment delay, but I don’t understand a business that communicates this poorly. These are the questions I’m asking myself; were the “extras” we ordered an upsell that we’ll never see? I’ve never left anyone a bad review and I wish they would at least reply to my inquiry so I didn’t have to.

Fantastic experience: I truly enjoyed my experience here. The food was fantastic, love the atmosphere and layout of the place. They have some great high end cookware which I ended up purchasing and have enjoyed using. I'm a big fan of this place, very unique concept and friendly staff!

Negative experience: If I could rate them less than 1 star I would ! This is an absolute scam , my girlfriend won a dinner for 2 for Wednesday October 28th 2020 . The second we arrived we were told they over booked and more or less told to beat it. I've never in my life felt more embarrassed.

Positive experience: Update: They got back to me and got my order filled the next day. When picking the rest of it up we got one of our pans looked at because of a few stains that were showing up and they dealt with it. Overall still happy with the pans, and the service when they got back to us. The pans themselves are still great 6 months later. With the change to cooking style along with the pans everything is coming out great. It is still a hefty price tag. Original: TLDR: Ok evening, good pots, ignoring our emails to get the last of our order The evening experience was good. It got the wife and I out of the house for a free meal. We did end up getting some things as it happened we were looking for a better pots and pans set. They are actually working out well. The ISSUE we have run into though, is we ordered back in February and got part of our order. There were 2 things that were delayed when we picked the rest up, that they said they would even mail to us if needed. Now with the current circumstances we gave them the benefit of the doubt to get us the rest. However, they have now been IGNORING our emails for well over a month for an update. This is getting annoying as we are very patient people, and even just an update would make us happy

Negative experience: Food was ok and portion was good. Only thing I dislike was that after the "show" the cook bring us in is office to buy the product and we definitely felt pressure buying the 3000$ set. And if he offers you a free vacation package, it's not free... its limited in option and cost about 40$ US a night per person.

Fantastic experience: Just got our cookware. We are so excited to make some delicious desserts.

Positive experience: Food & wine was good. The presenters were lively and fun to listen to, but I am not one to enjoy a meal and a sales pitch. Thank you for the dinner.

Positive experience: Decent

Negative experience: We bought some products from them and still have not received everything for over a year. We have been waiting since August 28, 2018 and it is now October 15, 2019. We have emailed and called. We have called 32 different times with ZERO call back from this company since August 28, 2018. I would call and would be told someone will call me back today or tomorrow, Manager who can help me with this is not in, or the system is down and still no call back. We've been waiting and been very patient but feel this is so unprofessional. It's sooo frustrating to be the only one trying to call and having to wait all this time and yet they still dont care to call back. It is very unprofessional and this has left us with such a bad experience.

Negative experience: First, this is not an academy or cooking school. This is a "show" in the sense that it is a demonstration of their products, most of which are cookware, but also include, get this, vacuum cleaners. They cook for you, but the atmosphere is not unlike that of a Tupperware "party" or live tv infomercial. Be prepared that 90% of the event is marketing spiel. This is a manufacturer or distributor of cookware and housewares and this is how they market their products. Second, as others have pointed out, there are many suspect reviews posted here by people with 1-3 lifetime reviews. Notice how many of those have as one of their other 1-2 reviews, a 5 star rating on "sham restaurant". There is clear rating manipulation going on here. People lauding the ambiance? People saying the food is amazing (see below)? One even claiming it would be the perfect place for a first date?!? No, just no (Unless, like my comparison above, you think a Tupperware party is a good first date....). The tone of the over the top and exaggerated positive reviews suspiciously reflected the tone of the over the top marketing spiel spouted by one of the cooks. Now on to my own review and comments. First, the positives: 1. It was free, at least in our case. (This actually made me hesitant to be critical here, but seeing some disingenuous reviews and misleading information, I felt it important to be bluntly honest here) 2. The staff were friendly, outgoing and likable. 3. The place was clean and neat. 4. In our case they did not use hard pressure sales tactics. Though they did have "1st time we see you promotional pricing" and other soft pressure sales tactics. Now the rest. Well, the food was free, but frankly, was very disappointing. I have seen other reviews that seem to imply they had paid to go here (through groupon?). Had I been paying for this event, I would have been extremely dissatisfied. Let's be clear, this is not fine dining, this is not gourmet, the food was edible, but bland, below standard even for family restaurants and more in line with what I would expect from an hospital cafeteria, or substandard military mess hall. It was very disappointing (especially after the lead up) and I am not exaggerating when I say that the food is much better at the IKEA restaurant/cafeteria. The "chef" even admitted they were using Costco frozen chicken, along with frozen corn, bottled Kirkland water (also from Costco). What chef is proud to use frozen ingredients? Desert was a cake made from Betty crocker mix (not kidding) with canned pineapple. But this all makes sense if you think about it. This was not supposed to be fine dining, it is about showing people who cannot cook what they can do with the cookware with little effort. They are trying to show how effortless it is, and how simple to get consistant results with simple ingredients at home using their products. However, this is not how the show was promoted. They portray themselves as a cooking academy, and that two of their chef instructors will be cooking in front of you like at a trendy restaurant. My partner, who is an avid cook, thought she was going to have a real chef cooking a gourmet meal in front of her and that she would either be able to learn something or at least enjoy watching them prepare the meal. Instead you get a sales pitch by a couple of salesmen in chef's clothes. Disappointing to say the least. I almost gave this 2 stars, because it was, after all free, but based on the actual quality of the food and the experience, not to mention the deceptive promotion, I have to give this 1 star. It was a waste of time. If you do choose to go (because you have a free evening or for free food or out of morbid curiosity), I always advise people not to make large purchases on the spot, take time to think it over and do some research on what you are buying and if it is really worth the investment. $2500 is a lot to spend on cookware, even if they throw in a "free" vacuum cleaner.

Fantastic experience: Chefs are amazing and the show was great. Highly recommended !!!

Fantastic experience: They have incredible service and their cookware is amazing!!! This place is a must!

Fantastic experience: This team made the best food in 22 mins. We had a great time. You have to check it out!

Fantastic experience: We had a great night at Diamond last week, the chefs were amazing, they showed us a new technique on how to cook healthy using their products. I was amazed with the products. I bought the large set and I started using them yesterday, never felt better

Fantastic experience: Great show! Food was delicious, highly recommend!

Positive experience: Food was really good, and the wine was great. The presenters were lively and fun to listen to.

Negative experience: My husband and I attended a cooking class. The food was ok and the chefs were very nice! The product however, we are truly disappointed. We have had them for quite some time and much experience. Do they cook yes! We asked about the handles getting hot as we have a gas stove we were assured they would not and unfortunately they most definitely Do. The plastic on the handles are are loose. Some came that way in the shipment and the rest became loose not long after. The gauges on the pots get water inside of them very easily, come unglued, and are truly inconvenient as they are not well made! We had issues with our first set as they came In severely damaged and they did replace it however we were assured a ceramic pan as a « our apologies » and we never got it nor did we hear back after multiple messages! Spending the amount of money we spent as we bought the big package with the pots, we are really disappointed for the price and for the trouble. They do clean decent but really hard to keep looking new! Not as easy as they make it seem. Not one of our pots have the gauges as they have all came either unglued or water got in somehow. We took precaution washing them and water still got in. We do feel quite frustrated as we need to bring the gauges back to the location in order to have them replaced which is definitely not convenient as we reside over an hour away!

Negative experience: Great experience... Until i got home and actually tried to use the product. The pots definotely DO stain. Bought the knives and while cutting an onion the handle literally snapped off. The scissors that came woth the knive set falls apart constantly. Ive had everything open less than a month. Do NOT get the water vaccuum. You think its a great idea until you get home and realize after you use it its not just dust you have to clean from your baccum anymore it is this nasty sludge you have to find a place to dump. Cant put it in a sink becaause of the chunks the dust creates. So gross and stinks. Over all.. Vaccuum.. Knive set and pots. NOT recomended

Positive experience: Revision: Since writing my original review I was able to make contact with the company. They have since replaced our pan free of charge and provided an 'I'm sorry' item. We have been pleased with our products and are appeased that we now have our complete set. I am sure after this incident we will have a better experience with the costumer service in the future! Original post: We purchased a set of pots and pans in March 2018 as the company made a good case and guaranteed certain things like 'never having to scrub a pot or pan again', 'life time guarantee ' and 'free delivery and replacements to your home'. Our skillet arrived damaged and unusable. We have now emailed and left voicemails 10+ times over the last 8 months (it is now November) with NO response. We have also now gone in person and promised to be helped first thing Monday morning. It is now Thursday and still no contact. The customer service is atrocious, I do NOT recommend this product.

Negative experience: Make sure you have them put everything in writing so they don't use trickery on you. Also, before you buy anything, make sure you look up the price of their products and realize it's not worth as much as they say! A year and a half after the purchase, some of the cookware started rusting. I bought cookware from Canadian Tire that lasts longer than this product. Such a waste of money.

Fantastic experience: Good ambiance. Delicious food. Plates are huge. steak was great. Tasty Drinks. The presentation was gorgeous and the service was phenomenal. My close friends told me about this place and could not stop talking about it. It is definitely worth the hype! This is an amazing place to take your loved one on a date!!

Fantastic experience: Absolutely great place, I was there for there for the first time last week. It's very entertaining, it's an actual cooking show but each couple has there own table, chefs cook in front of everyone and they explain everything. The food was great and so was the service, nothing but great things to say. Don't listen to anyone saying that they pressure you to buy anything, its nothing like that. Most Importantly the place is clean and food is good. I for sure recommend diamond to anyone thinking of going.

Negative experience: Originally the food and service was great, yet I have had constant quality control issues with their products and no end in sight, especially for the price! No longer recommending to friends or family.

Negative experience: Won't be buying after reading up on this company. We weren't pressure sold as I expected, but the way they get people in is seedy. "Winning" meals worth "$90" at trade shows. Something isn't right with these Google reviews. All “Local Guide” reviews are 1*, and only have 1-3 likes for their reviews. All the 5* reviews are from people that have only ever written 1-2 reviews on their account, and they get like 10+ likes on their reviews. The only thing that's cooked is Diamonds reviews. Hope nobody falls for this thinking it's an actual wine and food show! EDIT: Was offered a $50 VISA card to take this review down, I will not be taking it down as it is an honest review; see below. Bribe /brīb/, verb • persuade (someone) to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.

Negative experience: Update: I was offered a $50 visa card if I would accept to take down this review. I never received the card.!! Careful it's a trap!!!!! I put my name in their draw at the Women's show. Someone calls me a month later to tell me I won a free dinner. I ask what the catch was. He says, nothing, everything is free. So I try to book on a Saturday. The next day I get told non, Monday - Friday. I'm thinking it's weird for a restaurant. So I book for a Friday night. Two hours before my reservation someone calls me to cancel the reservation because the show room isn't ready. Very disappointing as I had invited a friend that I now had to cancel on last minute. Then she looks up the place on the net and finds out that the free dinner is a ploy to trick you into buying their Diamond cookware!!!! Another scam!

Fantastic experience: Great team, great dinner, no pressure to sell you anything, very organized. I will definitely consider to buy from them when I need new high quality cookware .

Negative experience: EDIT: We were contacted by the owner and they apologized for you poor experience. They said that they do offer vegan meals but they have a chef come down from Montreal a couple times a month. They also apologized for us not being told about the product presentation during the show. All that to say, they have products to sell and they do a very good job doing it. Just not what we where expecting “Won” a free 3 course meal from the home and garden show. (Everyone who enters, wins) was very excited as they said they could accommodate a vegan diet. Had trouble finding the place. Called for directions but was not offered very much help. We finally found it and were directed to a table. We were then brought pop corn and edamame beans. One of the hosts came around and confirmed that we didn’t have any allergies to which we reminded them that we were vegan. He said that was fine and that we just wouldn’t get the protein (chicken). The rest of the “show” was like being part of a live infomercial. Always trying to sell their cookware and any product they were using. All food was all cheap. Canned and frozen for the most part. Once we had enough of the soft veggies and rice, we were offered the cake but reminded the host we couldn’t have since they used butter and eggs. Once everyone finished the food,started talking prices. If you buy now, well throw in 2 free accessories. Once the closing statements were completed, we were told that we would all be randomly matched with a host for a quick conversation. The 3 hosts + 2 randos from the back room. There were 6 couples there so they said one couple would have to wait. And of course it was the youngest couple with the baby faces. Clearly done on purpose. All that to say, it was not a 3 course meal that accommodates vegans,but a sales pitch for probably decent cookware. We went for supper right after, great tacos

Fantastic experience: This was a great experience, me and my girlfriend did not know what to expect when we signed up. When we got there, we were greeted by 2 chefs and shown to our table. The appetizers were excellent and the main dish was superb. The atmosphere was great as there was over 12 people attending, and we had a chance to interact with the chefs while cooking. They do talk about their kitchen accessories and products, however it was only a 15 minute pitch and did not detract from the overall experience, there wasn’t any pressure to buy anything, however they did have quality products. Overall it was a great night and I highly recommend it.

Positive experience: "Won" a free meal/show, I imagine this happens a lot because it is mainly a very long sales pitch. Food was very meh, but practical, something I imagine many people would make at home. Would not pay $45 for!!! The products they sell (the pots at least) are as amazing as they say, but the real pitch that got me is the lifetime warranty, which they have on all their products. I would suggest it if you are looking for something for a registry like a wedding, other than that unless you want the very top tier products (which will be starting at $1000) not worth it

Negative experience: So deceitful!!! Read every other 1-star review. These are all accurate. I'm sure all the 5 -star reviews are written either by the owners or people who write on their behalf. Just like everyone else, I felt too "polite" to leave. I had a good sense of humor about the ridiculous situation at first, but after the experience, I was very upset at how underhanded these guys went about getting people there for a sales pitch.

Negative experience: This 'cooking show' was a terrible experience. The 'chefs' prepared a 3 course meal: Course 1: Popcorn and edamame Course 2: Frozen chicken with some frozen corn on the side, and some surprisingly not frozen (but still flavorless) vegetables Course 3: Boxed cake mix with a canned pineapple thrown in and called pineapple upside down cake which, sure, I guess. We did not see them 'cook' the 'first course', but the remaining two were made by tossing the ingredients in a pot and leaving them there for a few minutes. This is not something I need to spend two hours at a show to learn how to do. Instead of spending their time making a half decent meal, the instead focused on selling us every piece of cookware they had in their kitchen, a knife block and, for some reason, a vacuum cleaner of all things. I would never go to this place again, and would strongly recommend you stay away, unless you're looking for Walmart quality cookware at European import prices and an unsatisfactory dining experience.

Negative experience: Warning huge scam you go to sketchy industrial building in Ottawa and they make you a basic dinner thinking it was a elite cooking show the whole time...it’s not and then Pamela and Antoine & MJ the “chefs” give you wine then at the end split up younger couples which ruined the whole experience to buy they’re cook wear and Pamela I noticed your comment in review promoting this caught ya.

Negative experience: Food is ok, nothing fancy. The evening is ruined when they try to sell you cookware under pressure.

Fantastic experience: Went down a couple of weeks ago, and my wife and I truly enjoyed the experience. The chefs were friendly and knowledgable, the food was great, and we are thrilled with the cookware we decided to order!

Fantastic experience: Great looking place, good atmosphere. Cooking show was fun, the chef was very engaging, funny and served a delicious meal with a bottle of wine. Great experience overall.

Fantastic experience: We went last Friday and had an amazing time! A real culinary experience. The place is really nice, the food was delicious, the chef was impressive. Learned a lot about healthy cooking.

Negative experience: SCAM!! On pensait avoir "gagné " un dîner de 3 services par un chef de cuisine pour 2 d'une valeur de 90$ avec bouteille de vin de choix et on nous a dit de venir affamés puisque les repas allaient être copieux... au lieu de cela, c'était une intense présentation de casseroles dispendieuses pendant 1h et pour preparer un repas ordinaire: pas d'entrées, juste du poulet congelé, maïs congelé, patates et carottes en rondelles avec un gâteau à 1$ à l'ananas en conserve, un verre de vin douteux à la main. Très déçus!! Ne perdez pas votre temps...ni votre argent. Nous avions amené notre enfant chez une gardienne pour aller à ce soi-disant dîner à 90$...grosse erreur.

Fantastic experience: Loved the food Chefs were funny too! Even my husband enjoyed it and he hates cooking! Helpful cooking tips too

Fantastic experience: I went with my lady and good thing we did, it was amazing ! I loved the place. and the food was delecious

Fantastic experience: Wonderful experience! Chefs were really helpful and provided amazing tips for cooking and ways to save time and energy. Lots of great healthy food. Recommend it for anyone.

Negative experience: Food is ok. Nothing too amazing about it. And they sell the products the entire way... It's not a "learn how to cook show" its a place where they demo their overpriced cookware.. If you wanna be taken into a room after your dinner and have someone try to sell you their cookware then this is where you need to be. $498 for a rice cooker..

Fantastic experience: The food is absolutely delicious, the place is really nice. we had a great night I would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Positive experience: So my experience was being approached at a show about this place (while walking past their both, we were invited to come to a free dinner and see a presentation. When we went (at this location), we though it looks sketchy since it's in an industrial type location, but since it's more of a show/sale of products rather than a dinner place I guess it makes sense. They seem to try luring in younger couples, give them some wine (so be careful of this trick) and once they're done promoting their cookware they ask you to come sign some paperwork for (imo) overpriced but seemly (since we didn't buy anything) decent cookware priced in the thousands of dollars, made to seem like less with a monthly payment plan. If your not good with pressure tactics, don't go. If your into cooking or want to be, do your research on other high end cook ware first before you go, and make sure you ask questions and read what you might sign. If you can't read it you know you need to go home. Otherwise enjoy a great meal/show of some cool cookware! :)