Chef Amy Pearce has extensive experience as a pastry chef, including time at Millennium Restaurant. You can see samples of her tasty treats in The Artful Vegan, which she co-wrote.

Upcoming classes: Perfect Holiday Pies, Cake Making Basics: Cakes and Frostings, Cake and Cupcake Decorating, Cookie Party #1!, Cookie Party #2!

Chef Anne Cornell has worked as a chef across the country; most recently she was chef at Parea Wine Bar and a chef instructor for various Whole Foods cooking classes. There she used her knowledge of wine and fresh foods to invigorate the palate and the mind. Her cooking style is mostly savory, with an emphasis on merging classic preparation with the modern palette. In teaching she emphasizes that students approach cooking as a "chance to be creative and experiment." The kind of foods she enjoys cooking most, and therefore teaching, are layered with flavors to produce multi dimensional dishes.

Upcoming classes: All About Curry, Easy Entertaining, The Cheese Course

Jeremy draws on over 18 years of cooking experience, and is a dynamic, engaging teacher. He's a regular in the neighborhood and is one our first customers.

Chef Kathy Ayer has been baking and cooking next to her Sicilian mom since she was very young. After much pleading, her mom finally let her use the electric mixer all by herself when she was 8 years old! She loves both Italian and French food and believes cooking should be a fun and memorable event. She says, "All my favorite foods take me back to a special time or place spent with family and friends; there's a great story behind every great meal." She loves sharing her cooking secrets and demystifying the art of cooking and baking.

Upcoming class: Buche de Noel.

A Bay Area native, Chef Hodgson embarked upon his professional cooking career in 1993 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, a 5-star and 5-diamond hotel. He worked in all areas of the kitchen, but soon realized that he had the most affinity and talent for pastry and baking; from an apprentice position in the Pastry Kitchen, he rose to the management level. Chef Hodgson has worked with some of the country's best pastry chefs and has traveled abroad to work in pastry shops in Paris. In 2003 he first had the opportunity to teach baking and pastry courses at CCSF; he discovered his true passion. He joined the faculty full-time there in 2005. Chef Hodgson lives in Noe Valley with his partner of 18 years and enjoys speaking and studying foreign languages, traveling, and playing violin.

Many of you may know Chef Maya Scales from her time working here at Cooks Boulevard. Maya is excited to return in a new capacity, offering a sampling of her extensive cooking experience.

Upcoming classes: Fresh Pasta, Holiday Side Dishes: Classic Flavors Remade

Chef Michelle McKenzie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in nutrition and a minor in chemistry, giving her a deep understanding of food properties and their complex implications within the human body. She then went on to apply her knowledge of nutrition in a culinary setting at The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts, becoming immersed in health-supportive cuisine prepared from whole, organic and seasonal foods. It is this unique educational background, along with her extensive knowledge of healing cuisines and passion for sustainable and artisanal products that serve to shape her unique perspective on food choices and preparation. She currently serves as a personal chef, culinary instructor and nutrition consultant in San Francisco, CA, developing, preparing and teaching delicious recipes inspired by her local farmer's market.

Upcoming class: Fall's Wild Bounty: Elegant Seasonal Sides.