Reviews Guests Left For Chef Anthony
Paul
24 Aug 2025
We were really looking forward to the "Pasta Making Class" with Chef Anthony. We drove an hour to get to House of Hops, only to find out that the chef was a no-show. It was a really frustrating experience.
We immediately contacted Viator chat support team and spent over 45 minutes speaking with two different representatives as 1st support member left the chat prematurely. We were told that Chef Anthony was unavailable and a refund request was submitted, but we've yet to hear back.
I want to be clear that this issue was not with House of Hops. The owner, Keith, was incredibly kind and apologetic about the situation. It’s a great tap house with a nice vibe, and we'd definitely go back for a beer. The disappointment was entirely due to the event host and the lack of communication. Would have also appreciated a more detailed response from Viator chat team. Their responses were repetitive and vague. They said they were human but almost scripted AI responses.
Gregory
24 Aug 2025
Wish I could review, but he never showed up!
Kaitlin
24 Aug 2025
Wish I could leave zero stars. He didn’t even bother showing up for the class. No notification of the class being cancelled and a handful of others waiting. We waited 20 minutes for him to show and never heard anything. The bartender from House of Hops was great though and tried his best to get ahold of Chef Anthony while we waited.
Karen
18 Feb 2025
Chef Anthony was terrific at describing what we would be doing. He then guided us in completing the work. He was patient and attentive. I would definitely take another class like this!
Connie
01 Feb 2025
I don't leave reviews but damn, this was a sad excuse for a class/event. The chef didn't instruct anything - no showing or telling us how to do things - we were just told to read and follow the directions of a recipe that was printed on the table. A very inauthentic recipe - all the ingredients weren't even there, he was thawing the chicken in a sink behind the brewery's bar counter, we had 2 working burners for 16 people, we were cooking from tiny egg pans so we couldn't even get all the ingredients in there, I could go on and on. I also booked the class using a Groupon that was supposed to get me $198 to use toward classes but the entire Groupon was redeemed for this one sad class so it cost me double the amount that it should have. It wasn't worth a dime, seriously- do not take this class.
Ian
23 Jan 2025
Chef Anthony was well meaning but seemed overwhelmed with such a large group of people. He hardly spoke, so my group just followed the pre-printed recipe on our own, which I could have done at home. Also, the space (House of Hops, Glenwood) was way too small for the number of people attending. There were 6-7 different groups of ~4 people each, which seemed about 2x too many people for room we had. There were only 4 small outdoor/camping burners provided, set on small folding tables, so groups could not cook concurrently but in shifts. Anthony (or someone) brought a hodgepodge of pots & pans, leaving attendees to dig through boxes to find appropriate cookware and find space to work with it. It was a bit frustrating, but our group finally said "Embrace the Chaos!" and made it work.
Kenneth
22 Jan 2025
Chef Anthony was great!! Fun times, can’t wait for the next one!
Kenya
20 Jan 2025
From the description of the class and pictures advertised, I thought that we would actually be making pasta! That was my biggest disappointment. I also feel like we taught ourselves how to make the sauce (were handed instructions) and the chef just supervised us, not much like a “class”. There were also not enough burners to use, so a lot of us had to wait while others finished, ate, and left. Even group may have prevented this. I’m still willing to try another class, but it definitely needs to be more organized.
Jon
19 Jan 2025
Lots of fun, pasta was delicious, and Chef Anthony was great!
Alli
18 Jan 2025
The class description promised learning to make pasta from scratch, but the only thing we made was a super basic marinara recipe.
The class was overbooked, which led to not enough equipment including burners, pots, stable surfaces to safely cut onions and prep.
Some groups were waiting a long time for their turn at the burners, and everyone had to cut their simmering time very short.
The chef made and cooked the pasta ahead of the class, so we did not get to do what we had signed up for in the first place. We did not even get a recipe for pasta or an overview into how one would make pasta.
Other improvements would include portioning out the ingredients in advance and spreading out the cooking areas (especially the burners) so teams are not working on top of each other. Add more burners and equipment, and cap the class size so that students have time to cook what they expected.
Rita
18 Jan 2025
Chef Anthony was great, very helpful and friendly. We had fun but were a little disappointed we misunderstood the class to mean we were making the pasta ourselves, instead we just made the sauce; still a good time though! I wish there were more burners for how many people were waiting to use one, more of an issue about the venue.
I would attend again but I’ll read the description more closely next time!
Brian
02 Jan 2025
I am hopeful Chef Anthony will improve this class. However, it was not remotely worth the $55 paid. I suggest running some practice events with family and friends. The best part about the experience was the camaraderie of the six people at my table trying to make the bets of the situation.
Anu
30 Dec 2024
While Chef Anthony was congenial enough, this class was completely disorganized with everyone having to forage for enough ingredients. I paid a hefty sum for 6 people for a surprise Xmas present and did not at all feel like I got my monies worth. We each had a small plate of Pad Thai on a styrofoam place with shared plastic forks because there were not enough. We ended up having to share our noodles with others. Class was a glorified following a recipe that I could have done at home without the chef giving any instructions. I just didn't have to clean up pans.
Anu
30 Dec 2024
While Chef Anthony was congenial enough, this class was completely disorganized with everyone having to forage for enough ingredients. I paid a hefty sum for 6 people for a surprise Xmas present and did not at all feel like I got my monies worth. We each had a small plate of Pad Thai on a styrofoam place with shared plastic forks because there were not enough. We ended up having to share our noodles with others. Class was a glorified following a recipe that I could have done at home without the chef giving any instructions. I just didn't have to clean up pans.
Nadiya
29 Dec 2024
I was expecting a bit more instruction and structure. It was impossible to know what to do and what ingredients we needed. It felt like a group project that a substitute teacher assigned. It was not a cooking class at all.
Outside Reviews for Chef Anthony
Darice Johnson
12 Sep 2024
Chef Anthony's classic North Carolina chopped BBQ, is the best east coast BBQ I have had!