Chef Joe's Culinary Salon is a small, hands-on cooking school. Chef Joe Wittenbrook runs it from his own salon and art studio at 16 Sanchez Street in the Duboce Triangle, close to the J, K, L, M and N Muni lines. Classes cap at 12. Chef Joe is a Certified Executive Chef. He taught Basic Skills, Garde Manger and European Cuisine at the California Culinary Academy, then opened the salon in 2008.

Public classes run three hours and cost $125 to $145 per person. The Knife Skills Class ends with a whole-chicken breakdown demo. The Gourmet Fish Cookery Class covers cod en papillote and poached salmon. Thanksgiving Italiano is a Lombardy feast, and Dim Sum Favorites has you making siu mai and pot stickers. Along with technique, you get some food history and stories.

Private groups of 6 to 12 can pick any menu from a long archive, from Spanish tapas to Caribbean and Eastern European, and choose their own date. Many public dates show one seat left or sold out. The salon has a 5-star Google rating from 8 reviews.