Private Parties

We’re all yours: in-person and online!

Choosing 18 Reasons' 18th Street Kitchen for your special event supports our free cooking and nutrition education program for food-insecure households, Cooking Matters. More than 3,500 Bay Area families receive free food skills education and grocery donations from 18 Reasons each year. Thank you for supporting our nonprofit cooking school! 

 

In-Person Private Parties: Our 18th Street Kitchen classroom is located in the heart of the Mission District in San Francisco. In-Person Private Parties are limited to 15 guests in a cooking class, 32 guests in a seated dinner, and 45 people for a meeting. We require all event attendees show proof of full vaccination at the door. Masks are recommended.

We offer three in-person options for Private Parties: Cooking Classes, Dinners, and Catered Parties and Meetings. With long wooden tables, a marble and iron bar, a cookbook library, and food-themed art, our classroom offers a beautiful setting for your group. Your rental of our 18th Street Kitchen includes our classroom space, a gender neutral restroom, tables, benches, dishes, silverware, glassware, cloth napkins, assorted vases, votive candles, and access to our projector, Wi-Fi, and sound system. Our alcohol license allows only beer and wine to be served.

 

Online Private Parties: Our online cooking classes are perfect for teambuilding with colleagues working remotely and for celebrating with friends and family who are unable to travel. Our online students testify how empowering it is to learn new recipes in a home kitchen. Our menus reflect fundamental cooking techniques, ingredients accessible in grocery stores, and joy! We finish our classes with a toast to a job well done!

Details and pricing are below. In addition to the costs below, a 15% service charge will be added to the invoice.

After requesting a private party, we will contact you within five days to follow up on your request. Questions? Contact us at privateparties@18reasons.org.

In-Person Private Parties

Private Cooking Classes

Our Chef Instructor will provide a special experience for you, friends, family, or colleagues.

Rental price includes use of our 18th Street Kitchen classroom, staff, a cooking lesson with ~4 menu items, ingredients purchased from Bi-Rite Market, and 2 glasses of our house wine per guest. In-person private cooking classes are currently limited to 15 guests.

A 3.5-hour class (including dining time) follows this cost structure:

  • Base fee $1450 plus $90 per person. 
  • Additional rental time is available at $90 per half hour.
  • For private classes occurring in Nov-Dec, there is an additional 10% charge.

Private Dinners

Let us take care of you from start to finish. 

One in-house chef will work with you to design and prepare the perfect menu for your occasion, with the use of our dining room for 3 hours. We often serve our meals family-style at our tables, but can also create buffet-style and standing reception menus. Private dinners are limited to 32 guests. Rental includes our 18th Street Kitchen classroom space, chef, staff, a custom menu, and ingredients purchased from Bi-Rite Market. Alcohol is not included, though guests may bring in wine and beer (no spirits allowed onsite) with no corkage fee. Prices start at $3,100 for 10 guests.

Catered Parties and Meetings

Rent our beautiful and convenient classroom and design your own party or meeting.

Ideal for birthdays, baby showers, and other family milestones! We recommend ordering food from our friends at Bi-Rite Catering. During the day, our classroom is an ideal space for meetings, co-working, wine or food tastings, and team building retreats. We have an LCD projector and Wi-Fi for guest use. This rental type includes our 18th Street Kitchen classroom space and staff. It does not include use of the commercial kitchen behind our classroom space. Guests may not stay past 11 pm. Capacity Limit: 45 people. 

  • Parties (3-hour minimum): Daytime event prices start at $775 (daytime events must end by 3 pm). Evening event prices start at $1,200 (must end by 11 pm). Includes two staff members to set up and clean up.
  • All-day meetings (8:00 am-4:00 pm): $1,200. This includes one staff member to set up and clean up.
  • Additional rental time available at $90 per half hour.
  • For rentals occurring in Nov-Dec, there is an additional 10% charge.
The 18 Reasons team has excellent virtual teaching practices. There were no hiccups or issues at all. They were helpful, friendly, and fun. We all LOVED the recipes, and several of us have already recreated them at home.
Virtual Private Party corporate team-building host

Online Private Parties

Interactive, Hands-On Classes up to 90 minutes

Our chefs will guide you every step of the way in the comfort of your home kitchen!

An instructor will work with you to create a menu (see sample menus below). During class, this instructor will lead you and your group through recipes, plus a facilitator will assist with class flow and ensure all guests are attended to. We provide a shopping list a week prior to class, so guests shop before class. We provide a recipe document and a link to meet virtually (Zoom or Google Meet). After class finishes, you'll have the virtual room to enjoy the meal on your own and spend quality time with coworkers, friends, or family.

An online class follows this cost structure:

  • $800 for up to 5 screens. Add $50 per screen over 5, but no more than 20 total screens.
  • For private classes occurring in Nov-Dec, there is an additional 10% charge.