Seattle Can Can

My hubby and I are celebrating both our 50^th birthdays by trying to do 50 new things and canning made the list.
Bought a Groupon and attended a class on how to can fruit. It was a good demo class; Vicki answered a lot of questions and covered the basics. There was a small hand-​out for us to take home.
I wish there were more hands-​on learning. Even if we could not all participate, it would be fun to watch fellow classmates get up and demo the steps.
I’m sure you could get all the info from a book or online but it is nice to learn from a human.

I’m so upset right now!
I bought a Groupon, and I’m a very busy person, I don’t have time for things that are not quick and easy to use. I attempted several times to set up a date to use my Groupon, but the information that Groupon provided didn’t make this transaction very user friendly, especially since there is NO phone number listed anywhere, not here on Unilocal,not on my Groupon, or on the blog that I looked at.
While trying to locate the number to this place, I saw that there was not very much good feed back, and so I did not want to travel that far, to have this class not be worth my time.
When inquiring about a refund, Groupon acted like I didn’t know how to use Groupon after several years of using them.
NOT HAPPY!!!

I signed up for an introductory class through Groupon and found Vicki (the instructor) helpful during the registration process, and the class a good way to ease into the (sometimes intimidating) process of canning. Overall the overview was good and handouts useful, though I wish there could have been some hands-​on stuff. Since this class didn’t really cover anything you couldn’t find online, I would recommend this class to people who prefer a human introduction to these types of projects. It made me much more confident in actually starting to can, and I don’t know if I would have started without the class.
The location was easy to find, and there was more than enough parking.

I got a Groupon for the introductory canning class, and was able to schedule a November class around the middle of September — which was way ahead. Vicki was helpful in my registering and answered my email questions quickly. The class was a great overview and we got some hand-​outs to take home. It was a demo and I took a lot of notes and was able to come home, use one of her recommended web sites to find a recipe, and make two batches of jam. I’m not sure I could ask for more! I would recommend this class to someone who wants to try canning but get some interpersonal learning first.

We purchased a Tippr deal for an introduction class and were really excited for this class. And after reading mixed reviews, we were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The location is great, its around Denny park, where parking is decent. But do be prepared to have to pay for parking.
Seattle Can Can is held in a very old 1 story small building. We had thought we had arrived at the wrong location, but were confirmed we were in the right spot from a tiny printed black and white sign on the door. Watch your step as you walk in, it is an unmarked hazard. (lawsuit waiting to happen) Upon walking in you get a whiff of old cigarette smoke (imbedded in the walls) and mildew.
The kitchen where her things are prepared from is one built in the 1970’s. There were paper and supplies strewn all over the counter. It was an empty room with horribly disgusting dirty carpet. The instructor had her demo table set up in front and was not prepared for how many students signed up. She did not have chairs set up and had the attendee’s grab their own folding chairs. (that is usually fine if the class was only $ 5 or free or if we were in elementary school — but not for a class that supposedly costs $ 40!!!)
She had her demo table in front on floor level, there was not stage up or pedestal. And she was not prepared to have 20 students!!! ²⁄₃ of the class could not properly see what she was doing in front.
1 hour and 20 minutes consists of Vic, the instructor, speaking only and pacing back and forth while speaking. Then there was a total of ~20minutes of showing us products to use, just holding up the products and briefly describing them. The 10 minutes of actually showing up a cooked and almost prepared Jam Jelly to be canned.
It is a class of just sitting and listening, something you could probably do much better with a YOUTUBE video. There is no hands-​on learning, so if you’re looking for that, this is not for you.
After the class many people voiced to each other that they were disappointed and felt like the class should be only $ 10. And 2 couples voiced they thought it was a scam.
In my opinion, for the price of the class $ 40/​person — it was poorly planned and executed in a run down building. Materials of some type, besides something that is photocopied should be provided. The instructor should better plan for the class size, which upon my recommendation should be only 8 people max. That would allow for best visibility and audibility.
The one definite positive was Vic, the instructor, did have great wealth of knowledge in the subject and can be asked questions.
Location = Poor
Organization = Poor
Overall Presentation = Poor/​Okay
Class Size = Poor (20 attendee’s/1 instructor)
Experience = Poor
Instructor’s presentation = Poor/​Okay
Instructor’s knowledge = Excellent
Overall Rating = Poor/​Okay

I just took Vickie’s introduction to Canning class and it was great! Plenty of space and easy to find– right on the corner of Dexter and John. I had read a couple of previous negative reviews but I had a great experience and glad I signed up.
I enjoyed hearing about the history of canning and I really enjoyed learning how to make pickled asparagus.
I thought this class provided a great overview and enough information to get me started on my own.
Vickie is a friendly, laid back instructor and I look forward to taking her jams and jellies class in the future.

Well, the people who have written reviews were lucky that they were even able to attend a class! I purchased a Groupon and spent several months trying to find a class that would fit my schedule. Vickie only posted 2 weeks of schedule at a time. For a planner like me, this just doesn’t work. For weekdays, this was not enough time for me to arrange babysitting. For weekends, the classes that were available never seemed to work with things we already had planned — in advance!
So, I finally found a class, arranged babysitting and as I was driving to class, my sister (who was taking the class with me) called to say she got to the class early, but Vickie was not there and that she didn’t even have record that there was a class on that day! At this point, I requested a refund for my Groupon and would not recommend the Groupon (I see them come up frequently) or dealing with Vickie.

We (two adults, one 9 year old) have taken 2 classes from Vickie and are big fans. The classes were well thought out, with handouts and a few recipes to try. We were in the kitchen with 8 other folks — and we each got a turn to make a batch of preserves to take home — in that Vickie had the preserves already cooking a bit, but we took it from there.
Of particular interest was Vickie’s explanations of how to use lids, and how to recover a «lost batch» — i.e. when a jar doesn’t seal properly — how to reheat the food try again.
The jams and jellies we made at home (again, thanks to Vickie’s teaching) were big hits at Christmas time! Everyone raved about the taste.
She also gave us good tips on where to get supplies at the most reasonable prices.
We’re enrolling again in Vickie’s class to learn how to work with tomatoes! We highly recommend Vickie as a resource.

Hi,
I read some of the replies below and while I have never met Vickie prior to the class, I am dismay by the comments. I was greatly appreciative of Vickie explaining to me the process of canning during the recent class on March 3, 2012. I found her class to be a great resource in understanding the basis concepts and I now know where to go for additional accurate information. Knowing that an instructor cannot always answer every question in a routine presentation (it was not a full day workshop but a few hours) that a person in the audience may have, Vickie was very thoughtful in ensuring that ALL questions was answer when asked. I walked away with a better understanding of what the canning process was, learned small helpful tips that I would never know without trial and error, how I can find my answers and review resources to get those questions answered and she is available by email if something goes wrong later. For the few dollars that I spent attending this workshop, I felt like I not only got the value of her expertise but a better way of saving my family money by canning food when it is abundant. I went to a workshop about 8 years ago, this is a great class to get a refresher. I look forward to building upon my foundation of what I have learned recently by attending further workshops on canning. I made my first batch of canned asparagus and they look awesome! I was so proud of my results. TAKE THIS CLASS!

I attended the beginner and intermediate classes today and was pleasantly surprised by both, given the two other reviews. The space was a bit small, but not at all uncomfortable to have up to 8 around the table. The booklet provided was nice and the instructor also sent to participants ahead of time two books filled with information and great recipes.
The beginning class was just he basics but with the back story on the history of canning and I appreciated that. Vickie was very organized and had a nice visual flip type chart for presentation and was open to questions throughout.
The intermediate class we actually canned some pears. I did not find the kitchen too cramped, it’s not commercial or anything, but certainly very typical of what you find in your home! My jar looks great and I look forward to eating them.
Vickie was great and is a great resource, offering to respond to our e mail questions as we go along on our own. She also offered some helpful websites with resouces for recipes as well as u pick farms.

Got a Groupon for this class. $ 10 /​person — «Intermediate» isn’t the correct title for this class. This was basic canning, and not even at it’s best. There was very little instruction about temperatures, processing, etc. I was hoping for deeper descriptions, more advanced techniques, like pressure canning.
We made fruit cocktail, and the only thing I learned new in this class is that you can use fruit juice instead of syrup for canning.
The instructor was very disorganized, did not have enough instruments for all the participants, and the «booklet» you get — it’s a photo-​copied pamphlet, which is cut off due to the margins being incorrect. The room is cramped, class size should be limited to 4 – 6 particpants rather than 8. I was constantly banging my knee on the table leg.
This is not a professional kitchen at all. It is held at «Goods for the Planet» (very cool store, by the way! I’d give that place 5 stars!) in a small upstairs room, with a cluttered «kitchen» attached — stoves from the 70s included.
It was a very uncomfortable class experience — I was there with a couple of friends, too. I didn’t have fun, I just felt pushed, in the way or left out the whole time.
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Don’t expect this to be an intermediate class. It isn’t. It’s a basics class. And I am sure there are much more informative ones out there.