Good Taste tells you where to stick your fork in the Bay! This week, an update on a San Francisco candy atelier that is transforming into an international cooking school.
It’s been just over a year since I visited Shekoh Moossavi of the delightful Shekoh Confections in her new San Francisco commercial kitchen for a confection tasting. She told me then that she wanted to teach more chefs about this art—and now, hurray, she’s opening the Shekoh Culinary Institute in the space. She’ll be teaching a wide range of one-day classes that tackle global cuisines and fundamental kitchen training.
Two-hour in-person workshops start on September 9 with the first of two sessions focused on Persian Cooking: Moossavi was born and raised in Iran. (She’s also lived in Europe). She’s currently accepting students for classes in French and Italian Cuisine and weekend Chocolate Workshops as well during the rest of the month, and has more planned for October. In-person classes currently range from $120-150.
Added to all that: There’s a robust course catalog of online classes for $35, including Knife Skills and Stocks, French Mother Sauces, Breakfast and Brunch, and Signature Cocktails for beginner and intermediate-level students. Learning to cook in your jammies without being seen or judged is still a wanted option in 2026, and the price point is appreciated.
The elegant Moossavi formerly operated cafés in Palo Alto before moving to San Francisco. Her products are now available in her online store. I’m partial to her items that are closest to her roots: Persian rose and saffron bonbons, as well as her Persian nougat and rosewater marshmallows.
She studied at the Valrhona École du Grand Chocolat in France and uses Valrhona brand chocolate and couvertures, which are innovative, luscious, and luxurious. It’s a bold choice that few colleagues have made around here.
Her confections have been served at The Ritz-Carlton hotels in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, and Lake Tahoe. And her blog offers brilliant food for thought on topics including the preservation of Persian culinary traditions and the pleasure ethics and cultural significance of chocolate.
I’m excited to see the Shekoh Culinary Institute take shape just a year after moving her whole business from Palo Alto to San Francisco. Moossavi’s space is clean and inviting, and the quality, no-shortcuts nature of her sweets makes me want to learn about savory cooking from her as well.
There haven’t been very many in-person cooking classes in the city since the San Francisco Cooking School closed in 2022, and hers is going to be a welcome addition. Her business model is set to serve people who want to learn in a small, in-person environment as well as those who prefer to play in their own kitchens in the Bay Area and beyond.
