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MSN – April, 2025 Top 5 Foodie Havens You Can’t Miss in 2025

The food scene in 2025 is alive with creativity. Menus are tighter, ingredients are bolder, and chefs are telling personal stories through their dishes. Food lovers are traveling not just for scenery but for the plate. Dining out feels more intentional and more fun. From tucked-away kitchens to chef-driven pop-ups, this list rounds up places where taste and experience meet.
These five places get it right. From the setting to the last bite, they create food moments that stick with you. They not just serve meals, they set the pace for what’s next in dining.
 
5- Cindy Roberts
Cooking is more than just making food, it’s a skill, a joy, and sometimes even an adventure in the kitchen. For many, learning to cook starts with the right teacher and the right environment.
Cindy Roberts, founder and CEO of La Toque de Cindy, is on a mission to spark a lifelong love of cooking in young chefs. Based in Palo Alto, California, her cooking school blends French inspiration with California freshness and international flair. The name, La Toque de Cindy, reflects her belief that great food often begins in France. But her kitchen welcomes flavors from all over the world.
Her approach to cooking classes is thoughtful and flexible. Rather than offering preset menus, she designs experiences around the students and the occasion. She has hosted everything from “Chopped Junior” style birthday parties to elevated cooking events based on Thomas Keller’s recipes. Her deep knowledge of chocolate, informed by both formal instruction and travel, is a signature part of the curriculum. Students in her popular “Chocolate Champions” summer camp taste chocolates sourced from places like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
 
Her classes often reflect her own culinary interests. Inspired by writers like Alison Roman, David Lebovitz, and Melissa Clark, Cindy stays in touch with trends and adapts her lessons accordingly. This summer, she’s introducing camps like “Mexican Fiesta” and “Cake Decorating” to keep things fresh and engaging.
 
Cindy’s passion has led her to appearances on Guy’s Grocery Games and local competitions like the Palo Alto Chili Cook-Off. Still, her focus remains on teaching. She believes that building confidence in the kitchen can create lasting skills and joyful memories. Visit the website to stay updated with her upcoming courses and camps.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
 
 

Almanac and Palo Alto Weekly Camp Listing April, 2025

 

 

Palo Alto Weekly – November, 2018  No-cook Appetizers

Palo Alto chef Cindy Roberts, who hosts private cooking parties and summer cooking camps for youth through her school La Toque de Cindy, says this is one of her favorite recipes.  It’s simple to make, can be prepared days in advance and can easily serve a crowd.  “The layout of the dish allows guests to get exactly what they want on each bite, as they apply their own cheese and tapenade to the cracker (see full article for more)

Palo Alto Weekly – March, 2017 Residents offer culinary classes to children

Roberts’ La Toque de Cindy California Culinary Experiences are geared to instill a love for cooking and eating.  In her white chef’s jacket and toque — a professional’s tall hat with vertical folds for every dish she has mastered — Roberts holds contests and trivia quizzes, cooking games and raffle tickets to spice up her cooking sessions. She has offered themed classes such as the “Best of NY Times,” “Easy Peasy Meals for Younger Kids” and “Pizza and Pasta Pros.” She has guest instructors, Christmas cookie baking and a class for older teens, “Chocolate Challengers.” Read Whole Article Here

Palo Alto Weekly – March, 2015

In keeping with that trend of greater variety, Chang has observed how a new type of specialty or “homegrown” camp has emerged. She described these as often being led by individuals who run a small, less-publicized operation and do it for the love of a particular activity or subject. She has seen more of these businesses crop up on ActivityHero, where camps can be posted for free. Donnelly said her kids have participated in camps like this before, including a chocolate cooking camp called La Toque de Cindy operating out of a Palo Alto home (which Chang’s daughter also attended)    Read the full article.

Food Network, Guy’s Grocery Games – January, 2015

Cindy and her two children were invited to compete on Guy’s Grocery Games, Family Style.  See some of the shots from the tv appearance: the family profile, photo #3, and GGG’s “top moments“, photo #13.  For complete video, contact La Toque directly.

Palo Alto Weekly – June 6, 2008

PAWeekly showcased Cindy’s business,  calling it “Easy as a Picnic in the Park”.  They visited her home to write about her culinary adventures and how she uses seasonal ingredients to spice up her cooking classes.