Media
For cooking demos and nourishing stories that will delight your readers and viewers, book Tree House Kitchen and Chef Nancy Henley.
What others have to say about their experiences with us.
Although we’re not offering the in-kitchen classes right now, you’ll notice a consistent message about our teaching methods and how excited people get when they learn how easy it is to access great food…
It is always a pleasure to come to Tree House because Chef Nancy makes you feel so comfortable in the kitchen. She throws all these systems and flavours and ingredients at you … and throws the rules out the window and has these high standards and expects you to create something wonderful out of them…and you meet them! You walk out feeling like a rock star!
Danielle de Graauw
I wanted to let you know how much you had inspired me to change careers. Many years ago I attended a course at the Harvest Kitchen in Oakville, that is when I first met you. You taught gourmet herbed burgers that evening, relatively simple food that you brought to a whole new level. Your passion for great food and great ingredients resonated so strongly with me that I started shifting my focus in careers from business to food. It has been 17 years since I changed careers and I have never looked back. Funny how a cooking class present from my husband changed my life path forever. Keep doing what you do so well.
Rhonda Wells
Thank you for the cooking classes. The food tastes amazing! Veronica is now more comfortable in the kitchen, before she couldn’t even go near the stove. She is starting to help me out and she said to me last night, “mom I am not going to be the follower in the kitchen, I will now be the leader!” 🙂 I was happy to hear that from Veronica!
Mona Bolis
I would like to thank you for the wonderful evening. The CFAs (Hamilton Community Food Advisors – a division of the Public Health and Chronic Disease Prevention Team) are so inspired by you and took home lots of great culinary ideas that they can incorporate into their future presentations and cooking sessions. I look forward to having you back and sharing your culinary expertise with the CFAs in the near future.
Chwen Binkley
I have known Nancy for almost 20 years…as a teacher, a colleague, and a friend. Nancy’s attention to detail is superb, her organizational skills are stellar and her commitment to providing students a creative learning experience is of the utmost importance to Chef Nancy. An amazing culinary journey to be sure!
Phyllis Kraemer
It really was the best networking event that I have attended – different, entertaining, relaxing – and my clients LOVED it. I attend a lot of “after” business hours events and corporate Golf Tournaments and this was a refreshing change. Looking forward to seeing you again and sharing your lovely venue with my clients.
Rose McGinlay
Karen says that the Classic Christmas How-To Menu dishes were “out-of-this world”
Tree House Kitchen occasionally offers select cooking classes and workshops. Karen Cumming attended one of them and here’s what she has to say about her experience.
“Tree House Kitchen is a local treasure. How lucky we are to have it right here in our own backyard! Your culinary experience starts the moment you step inside Nancy’s beautiful country home. Before you know it, you’re enjoying a glass of mulled wine by the fire. Then, it’s time to head into the kitchen for an evening of top-notch instruction by a passionate chef.
The recipes are thoughtfully developed, the food locally sourced, and the dishes – out-of-this-world delicious. Not to mention the real live tree growing inside the house. You’ll be amazed.”
Had a chance to go through the entire menu, instruction book, cookbook, muse and was blown away by how inventive and downright brilliant it is: congratulations.
Lorne Haverty
I am so glad to be part of the magic that is Tree House Kitchen. It is wonderfully inspiring and fulfilling. Your food and passion and hospitality are a shining example of what a chef should be.
Lauren Charman
An evening in Nancy’s beautiful home, watching the sun set and learning from one of the best is an experience not to be missed. We were transported from our everyday lives to forests, gardens and vineyards to celebrate the local harvest and enjoy wines from around the globe. Nancy, you did such a wonderful job of sharing your systems with us. It was obvious that this is your passion and that your ideas stemmed from many years of commitment to your art. Everything was delicious – a real treat for the senses. Nancy is a passionate and energetic professional who combines the art of cooking with her passion for health to create a new way of exploring cuisine. Nancy has taken many years of expertise and experimentation in fine dining and culled her knowledge into an approach which provides her students with her well tested “systems” for creating soups, salads, grains, meats and fish. Nancy created a delicious Spring menu tailored to our occasion and used fresh local produce in a refreshing down to earth manner. She paired each course with fine wines and explained her approach as she served, cooked and entertained us. I highly recommend Tree House Kitchen to celebrate life and nourish your senses.
Debbie Leiningen
I just wanted to express my thanks for the awesome class today and taking the time to answer my questions afterwards. It’s rare in my field to talk to anyone that even cares about food the way I do, it was a great privilege to get to talk to you, a true professional in your craft. The time flew by and I really enjoyed myself! I forgot to mention that I got a cooking audition on MasterChef Canada last year but unfortunately didn’t make it on the final show. I made a vodka crust lemon meringue pie with raspberry coulis and candied lemon peels. Hopefully with practice I do a bit better this year coming!
Andrew Cavalieri
You are a supportive teacher that empowers her students. You clearly have a passion for what you do and it shows!
Jaydeep Moro
Wow what an amazing experience! From the moment I walked in the door Nancy truly makes you feel like you are right at home. The atmosphere was warm and comfortable, a true opportunity to catch up with old friends and make a few new ones over some delicious food. The food was absolutely amazing. Nancy instills confidence in her guests that yes it is possible to make delicious food in your own kitchen. Nancy was very patient with our many questions and provided a wealth of information about ingredients, cooking techniques and the best local businesses for quality ingredients.
Sara W.
Nancy you are so talented – I have been to Thailand and your food tastes better. We totally enjoyed the lovely evening we spent in Tree House.
Sarah Lin
Thank you for a wonderful evening last night. It truly felt like a night out for me. Your team was so kind (as usual) and you are so welcoming. The food was exceptional. The education was inspiring. I love being introduced to new foods. It was the first time I sampled Gumbo and Tagine. Your Tagine inspired me to cook lamb today. It has been in the oven for 1.5 hours and smells great! Thanks again, your passion is contagious.
Meeta Bhana
Kerry describes how Tree House Kitchen inspires cooking creativity
Tree House Kitchen occasionally offers select cooking classes and workshops. Kerry Henderson attended one of them and here’s what she has to say about her experience.
“I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful evening that Kirsten and I spent at your home on Saturday evening. I thought you might like these photos. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening! It was a perfect way to relax with friends, to learn some new skills and confidence with cooking with ingredients, spices, and also to try out some new techniques in the ‘hands on’ sections of the evening.
I loved that we could sample the ingredients that were passed around, smell them, taste them, and learn about the textures and origins too. I definitely feel more confident in trying out some ingredients and cooking techniques that I have never used before. The whole evening was a ‘gastronomical treat!’…. made perfect by the fact we saw every stage of the cooking, some hands on involvement too…but to be able to sit and eat the food we watched you prepare was just perfect, and delicious… and really felt like such a treat as we sat there relaxing and drinking wine too. Thank you also for the menus you gave us to take away with the many tips included.”
What a wonderful evening which indulged the senses. Your creativity and passion for guiding everyone to create healthy, delicious food is a motivating experience.
Ewa Grant
A very down-to-earth tree house kitchen.
The Hamilton Spectator
Amazingly delicious, filling and very inspiring! I really enjoyed your Asian Fusion cooking class. It was a wonderful evening out with some of my girlfriends. The experience was very warm, welcoming and peaceful – we were welcomed inside and introduced to the other students. Inside your beautiful house with the unique indoor tree garden, it was clear that you and your staff are passionate and nicely organized. Instead of a standard ‘do this, measure this, stir in this’ type of instruction, the class was so much more – it was an educational dining experience that sparked inspiration and curiosity, and introduced new ideas. Watching the demonstrations, trying a hands-on lesson, and tasting the various ingredients and dishes helped me get a larger sense of the Asian flavour theme and variations. The recipe booklet I received to take home not only provides the cooking steps but also teaches how to think like a chef, to experiment and personalize the recipes. This is so different from standard recipes. I appreciate that you identified which dishes are freezable – which suits my busy lifestyle. I’m now experimenting more with lemon grass and lime leaves. I’ve already made the coconut cauliflower soup twice and everyone loves it! Thank you for an amazing dinner class!
Tanja Groos
Your class was so fantastic and inspiring! Thank you so much for opening up your kitchen – and many new and delicious doors to me! I’m looking forward to practicing my knife skills and I promise to proceed carefully in order to retrain my down-blade fingers! You are a great teacher, able to share your art and knowledge with the right seasonings of encouragement and confidence.
Marta Nespoli
Nancy is a brilliant chef. I attended the knife skills class and it has made a huge difference in my confidence in the kitchen which has translated to healthier eating all round. After taking Nancy’s class I made a goal to cook all my own meals in 2014. So far so good!
Craig Spear
Tree House Cooking School is a local treasure. Your culinary experience starts the moment you step inside Nancy’s beautiful country home. Before you know it, you’re enjoying a glass of mulled wine by the fire. Then, it’s time to head into the kitchen for an evening of top-notch instruction by a passionate chef. The recipes are thoughtfully developed, the food locally sourced, and the dishes – out-of-this-world delicious. Not to mention the real live tree growing inside the house. You’ll be amazed. Make your reservation now – before the rest of the world finds out about it! (And they will.)
Karen Cumming
The evening was simply brilliant.
Leslea Mehltretter
I loved that we could sample the ingredients that were passed around, smell them, taste them, and learn about the textures and origins too. I definitely feel more confident in trying out some ingredients and cooking techniques that I have never used before. The whole evening was a ‘gastronomical treat!’…. made perfect by the fact we saw every stage of the cooking, some hands on involvement too…but to be able to sit and eat the food we watched you prepare was just perfect, and delicious. I will definitely be recommending these evenings to my friends, such a fun way to spend an evening!
Kerry Henderson
Thanks again for such a special evening and for sharing your magical world with us. So nice to see you are doing something you love and are passionate about. The food was amazing and I have to say, the first thing I woke up thinking about was the vegetable dish.
Karen Smith
We spent a very enjoyable, engaging and educational evening with Nancy in her amazing teaching kitchen that my wife still talks about. The theme was French cuisine. We made everything from scratch ourselves and we asked lots of questions and got good answers. Nancy explained why we were doing what we were doing and how each step and ingredient added to the flavour or texture or both.
Mark Clem
Wow…Friday evening exceeded all of my expectations. You did a wonderful job and its easy to see how much you love your craft. The setting was perfect and the food was fabulous. You made everything look so easy with zero stress on your part and the recipes are fantastic and were laid out in such a way that even I think I can pull some of them off.
Susan Finkbeiner
So happy you are back in the teaching biz. Your school (Harvest Kitchen Cooking School in the 90’s) was so good and so before its time.
Ettie Benjamin Shuken
We just want to say Thank you for the amazing time we had last night! We thoroughly enjoyed learning about all your cooking expertise and the meal itself was exemplary. Your passion for cooking is evident! A wonderful time was had by all who were there.
Dianne Persadie
