Comfort Food Brings Commissary, Retail Shop, and Cooking School to Sherman Oaks

Sherman Oaks is coming alive these days, with a new wine bar in town, an expansion of the popular local gastropub franchise Public School and yesterday’s announcement of a classy cheese and charcuterie storefront right on Ventura Blvd. The next step, apparently, is to teach everyone how to cook for themselves.

Enter Comfort Food, a joint cooking school, retail shop, and rental space for burgeoning gourmands, opening any day now. The multifunctional space sits right on Ventura Blvd., just east of Woodman Ave. and next to Boneyard Bistro. The space comes by way of Andy Pastore (Pacific Dining Car, Michael’s) and Caren Watts (Le Cordon Bleu) , who will lead classes through everything from butchering and knife skills to baking and weeknight meal prep.

Comfort Food is also aiming for those already in the biz, by offering their kitchens as rentals for catering gigs and private events to anyone who may have the know-how but not all of the necessary equipment. As for the retail space, expect California-based, artisanal products like coffees, meat rubs, handmade kitchen tools and even produce.

The plan for now is to have Pastore and Watts lead the instruction side while working to bring in outside rental clients for the kitchen spaces. In many ways, it will act as a similar space to the new Counter Culture coffee training center going in to Silver Lake, but with the addition of a retail portion should be open any day, which means locals will have yet another place to grab provisions while on the boulevard.

Comfort Food LA
13545 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA