Reviews of Maru Expert courses

A huge thank you to Ekaterina for such a well-crafted laminated dough course, and to Liza for all the support and guidance along the way. Already looking forward to the next one 🙏

A delicious adventure — and so much gratitude: the best croissants of my life.
I recently had the incredible luck of taking this baking course, and I can't help but share how deeply grateful I am. Under Ekaterina's guidance, I learned to bake the most extraordinary croissants entirely on my own — and they've quickly become the most beloved thing to come out of my kitchen. I've tried croissants at countless bakeries over the years, and not one of them compares.
This course was a genuine culinary joy from start to finish, and Ekaterina's teaching made it truly exceptional. I am endlessly grateful for the best croissants of my life — and for the skills to make them again and again. Thank you, Maru Expert, for an unforgettable experience!!!!
Elena
San Diego, California

A fantastic course — the material is presented in a genuinely accessible way, the feedback is excellent, and the pastries themselves are absolutely stunning.

Ekaterina, thank you so much for this wonderful course. Everything was clear, well-paced, and beautifully structured — with exactly the right amount of information to get real results. You made the whole process feel so easy and comfortable to work through. You are such a warm, positive person, and that energy comes through in every lesson. I hope to take more courses with you in the future on the topics I've been curious about.
Thank you again for the tremendous amount of work you've put into this

Let me start with what matters most about this course:
Katya is incredible. This course isn't just about laminated dough — it's about the people who created it and the people who take it.
The feedback is wonderful, the way mistakes are worked through is genuinely helpful, and the support never wavers.
I am so happy I got to be part of this — and so proud that I actually got results. I learned to laminate dough properly, which honestly used to feel completely out of reach.
The course does have one downside though — it's addictive. Once you start, all you want to do is laminate, bake, and eat everything you make 😄
Thank you from the bottom of my heart ♥️

Thank you for breaking down laminated dough in a way that actually makes sense. It turns out it's not nearly as intimidating as it seems — as long as you follow the guidance on technique and ingredient selection. And what a feeling it is when your results come out just as good as a bakery's — or honestly, better 😄
Now I walk past croissants at pastry shops and immediately spot every flaw 😅 I don't even really want to buy them anymore. This course permanently raised my standards — and there's no going back 🥹

I first came across Ekaterina during a baking marathon where she taught a lesson on brioche. Before that, I barely worked with yeast dough and honestly feared it — it always seemed too complicated. I'll be straight with you: during that brioche practice run, I went through every emotional stage possible. I was convinced it would be a disaster because I'd made mistakes. And yet — the taste was absolutely unreal. That moment of pure flavor joy made me start following Ekaterina closely on Instagram.
When the next laminated dough course was announced, I hesitated — but added myself to the waitlist. By the time sales opened, I'd talked myself into it completely. I paid without a second thought. And I have not regretted a single moment — I'm honestly grateful to myself for doing it.
The course is exceptional. Everything is clear, thorough, and fully immersive. What's especially valuable is that it doesn't just walk you through the process — it explains the ingredients, their properties, and why everything works the way it does. Then there's the variety of pastries: same dough, completely different flavors and experiences every time. Different shaping techniques, different fillings — Ekaterina wasn't kidding when she said you could open your own bakery after this course. Your display case would be full.
The feedback is precise, deeply engaged, and always pushing you toward your best result. And the taste of the pastries themselves? The finest laminated dough I have ever eaten — tender, airy, crispy, buttery. A genuine symphony.
I am endlessly grateful to Ekaterina and everyone who built this course. My expectations were exceeded by more than 100%. Ekaterina is a quality mark all on her own — I will absolutely be back

This was my first course at this school, and the one thing I knew going in — from everything I'd read — was: if you want to learn to make croissants, go to Ekaterina. The detailed video lessons, the ingredient and equipment guides, the round-the-clock chat support where no question went unanswered, the thorough breakdown of mistakes with specific advice on how to fix and improve — all of it was exactly what I needed. Since baking is a hobby for me, I could only practice in the evenings, and the course made it easy to split the process across multiple days.
By the end of the five weeks, so many of us caught ourselves thinking: I can't believe it went by so fast. We genuinely missed opening a new video lesson on Monday morning. Ekaterina brings such infectious love for laminated dough to everything she does — she lifts you up when things go wrong and genuinely celebrates your wins. That energy motivates you in a way that's hard to put into words.
Thank you, MARU — and I hope to be back for more

I loved the format: one dough, a different pastry every week. Whether you're ready or not, you build real skill through repetition — in the mixing, the rolling, the lamination. True muscle memory. I also deeply respect that the instructor's standards were genuinely high. That kind of rigor pushes you to aim for quality and builds real knowledge. The feedback from the instructors was at a truly professional level. Grateful — and I recommend this course without reservation

After taking Ekaterina's course, I know one thing for certain: I can make exceptional laminated pastry. Now when I walk past a bakery, I don't even glance at the croissants — even if they were made by a world-famous chef using butter from the last remaining cow of her kind on earth, grazing on the left side of a Swiss mountain at 1,000 meters while listening to Beethoven. I'll just stop by the store, grab some President butter, pull out my 16-inch rolling pin, and wake my family up in the morning with fresh croissants straight from my own oven.
Thank you to the chat and to all the fellow students who shared their wins and their struggles throughout — that support made all the difference 🥐

Thank you for yet another course with Ekaterina Kurbatova and the MARU school. I am genuinely proud to be a student here — this school single-handedly changed every preconception I had about online learning. Thank you for the experience you share so generously, for the knowledge, and for the patience when we flood the chat with questions that have probably already been answered more than once. Wishing you continued success — and of course, endless creative inspiration for new courses ahead

The tartlet course was a total game-changer for me. Every tartlet is its own little masterpiece - rich layers of texture and flavor that genuinely blew me away. But what really stood out was the support from our instructor Ekaterina. Her feedback was thoughtful, consistent, and always gave me the confidence that everything would turn out just right. Hands down worth it!

Tartlets were completely new territory for me before this course - and this course changed everything. The theory is sharp, the videos are tight and high-quality with no filler. This is my third Maru course, and each time I'm struck by how much real knowledge and experience I take away. Fast, professional feedback; a genuinely warm and friendly student community; detailed error analysis. I was proud of every single thing I made.

Я осталась довольна курсом на все 100%. Профессионализм, душевность и полная отдача своих знаний и энергии от преподавателя. 
Четкое понимание процесса, даже освящена необходимая теория, подробное описание тех.карт, новые вкусы и сочетания текстур. Впереди еще планы на дальнейшее обучение

Благодаря этому курсу я узнала новые грани своих возможностей. Как человек далекий от проф. кондитерского дела, я забрала с собой огромное количество новых знаний, умений и навыков.
Курс хорошо структурирован, и на примере всего 5 изделий постигла основы кулинарного искусства.
Если быть максимально внимательным к деталям и дотошным в их исполнении, то десерт просто не может не получиться. Катерина предусмотрела все возможные подводные камни. Единственное, что могло подвести - это ингредиенты, которые могут отличаться незначительно от рецептурных, но иметь колоссальное влияние на результат.
Обратная связь от Катерины максимально подробная и своевременная.❤️ Катерина терпеливо разбирала каждую ошибку каждого студента с пояснения причины.
Общий чат всех студентов дает возможность не совершить ошибки других и вдохновиться результатами настолько, что ты готов переделать уже принятое д/з.
Эстетическое удовольствие от качества видео и десертов, вкус которых настолько невероятный, что ты готов делать его снова и снова.

Курс для меня был очень полезен и интересен. Я до этого с кондитерским делом опыта не имел, а результат - вкуснее собственных работ я до прохождения курсов не пробовал) хотя собственное исполнение еще далеко до идеала))). Очень здорово учиться в группе, там всегда видно как надо делать и как не надо. А Екатерина - лучший преподаватель и чуткий педагог). Теперь я жду набор в группы по слойке и макаронс)

Замечательный курс. На примере каждого изделия мы смогли отработать определённый вид теста, крема и загустителя. Очень понравились теоретические лекции по песочному тесту, загустителям и кремам. Не смотря на то, что курс для новичков, итоговые изделия шикарные как по виду, так и по вкусовым сочетаниям. Больше всего я боялась приготовления эклеров. Уже был опыт работы с заварным тестом, и он был неудачный. Но на курсе эклеры получились с первого раза. И хотя я люблю придираться, результатом очень довольна. Даже пока ещё пытаюсь осознать, что эклеры получились)))) Подача материала и обратная связь от Кати была как всегда на высоте. В общем, я получила огромное удовольствие от "Кондитерской Одиссеи"!

Екатерина, огромное спасибо за этот курс!!
Восхищаюсь вашим профессионализмом и любовью к делу, Вы заражаете интересом и желанием заниматься кондитерским искусством.
Очень ценна обратная связь по всем десертам. Кроме видео и рецептов на сайте огромное кол-во дополнительной информации в чате. Понравился формат учебы в группе, т.к. видны рекомендации другим студентам, что позволяет сделать меньше ошибок самой.
И я с вами на следующем курсе по тарталеткам. Ура))

Я очень рада этому курсу. Он заявлен как курс для новичков, но я почерпнула много новых знаний в теоретических блоках. Поддержка Екатерины во время всего курса была очень ценной и важной. Все рецепты рабочие, сбалансированы по вкусу, сладости и текстурам с понятным описанием и подробным видеоуроком. 
Я желаю школе процветания и развития! Буду ждать нового курса♥️