Courses
We run 6-week and 3-day cookery courses at three different levels:
Each course costs £500.
Click on the links below to view course dates and learn more about each course:
| Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15, Thursday 16 February 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 15, Wednesday 16, Thursday 17 May 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 24, Wednesday 25, Thursday 26 July 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15, Thursday 16 August 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24, Thursday 25 October 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Thursdays 23 February, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 March 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Mondays 16, 23, 30 April, 14, 21, 28 May 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Mondays 11, 18, 25 June, 2, 9 16 July 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesdays 11, 18, 25 September, 2, 9, 16 October 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Mondays 22, 29 October, 5, 12, 19, 26 November 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
If you are a total newcomer to cooking and don’t know your spoon from your spatula, then do not fear, this is the course for you! We will teach you the absolute basics so that you leave feeling confident and inspired. This course is all about mastering the fundamentals of cooking, so we take nothing for granted and assume that this is your first foray into cooking. We will teach you simple and delicious recipes that are unintimidating and that you will want to make over and over again.
Session 1 - Soups and Bread
Learn to make some delicious soups. Once you can make one soup, the possibilities are endless. Delicious and nutritious, soups are the ultimate comfort food and great to whip up for a simple lunch or a dinner party starter. Minestrone soup, Borscht, green pea and mint soup, mushroom soup, herby tomato soup, Vichyoisse and butternut soup are all on the menu. We’ll also show you how to make a granary bread.
Session 2 - Stews
You will learn how to make a great stew, and will be amazed at how many dishes are based on the principle of a basic stew. You will learn how to make a classic Bolognese, a lamb tagine, a chicken cacciatore, a beef Bourguignon and a mixed bean ragout.
Session 3 - Roasts
Once you have mastered a classic roast, your Sundays will never be the same! Crispy roast chicken, herby roast lamb, a traditional roast beef, roast root vegetables and whole roast potatoes will all be on the menu.
Session 4 - Sweets
Learn how to make melting chocolate brownies, a classic Victoria sponge, mini meringues, homemade vanilla ice cream and a scrumptious apple crumble. Making delicious desserts is so much easier than you think and you can wow your friends with your new baking skills!
Session 5 - Fish and Accompaniments
Never be intimidated by cooking fish again. In this introduction to fish, you will learn how to make grilled plaice and sauce vierge, goujons and tartare sauce, steamed fish and parsley sauce, mashed potatoes and dauphinoise, mackerel pate and a simple fish soup with prawns and mussels.
Session 6 - Salads and Dressings
Delicious salads and dressings will become part of your repertoire. Learn how to make delicious dressings – balsamic, mustard, Asian and herbed. You will also learn how to make a potato salad, watercress, pear, stilton with walnut dressing, mixed bean salad, baked aubergine with chilli and coriander, grated carrot salad,
tabbouleh and a mozzarella and tomato with basil dressing.
| Mondays 20,27 February, 5, 12, 19, 26 March 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesdays 17, 24 April, 1, 15, 22, 29 May 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Thursdays 14, 21, 28 June, 5, 12, 19 July | £500.00 |
Open |
| Mondays 10, 17, 24 September, 1, 8, 15 October 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Thursdays 25 October, 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 November 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22, Thursday 23 February 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 22, Wednesday 23, Thursday 24 May 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 31 July, Wednesday 1, Thursday 2 August 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22, Thursday 23 August 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 30, Wednesday 31 October, 1 November 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
Learn to enjoy cooking and become a confident cook - or, if you can cook already, come along and expand your repertoire. In each class a three-course meal is taught with plenty of hands-on practice. In this highly structured course each session focuses on mastering fundamentals and techniques and acquiring and building on necessary skills. These are learnt and reinforced as you cook your way through the 6 week course. The emphasis is on delicious food that is quick and simple to prepare but will impress your friends and family!
As with all our classes, the idea is to have fun and enjoy good food. The food cooked during each class is served up for tasting (sufficient for a light meal), accompanied by wine. We also provide recipe cards to take away with you.
LESSON 1
Learn what a great tool your oven is by making a delicious roast crispy chicken and roasted root vegetables for the main course. Then continue to develop your oven skills with a lesson in breadmaking – easy when you know how! The beautiful bread rolls that you make will accompany a simple green salad dressed with a homemade dressing – you will be taught the principles of mastering good dressings. The dessert reflects our ethos of seasonality with baked apples in winter, peaches or other fruit in the summer – always served with mascarpone. This is the perfect prepare in advance meal and no one would ever know that you were a novice cook!
LESSON 2
Make a fantastic roast tomato soup and build on your knowledge of bread making with an olive and rosemary foccacia – you can of course use this principle to master all kinds of variations on foccacia breads. Learn to love the grill in your oven by making a delicious spicy grilled prawn dish which is served with perfectly cooked rice. We will teach you a trick or two for this - along with a green salsa - starting to build up your repertoire of sauces and salsas. Learn how to grill on your hob by making a dish of mediterranean grilled vegetables. Finish the session with a sweet, smooth creme caramel with which you can impress your friends!
LESSON 3
Get your taste buds racing with homemade humous, flavoursome Middle Eastern salads and flat bread – building on your breadmaking skills of the first two lessons. Learn how to cook a lamb tagine with perfect cous cous or 'Persian' rice, then bake a delicious and moist almond and orange flower water cake for dessert. Throughout we will be reinforcing techniques and skills learnt in preceding lessons to build your kitchen confidence!
LESSON 4
This lesson focuses on Mediterranean food where you will delve into dips with crudités, learning to pair seasonal salad and vegetables with a variety of versatile dips - great for many occasions. Having acquired bread making confidence over the past lessons, you will create your own perfect pizza with various toppings. Learn the easy art of ice cream making at home based on a real custard by making a delicious real vanilla ice cream served with a rich chocolate sauce.
LESSON 5
This lesson starts by learning how to make the perfect welsh rarebit. Then learn how to make a fish pie topped with crispy mashed potatoes. This session finishes by learning to make a classic victoria sponge cake that can be used in endless ways – a perfect ending for a meal or as part of an afternoon tea.
LESSON 6
This session focuses on different toppings for pasta from tomato, through puttanesca and Bolognese, to crab, you’ll have lots of recipes to add to your repertoire. You will also make a most delicious mushroom soup and finish the session with a homemade lemon cheesecake – the perfect make in advance pudding.
At the end of this course you will have six (or more) great make in advance meals that will involve you in very little cooking during the meal, giving you plenty of opportunity to enjoy a good meal along with your guests. Get a date in the diary and invite your friends round for dinner…
| Tuesdays 21, 28 February, 6, 13, 20, 27 March 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Thursdays 19, 26 April, 3, 17, 24, 31 May 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesdays 12, 19, 26 June, 3, 10, 17 July 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Thursdays 13, 20, 27 September, 4, 11, 8 October | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesdays 23, 30 October, 6, 13, 20, 27 November 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 28, Wednesday 29 February, Thursday 1 March 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30, Thursday 31 May 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 7, Wednesday 8, Thursday 9 August 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 4, Wednesday 5, Thursday 6 September 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
| Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7, Thursday 8 November 2012 | £500.00 |
Open |
Master some areas of cooking that are often considered tricky and pick up some fabulous recipes along the way. In this course, you will gain a really good understanding and overview of each topic covered. Take the opportunity to ask all the questions you've always wanted to ask and try out our foolproof techniques for yourself.
After trying out the techniques, you get to eat the food cooked during the class (sufficient for a light meal), accompanied by wine. We also provide recipe cards to take away with you.
LESSON 1 - MEAT AND POULTRY
Learn how to choose your meat and which cuts of meat best suit a particular type of cooking. You will make grilled duck breasts with a fresh orange sauce, braised guinea fowl, roast beef and yorkshire pudding, a delicious Provencal lamb stew, chicken liver pate, and also learn how to spatchcock and grill chicken.
LESSON 2 - BREAD
You will learn the key techniques needed to bake beautiful bread. Once you have been shown how to mix, knead, rise and prove your dough, you will be able to make a basic white bread, granary bread, a traditional chollah, cinnamon bread, spicy hot cross buns, wheaten bread, fruit muffins, pancakes and scones.
LESSON 3 - FISH AND SHELLFISH
Learn how to choose the freshest fish and prepare it for cooking. From grilling to poaching, steaming to frying, you will master the various methods of cooking fish. In this class, you will make a calamari stew, pollock with black butter, moules mariniere, baked sole, griddled scallops with oriental dressing, grilled prawns with green salsa and fish cakes.
LESSON 4 - CAKES
We are very excited to announce that we are now running our cake class in collaboration with Baking Mad. Learn the most important rules for successful cake baking and acquire a lovely and varied cake repertoire. This class includes a devil’s food cake, a chocolate and almond cake, an orange cake, basic sponge cake, honey cake, carrot cake, fruit cake and a lemon cake. Take home a Baking Mad goodie bag and for recipes, hints and baking tips head to www.bakingmad.com
LESSON 5 - SAUCES
You will make a variety of sauces, both savoury and sweet, to accompany the other recipes you have learned. You will make rich chocolate sauce, confectioner’s custard, creme Anglaise, puttanesca sauce, tomato sauce, bechamel sauce, green salsa, pesto, sauce Bearnaise, sauce Hollandaise, a red wine reduction, an aioli and a mayonnaise.
LESSON 6 - PASTRY
In this class, you will master the techniques needed to be able to make perfect pastry. From choux to shortcrust, from pate sucree to puff, you will come away with all you need to know to make delicious pastry time and time again. During the class, you will make apple pie, vegetable quiche, traditional Cornish pasties, cheese straws, palmiers and profiteroles.