LEARN TO COOK IN 5 DAYS
Our Learn to Cook in 5 Days course is a brilliant investment in your cooking skills for now and the future. Even by the end of day one you will have found a new level of confidence when you enter the kitchen.
This course is aimed at teaching those who feel that they lack confidence, skills and knowledge in the kitchen. It teaches you to cook confidently to make home cooked nutritious meals for you and your family and to enjoy cooking! In just five days you will be able to take seasonal and local ingredients and create healthy dishes and meals that are delicious and reasonably priced. You will be able to prepare ingredients, confidently cook for friends and family, use up food in the fridge and find your way around the kitchen with ease.
With over twenty years experience we teach by learning and by principle so that you can take your new skills home, practise and perfect recipes and apply your learning to new ingredients and dishes. Our secret is to cut out all the jargon and complexities surrounding cooking and get straight into showing you just how accessible cooking can be. You will be surprised how easy it is, as well as how fun and sociable it can be!
I recently completed the Five Day Crash Course in Learning How to Cook and loved every minute of it! And yes, I did indeed learn to cook! I also learned to feel confident in the kitchen and mastered so many skills. I am amazed at how much I learned and how much more at ease I feel with food preparation… The methods learned in one class become the basics for the next class and before you know it, you have built a repertoire of techniques and skills that start to feel natural and easy. Rebecca
Over the week you will learn to cook a range of popular favourite dishes, starting with roast chicken and vegetables, mac ‘n cheese, cucumber salad and baked apples. We will start every day with a lovely breakfast that you will learn to recreate yourself, from scones and French toast to omelettes and pancakes.
Each day you will take home dishes that have been cooked to eat straightaway or freeze to use at a later date. We will provide everyone with an insulated bag and freezer blocks to take home and these will need to be brought to lessons daily.
By the end of the week you will leave us feeling confident at being able to feed yourself, your family and friends while enjoying your time in the kitchen. You will be able to do your food shopping with more confidence – it will be the beginning of an exciting cooking journey.
Join us for 25 hours of teaching and find your confidence in the kitchen.
In this course you will learn:
Session 1 (Monday):
- Crispy roast chicken portions
- Delicious roast root vegetables
- Mac ‘n cheese
- Easy cucumber salad
- Baked apples or seasonal baked fruit
Session 2 (Tuesday):
- Bread making – granary rolls and basic white bread (for pizza and flatbread)
- ‘Killer’ tomato sauce (for a pizza and pasta sauce)
- Dressed tomato salad
- Great green salad
- Traditional balsamic vinegar Italian dressing
- How to steam perfectly: broccoli, cauliflower and seasonal veg
- Cauliflower cheese
- Griddled/grilled seasonal vegetables
- Chocolate brownies
Session 3 (Wednesday):
- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Vegetable ragout
- Cooking rice (white and brown): the principles
- Minestrone soup
- Roast butternut soup
- Sponge cake filled with jam and topped with icing sugar
Session 4 (Thursday):
- Crispy fish/chicken/vegetable goujons
- Oven fried chips
- Baked cauliflower/broccoli
- Fish cakes two ways: traditional fish cakes and quickly fish cakes
- Apple crumble with whipped cream
Session 5 (Friday):
- Best ever bean burger
- Sweet chilli sauce
- Homemade burger buns
- Our favourite coleslaw
- Seasonal frittata (Italian omelette)
- Swiss roll with jam
Group challenge – you’ll all make a lasagne using Bolognese made in session three.
We try to accommodate dietary requirements as best we can and do our best to provide alternatives where possible. However, some classes are simply not designed to accommodate special dietary requirements, for example, we can not make entire baking classes gluten free or make croissants without butter.
If you have any questions about what we can provide, please call us before making your booking on 0207 631 4590. Please put a note in the “dietary requirements” box at the checkout if you have any requirements or allergies at all, even if you do not think it it is relevent!
We do not have individual hobs for every person but rather a group of hobs at one end of the kitchen. In most classes you will be working in small groups to create the recipes. As a whole class you will make everything listed on the website but the only way we can cover the huge variety of dishes listed is by dividing the class into smaller groups. When there are key skills that need to be learned by the whole class, the teacher will pause the group and gather everyone together to explain/show it so by the end of the class everyone understands how each dish was made.
We are happy for anyone of any age to attend. If they are very young, an adult needs to work with them, in which case we would only charge for one space. We aren’t a creche service though so no dump-and-runs while you go shopping! Teenagers may like to join our Summer Cooking Camp where they will be with other kids the same age.
Sustainability has always been part of our ethos which is why we made the decision not to print recipes for students to take home with them, except when printed recipes are specifically requested. Instead, we email the recipes to students shortly after the class.
You may transfer to an alternative class if you give us notice not less than 21 days before the date of the class. In this case, we will rebook you on to your selected class or issue a voucher valid for one year from date of issue. Transfers or issuing of a voucher will be subject to an administration fee of £15. Confirmed bookings are not eligible for refunds or cancellations under any circumstances. If you cannot attend a class you may send someone else in your place, just let us know the name of the attendee in advance of the class, where possible.
At the end of most classes you will sit down around the Cookery School table and enjoy the food that you have made. Any food that is leftover from this is kept for staff lunches so nothing goes to waste
The exception to this is that you are welcome to take home the chicken that you de-bone in the meat & poultry class provided you bring a chiller bag with you and we provide you with a freezer block. Additionally, many of the items in our baking classes and courses are low risk and safe to take home so you will need a carrier bag of some sort.
We have very little waste as we order based on the number of people in the class. We generally do not allow people to take food home because we have found that many people come into central London, do a class at Cookery School and then go off to the theatre, cinema, clubbing or shopping. During that time the food that left Cookery School in good condition, deteriorates and can cause illness.
Absolutely! If you have been cooking a bit already at home then you are welcome to skip the Beginners course.
Our six week professional cooking course, Cook’s Certificate, is the only accredited course we run. You will receive a Cook’s Level 3 Training certificate from OCN London at the end of this course.
If you would like a certificate of attendance from any other class or course, we are happy to provide one. Just make a note of this in the ‘notes’ section at the checkout.
You do not need to bring anything with you to most classes. However, if you are taking the Ultimate Meat & Poultry Class you should bring a chiller bag for your de-boned chicken and for any baking class or course, please bring a carrier bag to take home some of the items you make.
Please make sure you are wearing closed toe shoes.
Not at all! The majority of our students come alone. We pride ourselves on having friendly staff and our kitchen is very un-intimidating and relaxed so you don’t need to feel scared of attending alone.
Induction hobs use electromagnetic technology which may interfere with cardiac pacemakers or electrical implants, such as insulin pumps. We use induction hobs in our kitchen so recommend that if you use a cardiac pacemaker or electrical implant you remain a safe distance from the hobs.
Upcoming Classes
- At Cookery School London
near Oxford Circus
