A FLAVOUR OF THE MIDDLE EAST
On arrival at Cookery School you will enjoy a traditional Middle Eastern breakfast.
In our popular Middle Eastern cooking class, you will enjoy learning about and cooking with the spices and fragrant aromas from across the Middle East including tahini, pomegranate molasses, Aleppo pepper, saffron, harissa, preserved lemons, cardamom and rosewater, to name a few.
You will learn new techniques and leave with lots of recipes to recreate at home. Start the class by baking pitta bread and making a selection of dips. After that, you will make a salad, three main dishes and a side dish. This will include working on pastry skills to make a delicious spanakopita, understanding the principle of making a stew with a classic chicken tagine and practising how to grill, caramelise and make sauces. To finish you’ll make a beautiful traditional Middle Eastern cake and ice cream.
At the end of the class, everyone will sit down to enjoy the fantastic meal that you have created, matched with a glass of organic wine.
“My son and I did the Middle Eastern course. First of all thanks to Marcella who did a fantastic job teaching. She explained everything carefully and clearly but just let us get on with it when we were confident. Over five hours we cooked (and then ate) a huge amount of delicious food. The venue is very central and easy to find. I’m inspired to cook the dishes at home now. Highly recommended!” – Alan
In this Middle Eastern cooking class, you will learn to cook:
- pitta bread
- classic houmous
- refreshing tzatziki
- sweet smoky and slightly spicy Muhammara, a walnut and roasted red pepper dip
- aubergine and tomato salad
- spanakopita
- grilled fish chermoula made with fresh herbs, lemon and warm spices
- a traditional chicken tagine flavoured with spices, herbs, nuts and seeds
- caramelised onion couscous
- cardamom and rosewater ice cream
- ravani or bassbousa – a sweet syrup soaked semolina cake
Once you conquer this Middle Eastern cooking class, why not travel the world with one of our other cuisine-based classes? We offer Thai, Mexican, French, Italian and Spanish cooking classes!
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
Class Snapshot
- You will learn a whole range of new skills to enable you to recreate this meal at home again
- Expert teaching and advice, using standard home kitchen equipment
- Leave with the knowledge and understanding to make the delicious recipes at home
- Hands on experience
- You will use sustainably sourced, best possible ingredients – organic where possible
- You will never wash up – we take care of that for you always!