With more of us than ever taking control of our health (and our food budgets!), there’s never been a better time to sharpen up your kitchen skills. Whether you’re looking for plant-based inspiration, fancy exploring world cuisine or you’d like to brush up on the basics of breadmaking, here are our top 10 cookery courses to try this summer.
1. Immunity-Boosting Herbs at The Natural Chef School
The Natural Chef Cookery School is on a mission to transform the food industry by focussing on non-toxic, ethical and organic food with zero waste. If you’re looking to learn how to cook and eat for optimum health and wellbeing, this is the place to do it.
Our favourite is their course on The Best Herbs to Boost Immunity, where you’ll learn how to improve your immune system, reduce brain fog, eliminate bloating and ease gastric irritation by incorporating with fresh, natural herbs into your diet. It takes place online and costs just £35. Buy cookery experience gift vouchers here.
2. Sushi Making at Abinger Cookery School
This fun-filled, half-day course will give you a solid grasp of the art of making sushi. You’ll make (and take home) delicious sashimi and teriyaki chicken, salon and avocado maki rolls and tempura vegetable California rolls – ready to impress your next dinner guests!
The course takes place at Abinger Cookery School in the picturesque village of Abinger Hammer, set in the heart of the Surrey hills. Just don’t forget to bring plenty of containers to take your creations home in! Sushi making costs £100 and you can buy GourmetXperience vouchers to spend on the course here.
3. Artisan Breadmaking at Daylesford
Cotswold favourite Daylesford is surrounded by over 2,000 acres of organic farmland, making it the perfect place to develop your cookery skills with fresh, local produce and homegrown grains. With its own creamery, bakery and smokery on site, this is where many come to learn the essentials.
On their popular Artisan Breadmaking course, you’ll learn how to knead, prove and bake the most delicious homemade breads including sourdough, rolls, multi-grains, seeded loaves and enriched doughs. This full-day course is £210 and includes lunch, refreshments and course materials – purchase your vouchers here.
4. A Greek Odyssey at Chewton Glen
James Martin’s renowned cookery school at Chewton Glen, in Hampshire’s New Forest, is well-versed in international cuisine – its courses cover some of the world’s most sumptuous flavours from Thai streetfood to coastal Moroccan cuisine.
Their Greek Odyssey class, which is a half-day course with lunch included, will take you on a journey through some of the country’s most popular dishes, including souvlaki with tzaziki, chickpea flatbread, baba ganoush, houmous and the irresistibly decadent Greek orange cake with honey syrup. The course costs £125 – purchase your voucher here.
5. Pasta Perfection at Leiths
It’s rare to meet anyone who doesn’t adore pasta – that’s one of the reasons this day-long pasta masterclass at the famous Leiths School of Food & Wine in London’s Shepherd’s Bush is always well-subscribed. You’ll learn to make your own mouthwatering pasta from scratch, with and without a pasta machine.
Typical recipes and demonstrations include making and rolling pasta dough to create and cut herby tagliatelle, making intricate tortellini filled with mozzarella, prosciutto and sage butter, and garganelli with a mushroom ragu and ricotta salata. The course costs £165 and you can buy cookery experience gift vouchers here.
6. A Chocolate Experience at Vaughan’s
Deep in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside, you’ll find Vaughan’s Cookery School – and within its walls, you’ll find a chocolate-lovers’ delight; a half-day of talking about, cooking with and tasting chocolate with master patissier and Chocolate Awards judge, Allan Davison-Collier.
You’ll discover the fascinating origins of cocoa from the Aztecs and learn how it developed into the chocolate we enjoy today. You’ll then turn your hand to making your own ganache to hand-mould into some of the most sumptuous truffles you’ve ever tasted – the perfect gift to make for family and friends. It costs £55 and takes place at Vaughan’s in Devizes – you can buy your voucher here.
7. Yorkshire Game at Swinton Cookery School
Autumn is the perfect season to learn the art of preparing, cooking and serving a rich variety of seasonal game, and Yorkshire’s vast Swinton Estate – with its estate-reared venison, rabbit and trout set – is the perfect place to begin. In fact, Swinton was awarded by ICSA inspectors as a ‘Centre of Excellence for Game’.
Housed in a converted Georgian stable wing, surrounded by open parkland as part of the private estate, you’ll understand how to approach different types of game and their individual cuts of meat, before making full recipes like venison with olives, pheasant kiev, rabbit saltimbocca or game chips. It’s a full-day course at £180 – buy cookery experience vouchers here.
8. Indian Street Food at The Vegetarian Society
If you’re keen to get more creative with vegetarian or plant-based cookery, The Vegetarian Society’s popular cookery school in Altrincham hosts a variety of half and full-day courses to inspire you with bold, unique and delicious flavours and spices.
Our favourite is their day-long Indian Street Food course, where you’ll discover how to cook delicious sweet and savoury recipes and recreate the colourful, vibrant dishes served up on the roadside of India’s bright and bustling cities. You’ll taste your creations throughout the day and have lots to take home! The course costs £150 and vouchers can be bought here.
9. Patisserie Workshop at Edinburgh New Town Cookery School
Classes at Edinburgh’s New Town Cookery School take place in the light, bright and spacious teaching kitchens set over five floors in their charming Georgian townhouse overlooking the famous Firth of Forth. It’s no surprise that this city-side gem has trained some of the best chefs in the business.
On this day-long patisserie workshop, you’ll learn how to make irresistible pastries that are light as a feather – such as creme patissiere, choux and puff pastries, intricate mille feuille and Paris brest. It’s £170 and vouchers are available here.
10. Pickling & Fermenting at The Cooking School
Eating pickled and fermented foods to improve gut health and overall wellbeing has been widely documented in the last few years; learning how to preserving vegetables by pickling them, rather than pasteurising them (which kills off beneficial bacteria, as well as harmful bacteria) is a great skill to master.
The Cooking School at Warminster has an excellent one-day course to equip you with these skills – you’ll make pickled daikon and radishes, preserved lemons, pickled baby carrots and kohlrabi, kimchi and sauerkraut. It’s £160 and you can purchase cookery school gift vouchers here.
All the cookery schools in this list are ICSA-accredited, meaning they carry the mark of trust for having the highest standards of teaching, as well as a commitment to seasonality, sustainability and zero waste. Read more about why it’s important to choose an ICSA-accredited school, and get your vouchers in our Club Shop to spend on the course of your choice. Happy cooking!
