I attended a half day course 'The ultimate meat and poultry'. Surpassed expectations on all counts…read more The cookery school is centrally located, just off Regent St.Surprisingly compact inside but everything worked well due to great organisation of the space and activities. We were welcomed with freshly baked caraway seed cakes and cheese scones, still warm from the oven with tea or coffee. Our group of ten budding cooks was split into 3 groups. We had around ten dishes to make so each group did three / four dishes. The chef leading the class was excellent. Too many dishes to describe here but highlights included guinea fowl (a favourite of mine) braised in red wine and port, spatchcock poussin, lamb stew, duck with orange and roast beef with Yorkshire pud. We all worked on fully deboning a chicken which we then stuffed with a mushroom mixture, tied up like a burrito (I think ballotine is the correct term) and took home to eat. I can report it was delicious. On the side we also made two rice dishes and creme caramels. Finally, after a 10 am start and solid demo, concentrated prep and cooking, we reached 3pm. The table was set and the group sat down to eat what became a 10 course tasting menu. Tired and weak with hunger we ate and ate sampling each dish with a nice glass or two of wine to accompany. As well as being interesting and educational, it was enjoyable and learned lots of new tips and cookery techniques. It was busy and intense but not too much and pitched to the group who all had a reasonable level of cooking knowledge. I have the recipe cards and slowly working through some of the dishes we made...not too bad so far. Would definitely return for another class.

By far the best cooking day and class every. I attended the meat and poultry class and it was…read moreamazing! I've now done classes in Paris, Barcelona and London and the one at the Cookery School is by far the best!!!!! Ill Be taking more classes when I return to London

I was shopping for a unique cooking class experience as a birthday gift to my friends. After…read morebrowsing through many cookery school offerings nothing seemed to either match my friend's tastes or was promising to be a personal enough experience. I was quite relieved and excited when I found Old Town Cooks through a recommendation. A cooking class in your own home with no hassle, no shopping (and no cleaning), just enjoying preparing and eating incredibly tasty food - that's what I was looking for! The chef, Chris, is a real pro. We worked out a 3-course menu based on produce in season. On the day of the class Chris brought everything with him down to tissues and dishwasher soap. We learned a lot about knife technique, opening scallops, making your own brioche, baking egg yolks (delicious!), making apple salsa and coconut milk sauce, and much more. And, boy, was that one of the tastiest dinners I've ever had! True unique experience. My friends are still talking about this unforgettable evening.

I wholeheartedly recommend cooking lessons with Old Town Cooks. From being an absolute novice,…read moreafter just 4 lessons I now have a whole repertoire of dishes up my sleeve. Chris from Old Town Cooks is an excellent teacher and unbelievable cook (he works in some of the best restaurants and with the best chefs in London). The lessons are fun and are very good value (especially because my wife and I ended every lesson with a 3 course michelin starred quality meal!). I had previously thought about going for group cooking lessons, but it was so much better learning with my own equipment and having Chris come to the house. Overall, an excellent experience which has given me much more confidence in my cooking.

Kitchen Queen is a great way to take cooking classes. The classes are both a lot of fun and very…read moreconvenient! I absolutely loved the class itself with a great teacher and believe there are currently no other cookery schools that not only come to your house to deliver the class but also let you specify any dishes you have always wanted to know how to cook. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and would always highly recommend the service to anyone!

Kitchen Queen is such a wonderful idea. Booked a lesson really easily via the website…read more(http://www.kitchenqueen.co.uk) . The lesson was completely tailored to our needs (we have a fussy family so this was great!) & very quickly we given a lovely list of recipe ideas to choose from for our lesson. The lesson itself was great fun & very informative.....have already booked our second lesson & also considering buying gift vouchers for certain friends who could use a little help in the kitchen. Wonderful stuff!

I have just completed the Advanced Professional Chef Course with the Academy and I can honestly say…read morethat taking the course was the best decision I've ever made. I've always had a passion for cooking but never thought I would be able to develop a career out of it. The course took me from the very basics to all kinds of new and different advanced techniques and skills. I worked in some amazing fine dining restaurants, but the real highlight was working in a Michelin star restaurant kitchen which is something I never though I could possibly do. I am very happy to say that I am starting my new job as a chef in a restaurant in Central London next week and can't wait to start. Thanks to all the staff at the Academy who were so welcoming and friendly, we must meet up for that drink soon! You've helped me achieve my dream, thank you!

I worked on the Pastry Course. The chefs were great and to a taught to a high standard. Looking to…read moredo another course with Chef Academy soon.

I took my Mum for a curry masterclass with Book a Cook, run by the lovely Nikki Mohan. I had heard…read moreabout Nikki from a friend who booked her for a group cookery class for a sophisticated hen do. Nikki holds cookery classes covering everything from curry to paella, baklava and more for small groups, and also cooks for events big and small. Our class was a revelation. We may be a nation of curry-scoffers but when it comes to getting spicy at home, it's hard to emulate the local tandoori for flavour and authenticity. My own curries, despite hours of pounding, grinding and chopping and multi-coloured and multi-flavoured ingredients have always been disappointing. So, my Mum and I were keen to get to grips with our menu of chicken curry, aubergine curry, spicy green beans, cabbage salad, turmeric rice and tamarind refresher. Nikki - though not Indian herself - has strong Indian connections. She told us a bit about the most important indian spices and about the knack of heating spices to release their fragrance before adding onion, followed by garlic. We learnt how it's important to sniff what you're cooking so you don't overcook. This is important with garlic for instance as if you let it go brown it tastes bitter. As well as our array of savoury main dishes, Nikki taught us a cheat's mango fool - a one-minute-to-make dessert that will be on my dinner party menu. Our class was informal and set in her well-equipped kitchen (although she can travel to yours if you prefer). Three hours later, we had prepared and then tucked into a mouth-watering feast of many flavours and textures, washed down with home made tamarind refresher infused with mint, cumin and lemon.

Great selection of books and very friendly, helpful proprietor; it's a lovely spot a few steps off…read morethe main market road where you can find books on just about anything cooking related. I would definitely recommend allowing yourself some time there.

Ever scoured sites such as Amazon to find that perfect cookbook? Ever been disappointed when you…read morecan't find an out of stock cookbook that has the pumpkin pie recipe to end all pumpkin pie recipes? I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this store, it's a foodie's paradise. There are some 8,000 recipe books filling the shelves from floor to ceiling on all manner of topics related to food: history, nutrition, art, chemistry and so much more. But here's the real attention grabber - at the back there is a reasonably priced cafe dishing up different treats from the 'test kitchen' which is devoted to trying out the recipes from the books themselves. Upstairs, too, they run cooking classes. So if you want to be the next kitchen big shot, look no further.

I just attended my first day class at Leiths, who offers courses for professional accreditation as…read morewell as "enthusiasts." The building and location were convenient and work space well laid out. The instructors, Adriana and Andrea, were phenomenal. I really appreciate how they took the time to explain technique and variations that can be applied at home. Also, the staff on hand to help with set-up and clean-up were amazing. They were always available to assist and contributed a great deal to the good experience. -I wish I had someone to prepare all my ingredients and wash dishes at home! My only complaint is related to the temperamental ovens. An oven can make or break all the hard work that goes into preparing a dish. Technique and materials went out the door with uneven, inaccurate ovens. Leiths offers such a wide variety of classes so I'll likely sign-up again...for a class that doesn't require an oven.

I am very impressed I took a baking course at Lieth one…read moremorning and expected to be handful of housewives attending to pass time. To my surprise the class had over 40 people of all ages and professions And the day was so organised, starting with the theory part of baking, the tea, coffee and tasty lunch breaks To the kitchen itself All ingredients were ready on stations, instructors were helpful and washing up was so prompt I remember nothing but perfection of that day and the lovely bread, cheese and jam I was given to take with me home. If I can get myself on another cooking workshop (seems to be very hard to sign in these days all fully booked) I will be the happiest

My daughter and Is attended a sushi making class this past Monday, and overall we had a great time…read more The classroom was spotless and beautifully set up. Our stations were spacious and organized. The instructor was personable and helpful, and was quite thorough. The price was quite reasonable, especially as children were free with a paid adult. The few negatives were that the room was FREEZING and the class started 15 minutes late. Overall we'd definitely return and would recommend this school and class to others!

One of the best cookery school classes I've been to. Not unreasonably priced; helpful and thorough…read moretuition; plus I learned lots of new techniques I'd never come across before. The pea and mint risotto and arancini balls we learned to make were simple enough that you could make them at home with some ease and I was very proud of the finished result.

I've been baking breads for quite a long time now, but I haven't been able to be very consistent in…read moreterms of producing equal quality loaves: sometimes my dough fails to rise; sometimes it rises too much; sometimes it's underbaked when I cut into it and sometimes the flavour is off. I was looking at my favourite foodie-website here in London (Edible Experiences) and there I cam across Maria's Baking Lab. I spent some time browsing the website and then signed up for one of the bread baking classes: The fundamentals of bread baking. The class was lead by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou, an artisan baker from heart. I really enjoyed his teaching style, which is hands-on and very informative; each step in the baking process is explained and he tells you exactly why you do this and what the processes behind it are. The course lasted from about 6pm to 9:30pm and during that time we baked a wholemeal bread, some wholemeal bread rolls and a soda bread. For me, most of the stuff that we did wasn't anything new, but what I really enjoyed was learning some good (kneading) techniques that will make sure my future loaves will be of better consistency. I can recommend this class to anyone and I'm now also eyeballing with the upcoming sourdough classes...my sourdough bread baking attempts have been even less successful and I'd really love to get a handle on this technique. (I grew up in Germany and sourdough breads are just a fundamental way of living there.)

Anything that has food involved in it makes Shrim a very happy girl, although I am not too sure…read moreabout the lab bit (hated chemistry in school :p). The Baking Lab hosted a team building workshop for us where we had to bake our own bagels and pizza (woohoo). Located in a very mysterious building where you literally need to walk through an alley way and then walk up some old stairways, it almost made me feel like I am on the sets of a James Bond film! We went in and were greeted very warmly by the chef there who was teaching us how to BAKE! :) We were taught how to knead pizza dough and bagel dough which was something very new to me, there are so many things that we think we know but in reality we don't! For example I had no idea that if the dough starts sticking all you need to do is leave it for 15 minutes and then get back to it instead of adding extra flour to it. There are so many techniques of folding the dough as well which were very interesting. I also had absolutely no idea that Bagels need to be boiled in water before baking and that is what gives it the texture and guess what boiling the bagels was so therapeutic, could do that for hours! I am not giving out anymore secrets because you should try it out yourself -- go get down and dirty and covered in flour! Verdict : Absolutely loved it and can't wait to go back again to learn some new trade secrets!

Did Ikea and Daiso have a baby and I just didn't know it?…read more OK, Ikea is Swedish, and Hema is Dutch, so it's not quite the same, and the prices aren't all $1.50... so maybe not. But do you get what I mean? This is a Dutch store where there's plenty of Hema-branded household goods that are reasonably priced. Think food, snacks, toiletries, bathroom supplies, school supplies, etc. I really like the concept and the presentation. I'd go nuts for a store like this in the States. This reminds me of the store Miniso in China. There's a ton of makeup and skin care here for some reason. I even got a Kabuki brush for about £8 or so. I also bought this SPF 10 face lotion for about £6 are so.

What a fun shop! If Tiger and Muji had a baby, it would be something like Hema…read more Hema is a Dutch import full of all sorts of neat stuff: stationery, kitchen goods, kids crafts, traditional toys, cosmetics, a small basic clothes selection, and snacks. A little bit of everything, and it's all quite cool.