I love culinary expeditions, whether it's a stroll through a local farmer's market or fine dining at a Michelin star rated restaurant. As part of my "London culinary expedition", I thought it would be great to participate in the "Champagne Afternoon Tea" class @St_Paul's. One must have afternoon tea whilst in London, right? :) Here's what was absolutely great: 1. Our chef. Daniel was very knowledgeable, personable, and entertaining. After class, he spent some time with us and gave local recommendations tailored to our likes/dislikes. 2. Small group setting. There were 4 in our cooking class, which lent us a very relaxed, casual atmosphere, with lots of instructor attention and open dialogue. 3. Amazing food and conversation. Wow, I didn't realize all the stuff we would make in this class: soda bread, crab and cucumber sandwiches, along with freshly made mayonnaise, scones, macarons, and the caramel filling for the macaron...all so delicious. YUM. We also ended up hanging out for an hour after class just enjoying "tea and conversation". 4. Leftovers :) HA! We each had a to-go box with lots of goodies to share. Here's what was not so great: I went into class thinking, "I'm going to make all this stuff back at home." While it might be possible, it will definitely be a feat. The class covers a lot of material, way more than a person can absorb in 2 hours. You'll get instructions and recipes after class, but still it's difficult to remember all the little tips and nuances about the preparation and presentation of each dish. All-in-all, I would recommend going to the class for the experience and conversation. It'll provide loads of stories you'll remember for long time and will continue to talk about. After all, you will have made your own Afternoon Tea in London! read more

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Westfield in Shepherd's Bush paired up with L'atelier des Chefs for a week of free cooking classes and I had the opportunity to go to a few of them. It was the best week ever: I learned how to make Asian dumplings, Thai chilli beef salad, sushi, and sesame soy chicken. Not only was everything super delicious, the chef Dalia taught me lots of culinary tricks and eating tips. The staff were all incredibly friendly and warm. This was a wonderful way to break up the work week so definitely recommend these to those foodies out there who want to learn a few more recipes. read more

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I had a Living Social Deal discount coupon here and signed up for a 2 hour class focused on fish. The sign-up online was easy, the location was beautiful, and the reception that signed us in was efficient. Our instructor Andy was adorable and charming and set us up in groups to chop, dice, julienne, peel, and mince lots of ingredients for our 4 course meal. We divided up the work and off we went chopping and cooking. The experience was very social and whilst we didn't really master anything by dividing up the work, you got a sense for the dishes and the techniques. We learned how to "plate" our dishes and then sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor--a glass of wine was 3.50 extra to wash it all down. You get a 10% discount on all of their goods post your class, and the recipes were all approachable for the novice. Big fan! read more

Dishonest, rushed and unhelpful: I bought a voucher from this company a while ago. Nothing on the packaging says this voucher expires and nobody told me at the time of purchase. However, when I went to use this voucher, I was told it had expired. I tried to discuss this with the person at the till, who showed absolutely no interest (and in fact told me it was written on the packing, which it clearly is not. I asked to speak to a manager or someone higher up, but was told nobody was available to see me. I asked if I could have contact details to complain to - and she gave me an incorrect email address. I finally tracked down the correct email address to write to - and was told "I am quite sure nobody's told you that there was no deadline for the use of our gift voucher. I am sorry if there is nothing I can do to help on that matter." Unbelievable! They were perfectly happy to take my money to sell me a voucher, but now they will neither honour the voucher or refund it. Absoltuely day light robbery. I am going to have to go down the hassle of making a claim in the small claims court. As for the actual cooking class - I did a macaroon class. The majority of the macaroons of the group were over cooked. More like biscuits than macaroons. The chef responded to our feedback saying our macaroons were too small. It would have been more useful to be told this before the end of the class, such as during the preparations. Personally I disagreed with his approach to the random use of food colouring. He added various colours to the groups' preparations - and made no connection for the flavourings. So raspberry filling was put with green or blue shells, chocolate was put with bright yellow or red or any colour shells. Furthermore, he didn't know if the colouring was natural, vegetable or chemical - and when asked, didn't even look at the pot to look it up. The chef didn't have time to finish with us as he had to start preparing for the next class, so made us do the entire final stage of filling and constructing the final macrons on our own with absolutely no guidance. Finally, we did not get to take home the macaroons we had prepared - instead all the groups macaroons were mixed up and we took home a selection (some might have been mine, I have no idea what I prepared vs what other's prepared). All in all I would not at all recommend this company. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE. Bought a 4 course French meal course for my boyfriend (the plan is to make him an amazing chef so I can concentrate on making cakes every chance I get...yum!) and we had such a good time. The chefs are great, the food is incredible, you learn loads, the recipes are great, and there's wine readily available. What more could you want. We even got to sit down between each course and enjoy the food with everyone else. Loved it...I've been on another course since, and am booked on a third. My current obsession... read more

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I just did one of the Cook Eat Run sessions on my lunch hour. What a great concept! I'm a cooking nut and so it's great to be able to make use of some of the day time to get some done and learn how to cook something different. and above all, eat it. Nom nom nom. It was rather quiet on the day I went, it'd be great with a bunch of people who all knew each other though. It was a little disappointing that 'extras' cost extra - wine, dessert and so on - though not too much extra. The cherry clafoutis we had on the day was really great for £3. I'd go back - I'd love to try something more adventurous though. The catch-22 with this place is that obviously if you pick Cook Eat Run, you have to be done quickly and therefore can't do anything too technically challenging. I am drawn towards the after work dinner party training sessions though. The cookware store on the premises is a draw for me too - anyone on a course can get discounts on a decent Sabatier knife sets. All the stuff you use in the kitchen is there too, in case you particularly loved those plastic tongs. read more

I've been to a couple of the Cook Eat Run sessions here (a useful way to find out that no, I really don't like duck, but I digress) and they're great fun. We also organised a corporate event here last year, which was the macarons class. They were INCREDIBLE and it was great fun - interesting to see all the budding masterchefs in the group. We then sat around for a while afterwards, coming down from the sugar high and topping up with wine, in a very relaxed atmosphere. The cookshop also stocks all manner of gadgetry. I still want the apple slicer thingummy bob, even though I would never ever use it... read more

I've been to L'atelier twice. Both times I participated in the lunchtime Cook, Eat & Run sessions that had me in and out in an amazing relaxed and yummy hour. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, met nice people, gleaned a little cookery know-how and ate some delicious food and all at a very good money for value price. I'd be glad to do it again. The kitchens at the L'atelier des Chefs feature top line utensils and all mod cons with many of the items for sale at reasonable prices in their shop. Getting to try it out before purchase rather than just seeing it on a rack and out of context in a store seems a very practical way to shop. The chefs, as I understand it, are all from Michelin starred backgrounds. The Wigmore Street location is very well situated and convenient for most Londoners. What I probably liked most about my L'atelier visits was having all the fun of cooking and eating but getting to leave the clean up with someone else. Bonus! read more

I was really impressed overall with the experience. I organised a group of 6 of us to go to the half hour lesson one lunchtime. We cooked a spinach and goat cheese ravioli which was delicious, and most of us picked up some cookery tips. I particularly enjoyed the fact that you can sit on a long table with everyone and enjoy your lunch, along with a glass of wine at a reasonable price. The shop has excellent kit if you are into that sort of thing, kitchen porn as I call it. I will definitely do another course, as they are reasonable in price. read more

Dont bother with this place - We did a 2 hour class and in the end it felt like I had been chopping all that salad for an army... they know you will eat only little.. just make you do all the work for the staff downstairs.. The other thing is - they promise to send the recipes within 24 hours and I never got them. When I called for them to email it to me, it was not readily available. Overall I think there are better places with a more professional approach.. read more

WARNING My son bought a Gift Card for my last birthday so that we could go to a class together. Sadly we were not able to use it and I telephoned L'atelier des Chefs today, a day past the date, and was told under no circumstances could they extend it. Company policy. We have paid £108 for a plastic card. read more

This overpriced "class" is much more about the socialization than the cooking or the learning. We went to a Moroccan cooking class, where they threatened to teach us how to cook a Moroccan lamb and apricot tagine, with pomegranate couscous, and some seemingly nice accoutrements. However, I basically played the role of a lesser line cook, responsible for chopping and maybe a little stirring. Also, not all of us had the opportunity to chop or cook , so we all spent much of the time watching the others chop or stir. I didn't see how half of the side dishes were made. Short of a couple of neat tricks (a quick way to dice an onion and to remove pomegranate seeds), I learned very little and could have easily followed a recipe. Even then, I could have easily looked those tricks up on Youtube. I expected to learn all about the intricacies of Moroccan food and what it takes to make a perfect Moroccan tagine, but I just got to chop some vegetables and eat some OK food. That said, I do think the chef and the staff were very nice and willing to help. I just don't think they should classify this as a class, but rather a demonstration + socialization. read more

http://hungryinlondon.com/2011/01/latelier-des-chefs-cooking-class/ Something seminal happened. I took my second cooking class! And I did this without major disaster (burning myself or others, blood bath, lost extremities). I felt this was quite an achievement. I have to say that this was actually a present for Stu, so it was not that I actively WANTED to take a cooking class. But it was actually fun (and I learned how to cut ingredients into very small pieces, a hard lesson for someone as impatient as me). We went to a Cook and Dine class at L'Atelier des Chefs (North of Oxford Street), meaning that after you have cooked your dishes you can sit down with the other students with a glass of wine and savour your food together. I liked this concept (particularly the bit with the wine). The topic was 'French Classics' and we cooked mushroom soup, beef tartare and creme brulee. Overall I think the food turned out quite nicely, which might have to do with the fact that our teacher did most of the cooking and one can't do too much wrong when cutting? (having said that, my cornichon-pieces were FAR too big and someone else had to re-cut them. I felt such a loser!) There were about 8 people in the class with a chef who certainly was a good cook but who had a very strong accent making him sometimes quite difficult to understand. Our first course was Mushroom veloute with garlic croutons and chives. I think I could probably manage this dish by myself and it was my favourite of them three. I liked that we did not put any cream and it still tasted very full-bodied. The wild mushrooms, that we fried and put on top at the end, certainly added a very nice touch. I would have used much less oil though to fry bread and mushrooms. Then the Beef tartare served with pan-fried potatoes. What I liked about it was that it showed how easy it is to make beef tartare (my confidence is rising, you see?), particularly if you use really good meat. I also realised how much nicer hand-cut beef is compared to the one ground in the machine and I thought ingredients such as gherkins, capers, parsley and olive oil worked really nicely. I was not sure however of putting so much Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce in that it ended up tasting more like a Bloody Mary than anything else. There was clearly no flavour of the raw beef left. Further, I would not serve beef tartare with mayonnaise on top, but put a raw egg yolk in. I also did not think that the raw meat went very well with the hot potatoes. Having said all this, cooking this dish certainly equipped me with the skills needed to make beef tartare at home and also adapt it to my own taste. The Creme brulee was lovely, but it was mainly prepared by the teacher. I am not sure I would actually make this at home, as cooking a dish in the oven in a water bath such sounds like something that could possibly end up in a disaster and me in A&E. Overall, I rather enjoyed the class and I can see myself going there again. It is not cheap but you actually have the chance to cook a little bit yourself. (of course it would always be better to cook MORE yourself, but I can see that this is a logistic problem) As I said, it's really pleasant after the class to eat together and admire what you have prepared. I thought it would have been a nice touch to be offered a small glass of wine to go with the dinner for free as opposed to having to buy it as the class is not exactly cheap. But well, that's just a detail I've gotten into cooking now, looking forward to my further cooking classes where shall I go next? read more

You can sign up for a half-hour cookery class and you get to eat whatever you make. French food.

I am very dissatisfied with Atelier des Chefs. I bought vouchers for my son and his girlfriend for Christmas. A month after I'd bought them, I got a letter saying I could only use them are very restricted times, so restricted that my son and his girlfriend can't actually use them. I've written to A des C ask for either my money back or for the vouchers to be valid for a wider range of times. They haven't bothered to reply. I don't think they care about their customers much. read more

I went here for a work off-site event. They divided us up into two groups, and while one group cooked, the other group learned how to mix two drinks. In the end you get to try both, and then you sit down to eat the food everyone worked together to cook. The staff were very friendly, and from speaking with them they had a second kitchen and store area downstairs that was currently being used by a larger group of 70 people. For a group event it was fun and very social. They promised to send recipes afterwords, but never got them. That seems to be an issue after reading previous reviews. There are items that you can buy in a store area, but none of them looked that appealing, and were over priced. The area were you sit to eat is not very comfortable as you are at the high tables that you previously had mixed drinks at and just sitting on high stools. They also only have one tiny bathroom. For the size of our group it was a bit tight. In the end, the food was good. I don't think I would come again though if I was paying for it myself. For a work social event it was perfect as you interact and work together to cook a meal. Definitely good for a group social activity. read more

I am very dissatisfied with Atelier des Chefs. I bought vouchers for my son and his girlfriend for Christmas. A month after I'd bought them, I got a letter saying I could only use them are very restricted times, so restricted that my son and his girlfriend can't actually use them. I've written to A des C ask for either my money back or for the vouchers to be valid for a wider range of times. They haven't bothered to reply. I don't think they care about their customers much. read more

Really disappointed with this. Booked for a group of five. Paid over £200. Instructor was rather rude, his kitchen hygiene wasn't much to shout about and when a friend joined us to finish the food at the end they tried to charge for a sixth person attending the class. Downright dishonest. They need to review their practices. I would not recommend . read more

Overall, I learned a lot. I took the knife and fish filleting course. The food was also very tasty.I learned new techniques and learned how to fillet a fish. But I have a lot of experience with other foods except fish. I did feel a certain hostility from the chef, because I messed up my fillet. She even said, "this is not good." Obviously, it wasn't but I was learning! I kept getting behind the other people in class (only three people) because I was slower. This was my first time ever dealing with fish. Because I am from the states, I admit that I had a hard time understanding what the chef was saying at times, because there is an accent difference, but I would have liked a warmer atmosphere. I felt that the chef was going way too fast. If this place wants more experienced people with knives and fish, then please specify the level. I was under the impression that beginners with fish and knives could take this course. read more