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.

London's Best Cookery Schools Hashi Cooking…read more Hashi Cooking - Pictures @ The London Foodie (http://www.thelondonfoodie.co.uk ) I first met Reiko Hashimoto for her Sushi & Sashimi Class in May 07. Since that first fateful encounter, I have attended most of Reiko's classes, met the most delightful people and learnt a great deal about Japanese cuisine and culture. All classes are held at Reiko's beautiful home in Wimbledon Park for a small number of people. Sitting by her spacious kitchen island with other Japanese food aficionados, Reiko demonstrates in great detail all dishes to be cooked on the day. The informal and friendly setting, coupled with Reiko's contagious enthusiasm, gets everyone talking and asking questions, more like a cooking party at a friend's house. Ingredients are already prepared, and no time is taken washing or chopping them. Involvement is highly encouraged, but attention is focussed mostly on learning the various techniques, like the different ways of rolling sushi, preparing Japanese omelette (tamago), or assembling and frying tempura. In addition to the Sushi & Sashimi Class on Saturdays, Reiko also runs 4-session evening courses. These are designed for students who would like to learn about Japanese food in greater depth and are held at all levels from Beginners, Home Cooking and Gourmet, to Master Chef. Classes are not necessarily taken in this order starting at the Gourmet level, I then took the Home Cooking and Master Chef courses - all very different in nature but equally enjoyable. At the end of the four courses, participants will have learnt how to prepare more than 60 delicious Japanese dishes which can easily be recreated in their own kitchen. All classes' menus can be found at Hashi Cooking's website. I recently returned to Hashi Cooking and was lucky enough to take part in the last session of this season's Gourmet Course. As usual I was welcomed by an eclectic group of students the gorgeous Bann (a dentist of Iraqi descent), Amy (a charming Malaysian architect), Alex (the Law student), who at 21, was given Reiko's course as a gift and was thoroughly enjoying himself, and Arly, a Norwegian fellow who lived in Japan for years and can speak fluent Japanese. We started the evening with a demonstration of one of my favourite dishes Cha Soba Green Tea Flavoured Noodles with Squid and Spicy Yakumi Sauce. The Yakumi Sauce had just right amount of spiciness and the combination of squid, coriander and the green tea noodles was delicious. The Tofu Steak with Japanese Mushrooms in Soy Butter Sauce is, in my opinion, an excellent introduction to Tofu: a wonderful Japanese ingredient, sadly unloved by the Western palate. Reiko's recipe uses buttered Japanese mushrooms, like enoki, shimeji and shiitake, and crisply fried tofu steaks to convert even the most sceptical of foodies. An interesting addition to this season's menu was Roasted Butterflied Chicken Marinated with White Miso & Ginger Paste the meat soaked up the sweet white miso and ginger paste beautifully as it roasted, also helping to keep the meat moist and tender. The star of the evening however was Reiko's signature dish Grilled Scallops on Sushi Rice with Creamy Spicy Sauce. I have made this dish many times at home whenever I am cooking Japanese food for friends - it is one of the best dishes of all her courses. The flying fish roe, seaweed, scallops in sushi rice topped with the creamy, spicy sauce combine very well together. A real winner. As a half-Japanese, I always felt I knew the food of my ancestors Reiko made me re-consider this while helping me to replicate some of the flavours of my childhood I had long lost. I have great respect for what Reiko has achieved over the years, which is to de-mystify what to so many people wrongly seems an overly sophisticated and expensive cuisine based solely on raw fish, while making real Japanese cuisine available to thousands of people in the UK. I would highly recommend Hashi Cooking to anyone wanting to learn more about Japanese food and culture, meet some fascinating people on the way and eat the most scrumptious food!

A really great way to learn about Japanese cooking, great for those of us who love cooking but are…read morenervous about this cuisine. Reiko is a very warm and welcoming host and also has a great teaching style - meticilous and thorough but also ensuring that each student gets practical hands-on experience with tricky techniques and has opportunities to ask lots of questions. Would highly recommend it.

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.

Fantastic selection of fabrics, haberdashery with a good selection of arts and crafts materials…read more Go support this family run independent shop and get proper customer care and service.

This shop is in Balham London, not in Epsom !!!, I was looking to see what there is in Epsom,…read moreanswer ? nothing !!!if you are looking for wool shops don't go to Epsom !!, who does these lists of shops they need a better map.