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 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.

At Le Cordon Bleu in Bloomsbury, there is a café/bistro inside this French catering academy and I…read moremust say, Le Cordon Bleu's coffees, teas and other hot beverages including sandwiches and cakes are always worth purchasing and I know the prices are expensive and wallet denting but anything that is branded and made by Le Cordon Bleu is always worth the purchase. Le Cordon Bleu also has a shop inside that stocks the company's branded corporate merchandise.

Obviously to anyone in the food industry, the name itself evokes immediate reactions…read more I have a few friends who have studied for the Pattiserie or the Cuisine diplomas and some ambitious and hard working ones among them have even attempted the Grand Diploma which is a combination of both. I even considered a diploma course for myself, but I realised that with the way we relocate every other year, I'm never going to open a restaurant or cafe of my own and I wouldn't really be able to "leverage" a diploma from here. The diploma courses are expensive and what you are paying for is the brand name and the alumni network. From what I have heard, the teaching is very good, but the advice I received was that: if you aren't looking for a hard core career in the food industry and don't need the advantage of a "brand name" you are better off doing cheaper courses at some of the other institutes around London. It's pretty easy to get into the short term courses or single semester course. If they have a space and you have the money and time and a good command over English and a valid visa, you can get in quite easily. The other options are of course their short term courses which could last anywhere between half a day to a month. The great thing about them, is that if you are not sure about whether you want to join or commit to a diploma, they have open days once a month alternating between Pattiserie and Cuisine when you can sign up and attend. They give you - a tour of the facility. - An introduction to Le Cordon Bleu and their courses. - an interactive demo instruction - a question answer session This is really helpful if you just need a little bit more information before taking the plunge

Tasty, tasty cake. This place offers some of the best cake around look out for the brownies, these…read moreare the best! I am sure this place is going to turn me into a diabetic but at least I will die happy! They also have great coffee and breakfast pots containing yogurt, fruit and granola and an odd fruit juice and fruit compote. With 2 for 3 pounds, its a breakfast bargain!

I've followed Chef Pang and the School of Wok on YouTube for over a year, enjoying the videos and…read morecooking instructions very much. When we found ourselves with a trip to London scheduled, I knew that I had to take one of their classes. We scheduled a 3 hour Dim Sum class for the Friday night that we were there. The class started at 6:30 and we received emailed instructions ahead of time telling us when to arrive and what to wear, etc. For the class, we made several items including BBQ chicken wings, sui mai steamed dumplings, crispy beancurd rolls, and baozi steamed buns with pickled veg. There were about eight of us taking the class, plus the instructor and an assistant. I had hoped that Chef Pang would be teaching the class or even be there to say hello, but alas he wasn't. Our instructor Paddy was very friendly and attentive, so no complaints about him at all. Here are my impressions both good and otherwise on the experience. Pros: -The staff was very attentive and answered all questions. -Each attendee was offered a drink before class started, either soft drinks or wine. Very nice. -I liked the array of items that we made, it was a good cross section of dim sum (though certain items were more successful than others, more on that later). -The learning area was laid out nicely and I think everyone had a good view of the instructor. We were positioned around a large table for the most part, but we did go back to the kitchen for a quick bit of wok stir frying. -Once the class was finished and the food was cooked, we were seated at the same table we learned from and presented the dishes as a nice meal, it was a great way to end the evening (and everyone was very hungry by that point after working with all that food for the past 2 1/2 hours). -Our favorite dishes were the wings, sui mai and the baozi. -Items for sale came with a 10% discount, I picked up a nice cleaver for a fair price that I've since used at home and like very much. Cons: -Couples/partners were often given one item between them during the class to share work on. The individuals who came solo had their own items. The couples were then required to determine who would do what with a shared resource while the solos got to do everything. Considering that we paid full price for each person, I feel that everyone should have gotten their own set of items to work on. It was a more complete experience for the people that came solo. -For the baozi, we actually cooked out of the Baozi kits that School of Wok sells. I have to admit this seemed very self serving and I would have much rather cooked from common ingredients that we find at the market. I understand that the kits are faster acting for dough than waiting for yeast to rise, but in other bread making classes I've attended we would work with the base ingredients to make the dough, then the instructor would have some other risen dough available to complete the preparation. I just think that's a better learning experience than opening plastic bags from a kit. For the pickled veg, we literally mixed a powder with water to create the pickling solution rather than the simple act of mixing vinegar, sugar and other spices (I had to ask for the real recipe). -The only item we didn't enjoy was the beancurd rolls. I was excited to make these as I had never worked with beancurd wrappers before. We enjoyed the preparation steps however the final dish was difficult to eat. I think we used way too much wrapper for each roll as we had to roll them up again and again to get them completed. The resulting rolls (which we didn't cook ourselves but were fried separately by staff) were very chewy inside from the multiple layers of wrapper. I think these would have been much better if we had cut the wrappers in half or smaller before wrapping. My minor complaints aside however, we had a very good time during our class. Even as an experienced cook, I learned some new techniques that I will apply going forward. There are some areas that can be addressed but for anyone looking for a good evening learning to cook and enjoying some good food, I would recommend School of Wok and would visit again if I had the opportunity.

I went for the Thai cooking class last night. Brilliantly well organised, everything immaculate,…read moresensible teacher was helpful all round. I now know how to make Spring Rolls, a green curry, Thai salad and sticky rice. What' not to like! I will be back.. thanks Guys, it was fun and we got to eat it all too with a good glass of wine at the end. Maxine

If you need a copper preserving pan, a bean slicer, a macaroon mat or a dried chilli grinder, this…read moreis the place for you. It is literally kitchen porn. It's not huge, but it is packed with everything you could ever want in a kitchen, and a few implements that even I was unsure of what to do with! The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and it's almost impossible to escape without having bought anything. I wandered in with a (guy) friend who pooh-poohed all kitchenware, and yet even he walked out with a Japanese carving knife at £60... They even get stock in for you if you ask them to. I feel a bit bad, as I asked them to get in a bean slicer, only to immediately find one elsewhere. The 10 bean slicers sitting forlornly on their hook stare at me every time I go in...I don't feel too bad though, I have since bought a jam funnel, some olive wood spoons and a special cleaning brush for sweetcorn.

From the owner: Borough Kitchen provides everything the at-home chef needs from the kitchen to the table. We…read moreprovide what we believe are the Best of the Best and, where there is a high-quality value alternative, the Best of Value. Our selection includes cookware, bakeware, tableware and barware, as well as a selection of electricals. Brands we carry include: Mauviel, All-Clad, Staub, DeBuyer, Paderno, Lodge, Kai, Wusthof, Zwiesel, Peugeot, Serax, Leonardo, and Rosle. Looking around the world with a focus on quality, functionality and durability, we seek to find not just the best brands, but the products they are best at. From these, we rigorously test and select the best products in each category. In store and online, we then share with you the reasons why we love the products we've chosen. Our services include: gift cards, wedding & gift registry, personal shopping, click & collect from our website, and tax-free shopping.

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!

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.

Great experience...the chefs will cook the 4 course meal with you, you learn 1 part of 1 dish and…read moreyou also sit down and eat all 4 courses with wine pairing for each course :). Its so worth your time and money as it will be a great entertaining evening for all to be had :)

This time I went along with my husband to a special VIP event. Firstly you are greeted with some…read morechampagne (you can opt for juice if you want) and a vegetable soup bit later in reception area then you are led into the cookery area to meet the chefs. I met a lot of nice new people at this event in a fun way by which we prep food together. I say prep as I don't see cracking a egg, peeling mushrooms, slicing cauliflower etc is cooking. There is 4 working stations starters, starters, main and dessert. You are divided up by one of the chefs into groups (you cant choose your work station). You are then all given something to do be it peel mushrooms, boil eggs, crack oysters open, stir sauce etc. On the night we went we had the Autumn menu (Smoked Salmon Tartare, Lardo, Oyster Cream, Red Pepper Vinaigrette and Horseradish Mayonnaise AND Poached Duck Egg with Cauliflower and Cumin Veloute, Cured Duck Breast, Pickled Cauliflower and Wild Mushroom Powder AND Pan Fried Mackerel and Squid, Ratatouille Compote, Parsley Crumble, Black Olive Tapenade and Chicken Jus AND Plum Tatin with Apple and Pear Chutney, Caramel Gel, Chocolate Arlette, Shiso and Yoghurt Sorbet). There was a few items I did not like on the menu or was allergic to so they did swap some items over for me which was good. This was a fun night I loved meeting and prepping food with the new people I met and having a laugh with them. Whilst prepping you can help yourself to wine and snacks (hams and cheese) throughout to give you inspiration apparently. Also there is a camera on hand via Aveqia to take photos throughout night which is then uploaded in morning for everyone to download photos from to have a memory of their experience. So you don't have to worry about getting your phone mucky or running out of battery by using your phone etc. Also this way you will all get plenty of varied shots throughout the night of everyone. Usually this experience usually costs £180 each but thankfully for this special VIP event I only paid £10. I really don't think the whole experience is worth £180 each even with all the wine you get given throughout the prepping time and the wine you get paired with the dishes that you eat. I would go back only though if was at a more reasonable price say around £70 maybe. Reason I am however giving this 4 stars this time round rather than 3 in which I gave last time is because I felt the chefs were more humourous and more helpful this time and the company of the people I met at the event made it a even more special experience. So I suppose it also depends on who you meet on the night would make a difference to if you enjoy your time that night or not.

Cool place for corporate events or even a close get together. We had a corporate event here and…read moreeveryone making the cooking class happen we're on their A game. We felt super relaxed and welcomed, and definitely had a great time. There's a minimum for number of heads required, so be sure to enquire about all the details. The pasta was fantastic!

A brilliant cookery school near Old Street that's just been refurbished, there's a brilliant lively…read moreatmosphere at this school that really caters to its clients. Canapes to start with plenty of prosecco and drink to get you going, and then 3 fun, interactive and insightful classes into how to cook a 3 course meal. Ours included a tortellini dish with fresh pasta, a chicken butchering class and making ballantines out of the thigh, and then a quick lesson in tempering chocolate and making a fancy chocolate tear. Plenty of ideas to take away for home dinner parties, and the venue does a brilliant job of balancing both social aspects of these classes and the more informative and learning parts. Would highly recommend for parties, celebrations or corporate events! They also send you the recipes afterwards for you to keep! Note: you don't cook the full meal, you only learn how to prepare key parts of it and they tell you how they will cook it later. The focus here is on the preparation aspects of a meal, and letting you guys socialise and enjoying the night instead of slaving over a stove!!