Restaurants

Eat, Drink, Talk
Cookery cadet Maggie Davis.
Class Knife Skills.
My aims As a keen but haphazard cook, I wanted to improve on the basics and learn how to chop efficiently.
They claim ‘In this hands-on class, we’ll go through how to select, use and sharpen the most important tool in your kitchen: the knife! We will practise various cutting techniques essential for building the confidence needed to slice, dice and mince with ease as we prepare a delicious three-course meal.’
What we do Held in founder Jennifer Klinec’s bright, spacious Clerkenwell apartment we were indeed taught, with the help of Les Trois Garcons’ head chef Jerome Henry, how to correctly use a knife. This included learning how to clinch the onion with that expert claw you see chefs doing on TV, and making sure the blade glided effortlessly down our knuckles to prevent chopping fingers. Within minutes my knife was making a pleasant swishing sound and the slices were more even and slender than I’d ever achieved before. We progressed to root vegetables and learnt how to cut them into neat batons before finishing up with a lesson in knife sharpening. Feature continues

Who goes A mixed bunch of thirty- and fortysomething foodies.
Eat in Everything we chopped was passed to the front of the class where Klinec added it to a recipe. Our finely sliced onions were fried in a copper pan until caramelised for the delicious onion confit, walnut and gorgonzola pizza. Our garlic, butternut squash and carrots were mixed into a scrummy Spanish vegetable stew with hazelnut picada and the pears were worked into a heavenly pear and almond crumble. We were served the dishes at intervals throughout the session.
Takeaway We were all given a file with the recipes we’d been taught and suggestions on where to buy knives, plus our very own chopping knife.
Result The food was delicious and I love Klinec’s philosophy that pizzas are better without tomato sauce – it opens up a host of new possibilities. Most importantly, I now know how to chop fruit and veg correctly. I can even mince garlic. Yippee! I ran home to show my husband how to chop an onion.
Best tip ‘Don’t worry about speed. Chop slowly but methodically for the best results.’
Commitment The knife skills class is a single session but it’s made me keen to try another of the many other on offer at Eat, Drink, Talk.
Cost £105.
Where Eat, Drink, Talk, 190 St John St, EC1V 4JY (020 7689 6693/www.eatdrinktalk.co.uk).

Mixing it up at the Kitchen (© Juliette Neel)

The Kitchen
Cookery cadet Emily Kerrigan.
Class Open evening session.
My aims It’s a busy week so I like the sound of stocking up on sassy fast food.
They claim You’ll make a week’s worth of nutritious meals in about an hour and pick up a few tricks of the trade from chef Thierry Laborde, who has worked in many Michelin-starred restaurants. Once home, all meals will get from oven to plate in minutes, with not an E-number in sight.
What we do I pick six dishes, including swordfish en papillote with kosherie and chicken cordon bleu. The Kitchen is snazzily fitted-out (black tiled floors, white butler sinks) and we’re each assigned our own workstation proffering partially prepped ingredients and recipe cards. Thierry assists as we mix up kosherie from bowls of cooked lentils and rice, then stuff the chicken with parma ham and gruyère. It’s a doddle – in next to no time, we’ve all proudly assembled some impressive looking dishes. In fact it’s so straightforward that some people might find themselves wishing they could do a bit more from scratch (others will think it’s the best thing since sliced bread).
Who goes City slickers, local office workers, victims of time famine, the odd rookie.
Eat in You can sip a glass of wine while you work and there are fragrant homemade soups and breads in the front café, but all the food you make is for your own use.
Takeaway You’ll leave laden with ready-meals (most freezable), each sporting a dinky little label detailing ingredients, cooking instructions and use-by dates.
Result They are big on provenance and fresh ingredients, which, with Laborde’s laudable CV (including stints at Le Gavroche and Zuma), guarantees your dishes rave reviews. Shares in Morning Fresh might already be falling.
Best tip French trimming the bones on chicken to get a cheffy look.
Commitment Cook as much as you want, as often as you like. There are lots of add-ons, like weekend wine tastings, and thoughtful touches like Thursday’s Baby Kitchen (where you can bring the little one and the buggy).
Costs Dishes start at £5 (one serving), £9.50 (for two).
Where The Kitchen, 275 New Kings Road, SW6 4RD (020 7736 8067/www.visitthekitchen.com).

Aproned up at L'Atelier des Chefs

L’Atelier des Chefs
Cookery cadet Tamara Gausi.
Class Cook, Eat and Run.
My aims To learn to cook a meal during my lunchbreak.
They claim The first UK branch of a successful French chain, this Wigmore Street-based course offers a ‘new generation of cookery class’ – accessible but sophisticated – with pro chefs and modern kitchens.
What we do After guiding us through the preparatory steps, chef Baldwin split us into groups where we were given seven minutes to skin, chop and grate all the ingredients. We then had 17 minutes to cook a risotto and had I not pressed against the hob, switching the heat off during the risotto’s most vital stage of formation, my team of four would have done so.
Who goes Class sizes go up to 20. My group featured an aesthetically attentive class of postgraduate design critics, two City ladies and a mother with two young children.
Eat in Lunch took about half an hour to cook, as promised. We then moved into the studio to enjoy our meal in the most Gallic manner possible – slowly, with passionate conversation, good wine and lots of good bread.
Takeaway Much inspiration and a new-found cooking confidence. The recipe is emailed to participants to make at home.
Result The wild mushroom risotto was delicious and puts paid to the idea that risotto takes a lot of time.
Best tip In the absence of a garlic press, garlic cloves can be grated horizontally on a fork.
Commitment Cook, Eat and Run is a one-off session held regularly but with menus changing frequently, so you could eat like this every day if time and money allows. L’Atelier des Chefs also offers classes ranging from a tri-recipe ‘Le Menu’ class to two-hour ‘All About…’ masterclasses.
Costs £18. Dessert, wine and coffee cost an extra £7.
Where L'Atelier des Chefs, 19 Wigmore St, W1U 1PH (020 7499 6580/ atelierdeschefs.co.uk).

Hampstead Cuisine School
Cookery cadet Cyrus Shahrad.
Class Cooking for Blokes.
My aims To complement a shamefully basic culinary repertoire with a few dishes flash enough to wow guests.
They claim Cooking is so alien to the British male upbringing that most blokes think a smoking point is used to light a fag. These workshops instil confidence by showing how to get inspired results from idiot-proof recipes.
What we do The first two hours are spent scribbling away as charismatic compere Chico Francesco demonstrates the day’s recipes. Participants then pair up to follow suit in a kitchen that is quaintly boutiquey, if bordering on cramped. Ingredients are prepared and measured, so it’s not a high-pressure environment, but Chico constantly peering over your shoulder lends some sense of a working kitchen.
Who goes A mix of the half-decent looking to progress and the half-arsed tired of having Loyd Grossman’s face gazing back at them from the jars that clutter their cupboards.
Eat in Chico worked as personal chef to a German prince and princess, now patrons of the school. At the end of play, blokes assemble in a replica of their grand dining room (built to make the royals feel at home on visits) and sample the fruits of their labours – ten dishes in total.
Takeaway Just a few printed recipes, although a small shop sells culinary gadgets shamelessly plugged during the course (many of them, unsurprisingly, of German design).
Result Chico’s artfully informal approach leaves punters keen to experiment rather than replicate the recipes (why not add sun-dried tomatoes to that white roux sauce, or serve that tabbouleh with a grilled tuna steak?). That said, his amalfi torte is too magnificent to meddle with.
Best tip Removing the onion’s root reduces its ability to induce tears.
Commitment The introductory course can be followed up with an intermediate workshop, building on basic skills and revealing more ways of creating dinner party pyrotechnics with minimum effort.
Costs £211 for a full day.
Where The Artisan House, 70 Fortune Green Rd, NW6 1DS (0844 884 2788/www.hampsteadcuisineschool.co.uk).

Cookery School at Little Portland Street
Cookery cadet Amanda Smith.
Class Middle Eastern Delights.
My aims To expand my culinary horizons in a friendly evening class.
They claim The one-off class (a ‘firm favourite’ at the school) promised to deliver eight dishes, picked from the countries that make up the Middle East, in two hours and 15 minutes.
What we do It’s pegged as a hands-on workshop, and they weren’t joking. Unlike many cookery classes in London, this one saw the group cook and the chef observe. After a glass of wine our instructor, chef and ex-restaurateur, Julia Chalkley, set us to work, while she circulated around the room with tips and advice. We universally failed to keep straight faces as we milked the liquid from whole roasted aubergines and grated cucumber for the tzatziki.
Who goes There were eight in our group that evening, which was held in a studio kitchen near Oxford Circus. Walking into a room full of strangers can be daunting, but the warm welcome from the staff immediately created a relaxed, informal atmosphere.
Eat in We gathered round a table to savour the fruits of our labours: a full-flavoured aubergine and tomato salad with mint, parsley and spring onions, tzatziki, tahini-rich houmous and a stack of mini flat breads sprinkled with za’atar. This was followed by Moroccan spiced sea bass and a grand finale of orange and almond cake with cardamom and rosewater ice-cream. The main topic of conversation was which class to do next: beginners’ Thai, hands-on sushi, or one exclusively dedicated to chocolate.
Takeaway Recipe cards were handed out to help us recreate the feast.
Result A more enjoyable and productive way to spend the evening than watching ‘Holby City’.
Best tip Chermoula – a North African marinade – is a good recipe to have up your sleeve for culinary one-upmanship.
Commitment The beauty of Cookery School’s hands-on classes is that they’re one-off workshops that range from regional cooking to baking and chocolate making – choose whatever takes your fancy.
Cost £75
Where Cookery School at Little Portland Street, 15b Little Portland St, W1W 8BW (020 7631 4590/www.cookeryschool.co.uk).

Thai Cooking School
Cookery cadet Emily Kerrigan.
Class Three-dish course.
My aims Like any backpacker who’s beaten a path through Thailand, I’ve always held the country’s dishes in great affection and fancied a stab at recreating them. Hoping to go beyond the ubiquitous green curry, I opt for pad Thai, som tum (papaya salad) and laab gai (minced chicken salad).
They claim Thai-born, W13-based teacher Sue lectures in the cooking of her homeland at nearby Thames Valley University. In 2006, with 25 years’ careful cooking under her belt, she was commended for services to her country by none other than the King of Thailand (the princes flew over to present the award).
What we do Don’t be fooled by the modest exterior of Sue’s shop; inside is an Aladdin’s cave of Thai ingredients, and a small teaching kitchen. Two of us cook under Sue’s guidance while the others look and learn, then we swap. We dry-fry galangal, lemon-grass and rice then grind to a superbly aromatic powder for our laab; we pound green chillies and garlic to a paste for the som tum.
Who goes In-the-know locals and regulars from The Forester pub (which doubles as Sue’s Thai restaurant).
Eat in The spanking fresh ingredients deserve to be devoured immediately. We dig in as Sue encourages us to play around with lime and dried chilli to balance out sweet and sour flavours.
Takeaway Leftovers are fought over, then we leave with recipe sheets and Sue’s infectious love of Thai cooking.
Result Dishes are disarmingly good. Better still, they’re a cinch to make.
Best tip Plunge your grated papaya into cold water to keep it crunchy.
Commitment One dish equals one hour; book one or three hours and take your pick from the 20-odd dishes on offer. Classes every Saturday – if someone’s already booked, you may have to fall in with what they’re making. Private sessions Wed-Fri.
Costs One dish £20, three £55. It’s cash only but there’s an ATM nearby.
Where Thai Cooking School, 93 Northfield Ave, W13 9QR (020 8810 0500/www.thaicookingschool.co.uk).