A Class Act

Since I’ve got back to London I’ve been doing a whirlwind of cookery sessions around the British capital. It seems that the hunger for learning how to cook simple dishes at home hasn’t waned and I find that there are so many people from all walks of life with a taste for culinary knowledge.

It’s really satisfying to see my pupils all turning up on time and eager to digest every tip and kitchen hint that I can throw at them.

There are two kinds of classes that I conduct. One is the straightforward demonstration where I cook various recipes and at the end of the class, we all have a sample.

This is the definitive taste test where if the flavour is not to their liking, they may not try the dish at home. This is the key I think to a successful food course.
The recipes need to be quick and easy to follow and above all, be suitable to everyone’s palate.

The other kind of session is the ‘hands on’ demonstration where everyone rolls up their sleeves and cooks their meal. I love this approach because I know for sure that my students will go home and experiment.

I remember one course where I thought that the dishes would be too difficult for them so I gave them three hours to complete the menu. They finished in one hour! What was I to do for the remaining 120 minutes?!

My juggling leaves a lot to be desired and table dancing is not my forte. So, we all ate early and I then regaled them with my collection of funny anecdotes on cooking and television work. Hopefully they didn’t suffer indigestion.

So if you get a chance to attend a cookery course in your area, don’t miss this opportunity. You’ll learn something new and your cook can take the night off.