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Jamie Oliver Cooking School
- Good for a fun night with a friend or partner. (You make the dish in pairs.)
- Not for people who want a serious, intensive cooking class.
La Cucina Caldesi
- Good for people who want an enjoyable serious cooking class.
Pasta Making at Petersham
Chocolate Making in Shoreditch
Le Cordon Bleu
I took 2 cooking classes here. (But have not made any of the recipes!)
A more serious class, but you have to be OK with a lot of condescension from the teachers. For example, you will be asked "Do you know what a Michelin-star restaurant is?" in a VERY snooty tone.
Nonetheless, I would go back as the teachers have the experience to back up their arrogance.
Leiths Cooking
- Did 2 courses here.
Meant to be a serious class too, but MUCH more fun than Le Cordon Bleu. (Still Instagram friends with some of the students on my course 6 years ago.) To be honest, the Leith's instructor wasn't quite as experienced as the one at Le Cordon Bleu. (E.g. She overcooked our chicken thighs, which should be quite hard to overcook!)
Bread Ahead
- Has the widest range of baking classes
- Has several locations in London, but Borough Market is the original. ( I recommend the Chelsea location as it's a smaller class than Borough Market- 4 people versus 12!)
- You get drinks and bakes at the beginning and in the middle of class.
I've taken 10 classes here. Used to be VERY, very good but seems to have somewhat lost its soul after expanding. (Still good fun though.)
For example, I had to email several times for the recipes after one course. Finally got the recipes a month or so after the class- but they weren't the recipes we made in the course!? It took more emails and another 2 weeks to get the right recipes (which was honestly more stress than I needed.)
The recipes are OK- I like that they're simple enough to be made at home but, honestly, don't all taste great. (The dough balls, for example, don't taste as good as the ones at Pizza Express. I think they need to be smaller and made with more garlic.
Based on the Japanese bread class, I'd also say that the non-English bakes aren't the most authentic. (Similarly, the melon pan bread we made here wasn't the best either- I have a MUCH better recipe from a class in Singapore that I took.)
Also, the toilets aren't the cleanest... Made me a bit hesitant to eat at Borough Market to be honest!
E5
Great sense of community and very detailed recipe notes. Plus, I LOVE how the sourdough class starts at 11 am!
For the sourdough class, you make 4 breads:
- 1 loaf of rye bread (SO easy)
- 4 sourdough bagels (Used to be 6)
- sourdough ciabatta
- 1 country loaf (taken home to bake- ideally you need a pot with lid, as well as a scorer)
You're given a tote bag (nice, because the breads are quite heavy for a paper bag), your scraper, and 10% off items in the shop. (The sourdough ends when the cafe closes though, so I suggest going earlier if you want to get stuff.)
Lunch is provided- beans and pasta followed by sweet bakes (nice.) You are also given bread and drinks when you arrive.
2 teachers, 10 students, nice and friendly and knowledgeable.
Besides sourdough baking classes, they also do fermentation and pierogi etc.
Dusty Knuckle
Another wonderful baking class. I took 2 classes here and, 6 years later, am still in contact with one!