Chef Wise

The Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA) is proud to announce an historic meeting of the UK's finest accredited cookery schools, taking place on October 31st at Westminster College in Victoria, London. For the first time ever ICSA is bringing together its prestigious members from the whole of the UK. From award winning schools such as Squires Kitchen in Surrey, whose dream-team won the BBC2 Bake Off Creme de la Creme earlier this year to legendary schools such Leiths School of Food and Wine, these culinary greats in attendance will be together under one roof. Household names such as the WI cookery school and renowned outstanding vocational teaching schools such as Tante Marie and Ashburton Cookery School will attend as will the innovative and hugely successful Novelli Academy and Demuths Vegetarian Cookery School. Michelin starred leading chef tutors from exquisite locations nationwide such as the beautiful Lucknam Park and Swinton Park Cookery schools will sh...

On Thursday, hopeful students all over the UK will pick up their A-level results. Whilst the typical university route is incredibly valuable for a huge number of people, it isn't necessarily the best option for everyone, so it helps to know more about the other forms of higher education that are available. The nine month professional diploma at Leiths School of Food and Wine is one of those alternatives. If you're considering taking the Leiths Diploma, we'd like to make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed choice. That's why we're holding a Twitter Q&A from 2 – 4pm on Friday 19th August. The session offers prospective students the chance to ask questions and have them answered in real time by Camilla Schneideman, the Managing Director of Leiths. To take part, all you have to do is tweet a question to @leithscooking with the hashtag #AskLeiths between 2 and 4pm this Friday. Camilla will respond directly to...

TWO West London venues are working together to help children who've overcome difficult challenges to learn new skills. Leiths School of Food and Wine has joined forces with Kite Studios, a creative space founded by local artist Auriol Herford, to offer four sponsored places on their Kids' Kitchen summer course. These places have been awarded to four local children who have overcome some very difficult obstacles. On Thursday, the children will join others on the course and spend the morning learning to cook an American style brunch. Featuring a home made chicken burger with sweet purple slaw and baked sweet potato wedges, this might look like fast food, but it is secretly healthy! For pudding, they'll prepare fruit skewers with a chocolate dipping sauce. In the afternoon they'll head to Kite Studios where they will indulge their imagination, using clay and mixed media to create dreamlike food sculptures, taking inspiration from the work of artist ...

Invigorate your child's summer holiday with a creative burst of cooking and craft at Leiths School of Food and Wine this August. The school has joined forces with creative oasis Kite Studios to deliver a fun, educational program of activities for 7 – 11 year olds. The cookery activities have all been designed by the Leiths chefs (and parents!) to be fun, to teach important life skills, and to subtly instil the idea that healthy food can be extremely tasty. It's a wonderful opportunity for young, aspiring chefs to spend the day in professional kitchens learning from the school's acclaimed teaching staff. The art sessions will see youngsters creating their own work of art at Kite Studios, an inspiring and creative space. A team of passionate teachers will guide children in techniques such as sculpture, print making, etching and painting. Camilla Schneideman, managing director at Leiths and mother of two, said: “We all want to give our children fun,...

Christmas is something that Bake with Maria get really excited about. This year our gift voucher is still available so the foodie in your life can choose the class that most appeals to them. We have also launched a Christmas Baking and Confection Class for the foodie who wants to bake their own gifts and of course we have the ultimate gift: a spot on our Tuscan Culinary Holiday. Bake with Maria have one press space available in their Christmas Baking and Confection Class on Sunday November 29th from 10am to 3.30 at The Baking Lab. For details of upcoming classes and to make a booking see www.bakewithmaria.com

If you're looking for the perfect Christmas gift for a foodie friend or family member then Demuths Cookery School has the answer. A Demuths Cookery School voucher is ideal for anyone with a passion for food. Vouchers can be redeemed against any of the wide range of classes and events running throughout the year. And with everything from two-hour tastings of Polish food and vodka to full days learning how to whip up Middle Eastern Mezze or warming winter pies, or even courses in food photography, there's something for everyone, whatever their cooking ability. Vouchers are available for the value of the most popular courses: Evening, Half Day, Full Day and Longer Courses; or you can purchase vouchers for a value of your choice. Gift vouchers are available from www.demuths.co.uk or by calling 01225 427938. If you want to find out more about Chef Wise go to the Chef Wise web site just follow the links below. Chef Wise website       ...

Enjoy a stress free Christmas – come and make your edible Christmas gifts for friends and family with Beverley at her home kitchen cookery school in The Chilterns. Homemade delicious gifts are far more personal than shop bought ones and more fun to make too. Beverley will welcome you into the kitchen of her 17th century mill house on the edge of the Chiltern Hills and guide you through making a selection of edible Christmas gifts on Friday 4 December, £75 each, to take home and give as gifts. Homemade soup and bread will be served for lunch and Beverley will pass on heaps of tips for cooking your Christmas lunch too, with an AGA or a conventional oven. There are workshops for children and teenagers too – a great way of getting them out of the house making their own gifts so you can do the gift wrapping in peace and quiet. Saturday 12 December – Christmas Gingerbread workshop for ages 7+, £65 per child.  Based in Princes Risborough the workshop takes place fr...

With the nights drawing in and the temperature dropping it's the time of year when we all turn to comfort food. After all, there's not much that's nicer than filling up with something warm and hearty on a dark winter's night. But comfort food doesn't have to mean unhealthy food, far from it in fact. A bowl of something warm and nourishing can be a great way to boost your five-a-day and help ward off winter bugs. Demuths Cookery School has a whole range of recipes with the feel-good factor, created by leading vegetarian chef Rachel Demuth and her team – think Olive and Sun-dried Tomato sausages, Brazilian Squash and Black Bean Stew and veggie-packed pies. There's even sweet treats like sticky toffee pudding – naughty, but ever so nice! And if you would like to learn to cook some of these recipes from the experts then classes run year round. For more details visit www.demuths.co.uk . Here's a recipe for a deliciously rich Borlotti B...

We all think of strawberries and cream at this time of year. Not only are the strawberries in season, of course, but they are also very much part of Wimbledon fever. My Grandmother always served strawberries with a twist of black pepper which really brings out their flavour and reminds me of her summer kitchen. This recipe combines the zing of redcurrants and the warmth of the black pepper. You can prepare a couple of hours before you eat and then assemble at the last minute, in between Sets! CRACKED BLACK PEPPER BISCUITS 115g /4oz butter 55g /2oz caster sugar 115g /4oz plain flour 55g /2oz cornflour 1 teaspoon peppercorns – crushed well in a pestle and mortar or put through a pepper grinder. It should not be too fine. Caster sugar for dusting Preheat the oven to 1700C, 3250F, gas mark 3. Beat the butter until soft, add the sugar and beat until pale and creamy. Sift in the flours, add the peppercorns and work to a smooth paste. Roll o...

Want to learn how to cook or hone existing culinary skills? Do the high prices charged by many cookery schools put you off?  Honesty Cookery School situated on the Hampshire, Berkshire border is different! Honesty Cookery School's prices are affordable, very affordable in fact, with prices starting at just £35 for children's cookery courses and £40 for adult courses.  All courses at Honesty Cookery School include: ingredients, expert tuition, refreshments and where stated, lunch, making cookery classes accessible for many people.  Honesty Cookery School is located in a spacious oak framed barn. Unlike many cookery schools attendees are not allocated their own work station, instead, classes take place around a large central island. This creates a most conducive atmosphere to learning.  “I wanted to create something different." says cookery author and owner of Honesty Cookery School, Romilla Arber.  "The Barn provides a relaxed environment and pe...

The award winning River Cottage Cookery School is set in 65 acres of organic farm land overlooking the Axe Vale, in the wonderful county of Devon and just a stone's throw from the beautiful Jurassic Coast and Broadchurch cliffs. The school is renowned for its keen sense of seasonality, sustainability and championing the best local producers and ingredients which make it a foodie hub where you can learn, dine and be inspired. Whether you are an amateur cook, food enthusiast or a full-blown smallholder, there's a course for you which will leave you armed with the skill, confidence and motivation to cook delicious food at home. The two stand-out courses for aspiring domestic Gods and Goddesses are also the most popular culinary courses which are either spread over four consecutive days or concentrated into two fact packed days full of practical tutorial. On the Four Days at River Cottage guests experience immersive cooking, learning and eating, taking them...

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, leading UK cooking school Leiths, has joined forces with multi-award winning hotel Boundary Restaurant, Rooms, Rooftop to create a unique training programme for students on the renowned Leiths Diploma in Food and Wine. Boutique design hotel, Boundary is home to three unique restaurants and six Leiths students will be chosen to spend time training in the Boundary kitchens under the careful guidance of talented head chef Frederick Forster.  Leiths and Boundary share a grounding in classic techniques, combined with contemporary, refined recipes, making this the idea partnership for the skills development of Diploma students. Camilla Schneideman, Managing Director of Leiths says; “Being able to work with Boundary is such an incredible opportunity for our students.  We pride ourselves on our thorough training in techniques and skills, so for our students to be able to put these skills into practice in a live restaurant environ...

Love cooking? Love Christmas? Why not learn how to create a range of gorgeously festive raw dishes, that promise to rid the guilt of over indulging without taking the spirit away from this special time of year! Taking place 13th December 2014, from 2.00pm - 8.00pm in Old Street, London, the Festive Eating with Raw Foods module from Stephanie Jeffs new Explore Raw Cookery School will bring to life the recipes from her popular Raw Christmas ebook, as well as treating guests to a gorgeous candlelit dinner. Stephanie said: “In Christmases gone by I would have happily gone 'non-raw' for a few days as it was always the easier option. However this usually means taking your eyes off the healthier options and just going for it! While this can be fun, it wasn't how I wanted to spend Christmas – bloated and with a New Year of regret! I decided to play in the kitchen, and conjure up some curious and interesting raw recipes, loaded with taste, fun and Christmas cheer! ...

With the start of autumn and the new school term on the horizon, learn a new skill or freshen up your baking repertoire with Squires Kitchen International School. Established almost 30 years ago, Squires Kitchen International School is one of the largest and most popular schools of its kind and runs a wide range of baking, chocolate and sugarcraft courses for every skill level. Taught by leading names in the industry, the small classes offer a fantastic opportunity for personal, expert guidance. How about painting edible masterpieces on cakes or making a croquembouche with rice paper peonies? Maybe you've decided it's time to turn your baking and sugarcraft hobby into a profitable career – get the latest information on everything you need to be a success with the Commercial Cake Business Masterclass. These are just a few of the unique courses coming up in September, see the full list at www.squires-school.co.uk . Recent courses include French Pâtisserie,...

Food, wine and tourism media are being offered a dedicated scholarship to study the Le Cordon Bleu Master of Gastronomic Tourism. A program designed for those with a passion for gastronomy and tourism, studying this program gives students a chance to enrich their understanding of traditional and local foodways, help revitalise and build regional food cultures, gain insights into the economic and social impacts of tourism and adopt a more conscious approach to eating and drinking. The Le Cordon Bleu Master of Gastronomic Tourism does this by employing a wide variety of topics, embracing humanities, social sciences, business and communication. The course explores everything from gastronomic history and taste cultures to event planning, design, management, innovative marketing and food writing. Delivered fully online, the large team of highly experienced teaching staff take advantage of Le Cordon Bleu's expertise in gastronomy, as well as Southern Cross University...

If you are looking for an alternative to university or simply have a passion for food and want to make it your future, the nine month diploma from Leiths School of Food and Wine will set you on the path to a fulfilling culinary career. The internationally renowned course offers a comprehensive training that ensures a rounded knowledge of food and wine, along with a clear sense of current industry trends, menu planning and budgeting. A pupil-to-teacher ratio of one to eight ensures that students are given all the attention they need, and Diploma graduates leave armed with the skills to join the booming food industry. Camilla Schneideman, Managing Director and Leiths alumnus says “Every year we see an increase in students who opt for hands on training over academic study. The hike in university tuition fees is making young people stop and think. They are well aware that jobs are hard to come by, and having a practical skill in an area that you are passionate about ticks a...