How island hopping will help you spread your wings
28th July 2017Have a day out in history on the Waverley
4th September 2017We know that there are some fantastic cooks amongst you. We also know that even the most talented chefs are always looking for ways to improve their skills.
The good news is that we have some great places for you to go and have some culinary adventures. Best of all, most of them let you cook some fantastic food and then eat it at the end! That means that you can learn something new and have a good day out or an entertaining evening too.
So, here are our top picks for Ayrshire’s best cookery courses. Whatever your favourite food, we’re pretty sure that our recommendations will have something to suit you.
The Cook School Scotland
If we’re honest, we could just send you to the Cook School in Kilmarnock and be done with it. They have an absolutely incredible range of courses. Their full day courses range from bread making and bakery through to Thai and Asian street food via vegetarian specials and a family dinner. They also have regular visits from top class chefs who will share the kitchen with you for a day.
If you’d prefer to go for half a day or an evening there is a smaller range of classes, including 30 minute meals and how to prepare the perfect steak dinner!
Cooking Capers
Closer to home, you can travel to Jane Burns’ farmhouse kitchen in Fairlie for a Cooking Capers class. You can brush up on the basics or be more adventurous. Jane has over 30 years’ worth of experience as a professional chef so can teach you how to make anything from a beautifully decorated cake to sushi. It’s your choice and Jane will even come to you if you’d prefer.
At the end of the lesson you get recipe cards to keep. You can even take your completed dishes home with you to share with your family and friends.
Home Cook School
The Home Cook School in Maybole gives you the chance to learn to cook traditional Scottish dishes. You can choose from a 2, 3 or 6 hour class in either Lindsay’s kitchen or your own. If you’ve ever wanted to know how to make the perfect Cullen Skink* or Cranachan**, now’s your chance!
Cookery Demonstrations
If all of that cooking sounds like hard work and you’d rather have a night off, you’re in luck! The Cook School Scotland and Cooking Capers both offer demonstrations. Their chefs will prepare the meal, giving you some hints and tips as they go. Best of all, you get to relax with a glass of wine and enjoy a delicious meal at the end of the evening. The Cook School’s demonstrations are only held in the evening whilst Cooking Capers offer lunch or dinner at the farmhouse.
We hope we’ve given you food for thought. If you decide to head off on a course, let us know. We’ll be even more pleased if you invite us to taste some of the results!
*Traditional smoked fish soup and **a raspberry, cream and oat pudding, in case you were wondering.
For more information, visit:
The Cook School Scotland – http://www.cookschool.org/
Cooking Capers – http://www.cookingcapers.co.uk/
Home Cook School – http://www.homecookschool.com/