3 of the bestâ€¦ cooking courses

Surprise friends and family by returning from your holiday a masterchef

words by Sophy Grimshaw

Sweet thing – Paris and Cannes

Famous French patisserie Lenôtre’s cookery workshops will make your mouth water. The company runs courses in Paris and Cannes for professional and amateur gastronomes. In the three-and-a-half hour dessert masterclass (¤115 per person), amateurs learn to whip up all the French classics: macaroons, millefeuille, éclairs and more. Or you can choose to cook a dish from the tea-time and brunch menu, which lists every type of gâteaux under the sun, including lemon, red berry, plum and chocolate orange, as well as traditional brioche, pain au chocolat and croissant. Be warned, though: making the butter pastry for the latter is so time consuming that you may wonder why you ever tried to bake your own, and a will of steel is required make it through the lesson without scoffing half your ingredients. Mmmmmn.

Lenôtre – Paris Lenôtre – Cannes
Pavillon Elysée 10 Rue d’Antibes 63
+33 (0)1 4265 9760 +33 (0)4 9706 6767
www.lenotre.fr

Market forces – Bologna

Carmelita Caruana is a friendly Bologna resident and knowledgeable foodie who hosts intimate one-day cookery classes for visitors. She’ll take you on a tour of the old town market to choose ingredients – Parma ham, Parmigiano cheese and balsamic vinegar are all from this region. “I keep the numbers small, no more than four, so that the students get individual attention and because the market streets are narrow and the delis are small,” Caruana explains. “Plus, the shopkeepers aren’t as generous with tastings if I bring a crowd.” The three-course meal that students learn to cook includes seasonal dishes such as pumpkin risotto in the autumn, plus classic desserts like tiramisù. A full day’s cookery class costs ¤250, including tour. Caruana can also take visitors on market tours in Venice, Rome or Milan.

Cook Italy
Via Marsala 16, Bologna
+39 349 007 8298
www.cookitaly.com

Child’s play – London

During school holidays, pack the little ones off to The Kids’ Cookery School. It’s open year-round and offers classes and teaching days for kids aged six to 16. Recipes include healthy dishes such as vegetable spring rolls as well as party dips and baked potatoes, and there’s a deliberate mix of world cuisines to increase cultural awareness. Whenever sharp knives or hot ovens are involved, there’s careful adult supervision. Prices range from £15 (¤23) for a class to £50 (¤76) for a full day, and the school also offers subsided classes for disabled children. Pupils co-wrote The Kids’ Cookbook, which you can buy from the website.