The Raymond Blanc Cookery School in Oxford is ideal for any person, from a novice to a professional, with a passion for cooking. Located on the grounds of a manor house from the 1200s, participants receive hands-on training with award-winning chefs. The program has several different courses, depending on the interests of the attendees.
In the four-day residential course, for example, instructors teach how to choose, cook and present appetizers, a main course of meat or fish, and desserts, as well as specialties of the house for different seasons of the year. Other courses are on bread-making, nutrition, food and wine, fish and shellfish.
Stephen Bulmer, former chef director of the Raymond Blanc Cookery School, started the Brook Hall Cookery School in Buckinghamshire, which offers one-day classes for a maximum of 10 participants. Courses include gas and charcoal barbecuing, recession-proof meals, summer dinner parties, and separate classes on meat and poultry, fish and shellfish, and Italian cuisine.
The Newlyns Cookery School in Hampshire holds small classes for adults and children age 8 to 16, and hands-on and demonstration courses. One of the main goals of these cooking sessions is to demonstrate how animals and produce from the farm is made into a wide variety of meals. The 500-acre farm, which is family operated, includes the once-typical mixture of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys, as well as grain.
The cookery school at the Bordeaux Quay is a nonprofit organization, with the funds received put back into the community, thus allowing a more diverse group of students to attend. The school is known for its delicatessen that serves delicious focaccia bread, and summer picnics and barbecues. Adults and children of all abilities and backgrounds attend.
Whereas the schools noted above are for continuing education or for general learning purposes, the Leiths School of Food and Wine is a well-known college that offers a diploma to men and women who desire a culinary career. The in-depth program includes traditional and modern foods, with daily classes offering demonstrations and hands-on learning. In addition, the students take courses in menu preparation, wine and budgeting.