Cooking classes are a brilliant way to discover an area – literally getting a flavour for a place. Learn from the pros at these foodie hideaways and give your inner gourmand bags of inspiration…
L’Alyana Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam
Vietnam is home to some of the most thrilling flavours in the world, but weaseling out the best of them takes inside knowledge. Where the jungle meets the sea in in Ninh Van Bay, you’ll find the luxurious eco-chic resort that’s popular with honeymooners – L’Alyana Ninh Van Bay. Its stunning waterside restaurant hosts on-site cooking classes on request. It’s not your average classroom, so get stuck in and give South-east Asian cuisine a go – you’ll play with fresh, aromatic Vietnamese flavours and learn complex spicing, often involving local seafood.
Mistley Thorn, Essex, UK
For something closer to home, historic pub Mistley Thorn in Essex has garnered rave reviews for its seafood and seasonal, local ingredients. There’s also a wonderfully intimate cookery school with regular classes and a tempting gift shop. The intimate culinary workshops are hosted by warm and bubbly owner, Sherri or renowned cookery writers such as Kylee Newton and Ursula Ferrigno. These lessons are not just demonstrations, but hands-on cooking experience. You’ll receive ingredients, recipe sheets, a fabulous sit-down lunch and wine.
Lime Wood, Hampshire, UK
For a crash course in world-class cuisine, budding masterchefs and total beginners alike can book lessons with Harnett Holder & Co Backstage, based in the country-house hotel Lime Wood. They offer a wide variety of relaxed, hands-on courses including ‘Beginners Bread’, ‘Charcuterie’ and ‘Feel Good Food’ using ingredients from their herb garden and smoke house. A little bit of chaos and a lot of creation is positively encouraged! During your stay you can also make use of your in-room foraging book or spend time with Lime Wood’s own forager, who will tell you how to harvest hedgerows for wild salads and find vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts through all seasons.
La Mirande, Avignon, France
Where’s better to boost your kitchen-confidence than the country of fine dining? Gastronomy is the name of the game in one of the most beautiful buildings in Avignon, La Mirande, and cooking classes with the region’s best chefs take place in its grand 19th-century kitchen. You’ll create imaginative and ambrosial cuisine, then sit down to eat it for lunch or dinner. There are also pastry classes in the afternoon.
The Farm, Jaipur, India
The food at funky art hotel, The Farm, is delicious – increasingly homegrown, seasonal and largely cooked by owners Ritu and Surya themselves. They’re always researching new recipes and whenever they find something new and taste-bud-popping – like a pumpkin and pesto soup, melon and cucumber with feta and vinaigrette dressing or Tandoori legs with a hot salsa dip – they’ll pop it into their ever-changing menu. You can take part in making magic with spices, too – cooking classes are held in the open and airy poolside kitchen. Learn how to create a traditional thali (a dry vegetable curry), a typical Indian chutney/relish, a pulay with curry, and a dessert. At the end of the class you’ll be given a basket of Indian spices to take home.
Borgo Santo Pietro, Tuscany, Italy
If you’re as obsessed with Italian food as I am, book a cooking lesson with the talented chefs at Borgo Santo Pietro. Owners Claus and Jeanette are real foodies and put serious care into the hotel’s gastronomy. Their Michelin-starred restaurant, Meo Modo, conjures up marvels such as wild boar in dulce-forte and figs, rabbit-stuffed ravioli, and seasonal vegetables and greens plucked fresh from their kitchen garden.
View all of our hotels with cooking classes.
Nina is working as our very valuable editorial intern during her post-graduation summer of freedom. Having completed a degree in English Literature and French, she will be returning to the French speaking island of La Réunion; the hidden gem of the Indian Ocean and hikers’ paradise. Recent travels have taken her to Japan, California, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles, and she hopes to embark on further African adventures soon.
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