spanish cookery class at l'atelier des chefs, london.

L'atelier des Chefs, translating as the chef's studio or workshop, is London cookery school which runs a plethora of culinary courses. From learning the secrets of baking bread to macaron masterclasses, their St Paul's and Oxford Street locations promise a fun event where you can learn new kitchen skills and make a few friends too. 

Their courses would make for perfect Mother's Day presents or birthday treats, with vouchers available too. I've been to all sorts of classes with my mum - from Tunisian cookery to cake pop decorating - although this time the London class was a bit far away from her Leicestershire home. I went along with my foodie pal Grace to sample their Spanish cookery class; 90 minutes of creating calamari, patatas bravas, traditional paella and croquetas. Challenge accepted!

host for hope at the woodspeen cookery school.

This November, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, Pancreatic Cancer UK are encouraging supporters to put on their aprons and take part in Host for Hope. The campaign focuses around putting on a foodie fundraising event in aid of the charity to support those affected by pancreatic cancer and raise awareness of the devastating disease. 

To help us on our way to dinner party success, Michelin star chef John Campbell of The Woodspeen offered us a place at his cookery school for the Chef in the Cupboard course. As a supporter of the charity himself, this was a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness (and hopefully donations too) for a great cause. 

sushi & sashimi workshop at billingsgate seafood school, london.

A few weekends ago, I went down to London for a rather special cookery class - a sashimi and sushi workshop at the famous Billingsgate Seafood School. Although I suppose no cooking was to be involved for this one; instead we were led by talented sushi chef Silla Bjerrum through lessons in handling and sourcing seafood, flavour combinations, how to roll and all important knife skills. I couldn't wait to get started...

macaron masterclass at l'atelier des chefs, london.

last weekend i donned my best floral dress, travelled down to sunny london and excitedly headed over to l'atelier de chefs cookery school by st pauls. for i was to become a master of macarons! or at least, that was the hope. with a fantastic line up of macaron flavours to make, we couldn't wait to get the sieves out, baking trays lined and mixers on to create the colourful treats.

school of wok: flavours of china and dim sum delicacies.

last weekend i went along to school of wok in london for a dim sum delicacies course that tested my tastebuds, sharpened up my knife skills and expanded my knowledge of chinese cuisine. 

this cookery course was everything you could ask for; including a tour around china town, learning how to shop for and select the best ingredients, where to find kitchen tools and how to use them, knife and preparation skills and of course the best lesson ... on how to devour a chinese feast with a glug of specially paired wine.

floral cakepop class at landgirls cookery school.

This weekend I took my mum along to a cakepop decorating class at the landgirls cookery school in hartshill. By a marina in a quaint warwickshire village setting, I found landgirls on Groupon with the offer of £18 each for a cupcake or cakepop class of your choice. I was also surprised to hear they did all sorts of other classes too; from artisan bread to choux pastry patisserie and macaron magic to culinary curry. 

I booked the floral cakepop class which involved learning how to make the cake pop mix with techniques for consistency, dipping chocolate, colouring and preparing the sugar paste and arranging the decorations with melted chocolate for "glue". I also learnt that cocktail sticks are a cake pop maker's best friend.