L'atelier des Chefs - a cookery class!

I spent an enjoyable evening yesterday at a cookery class at L'atelier des Chefs, a small cookery school near Oxford Circus (with a new second school just opened near St Paul's). I had bought a gift card for the experience for friend Dave, and went along with him to his chosen course, with another friend too.

Between the school's two bright and modern premises they run up to ten classes a day, ranging from thirty minutes to four hours in length and offering everything from quick one-course lunches, to five course feasts, to themed meals, to masterclasses in sushi, pasta-making, knife skills, confectionery and more (see a range of classes here). Our class, called 'Elegant Entertaining', cooked a three course meal of confit duck leg with lardons, walnuts, croutons and a fried quail's egg...

...crispy fillet of sea bass served with braised fennel and a brown shrimp vélouté (and roasted baby potatoes)...

...and a mille feuille filled with a light Nutella cream and raspberries, served with an orange and Grand Marnier glaze.

All this in ninety minutes, with time to relax and enjoy the meal and a glass of wine (not included in the price, which I thought was a shame) with the rest of the group afterwards.

There were fourteen people in our class, so for economy's sake the process inevitably involved some teamwork (working loosely in three groups, so that things were prepared in small batches rather than everyone having their own pan) and not everybody got to perform every task in the making of the dishes, but it was well-balanced, everyone got to play their part, and the atmosphere was really friendly and relaxed. (Click here for a picture of the kitchen set up and ready for our class.)

Being a keen cook, I wasn't really sure in advance whether I would learn much from the class, but I certainly picked up a few tips - such as how to properly pin-bone a fish fillet, and some useful sauces. However, I thought the real value of the class was the opportunity to do things I wouldn't normally - like the quail eggs, the duck confit, the shrimp veloute and the mille feuille (and that thing where you cut orange segments out of their membranes, which I've always avoided but isn't too tricky really!). The staff were really cheerful, helpful and knowledgeable, the food was delicious, and the recipes are emailed to participants after the class - a nice touch - so we all get to recreate the dishes at home if we so wish.

Though it's not likely to revolutionise your home cooking in one go, a class like this is great fun and a really good way to broaden your cooking experience and pick up tips. £54 for a three course meal (sans wine) plus the experience of cooking new things with a professional chef and fellow enthusiasts seems pretty good value to me, and I may well do it again sometime...

Thank you, L'atelier des Chefs!