Part-time Essential Skills of Cookery

This course follows the same curriculum and skill content as our full time 4 week Essential Skills Course, broken down into 28 individual classes, producing original and inspired dishes which you take home each week.

During the course students will learn a range of core skills across every area of cookery - butchery, bakery, international cuisines, learning solid foundations in all areas of cookery to enable them to produce great food in any environment.

The course runs from January to December with breaks during the usual academic holidays, half terms and summer exam period.

How does it work?

The course runs across 28 classes over a 12 month rolling basis, with 'entry points' periodically across the year to allow maximum flexibility. You simply tell us when you'd like to start and as soon as a space is available, you can commence the course. There are breaks during the year to accommodate the academic year schedule, so that younger students can focus on their exams and allows time for family holidays. When you finish your 28th class, you have completed the course.

What level will I be when I graduate?

You only have to watch programmes like Professional Masterchef to realise how many cooks out there claim to be professionals, yet do not have the basic skills required to cook well. The core skills of basic cookery form the foundation of any great chef – skills such as making perfect Crème Anglaise, basic butchery, making pastry that melts in the mouth… These are, quite literally, the Essential Skills of cookery, which are covered on this course.

The course will develop an understanding of how and why things happen, meaning students can make adjustments as they go along and ultimately be able to not simply follow a recipe or copy a dish they have seen elsewhere, but have a complete ability to design their own menus, create their own dishes, and adapt their cooking skills to any environment.

What will I learn?

Each week coveres a different set of skills and recipes, including the following core subjects:

• Knife skills
• Food hygiene
• Cakes, pastries and bakery
• Meat, game and poultry
• Fish preparation
• Vegetables
• Soups
• Stocks and sauces
• International cuisines
• Knife skills
• Presentation skills
• Menu design
• Costing and budgeting
• Buffet catering
• Canapés
• Classic skills and modern techniques

As with all of our courses, the focus is on time spent in the kitchen, 'learning by doing!' The course consists of an introduction to working in a kitchen environment, followed by a phase of skill development. This will incorporate knife skills, familiarity with produce, and students will be introduced to a number of basic professional skills such as elementary butchery, fish preparation and pastry work, to an acceptable level. Students will also be trained in menu planning and presentation skills.

Each class covers different skills and topics. One week may be a Mexican themed class making enchiladas and the following week might include Roasted balsamic pork with rosemary potatoes followed by Pavlova. Each week is a new journey into culinary knowledge.

Course Dates and Times

Every class is on a Tuesday evening from 6.15 until approximately 8.45. The first class in 2016 is on Tuesday 12th January and includes a block of classes until just after Easter, before breaking for the summer exam period. A second block of classes runs in early July, followed by a summer break through late July and August, with a final block of classes running from September through until early December. A full list of course dates will be confirmed shortly.