Our new London Location – Old Street – London 

Food is our passion, and over the last 7 years we’ve been overjoyed at bringing our unique teaching style to thousands across this country and beyond, helping them to improve their cooking skills and hone their hidden talents. In June 2013 we’re excited to be able to bring The Cooking Academy to even more people with our brand new second location in Central London.

Cooking Classes in London

Easily accessible from The City and The West End, our new kitchens are minutes from Old Street Tube Station in the heart of the Capital, and they provide another space for people to come and learn how to cook their favourite cuisine with The Cooking Academy’s unique approach.

We’ll be offering our popular Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese cooking classes, as well as Corporate Classes and teambuilding events for those of you who want a inner London location. Being 10 minutes from Liverpool Street and 15 minutes from Oxford Circus means we’ll be more accessible than ever before, and we look forward to welcoming both existing and new customers to our new location.  Of course, whilst this is all very exciting, you needn’t worry that classes at our Hertfordshire location will run less frequently as they’ll still be running regularly!   If you currently have a voucher for our Hertfordshire kitchens and would like to change it to one for our Central London location, we’ll be happy to do that for you at no extra cost.

If you’d like to book yourself a place on one of our Central London courses, simply visit our website and purchase a voucher for any of the relevant classes, and mention the fact that you’d like to visit us in London when booking your date!

We’re very excited about this new chapter for The Cooking Academy, and we look forward to welcoming you very soon!

Kumud and The Cooking Academy Team

Learning to cook a dinner party menu. The Cooking Academy - Cookery school in Rickmansworth - Hertfordshire

Learn to Cook Locally - Cookery school in Hertfordshire

Looking for cooking inspiration?  look no further.  Come along to The Cooking Academy – a unique cookery school right here in Rickmansworth, that specialises in teaching the nutritional value of ingredients and puts the beneifical properties of food at the heart of everything they teach.  As well as learning the mechanics of how to cook and you will receive expert advice of the nutritional benefits of the ingredients being used to highlight why the recipe is good for you.  

Cooking classes  - Led by Food Scientist – Kumud Gandhi – Founder of The Cooking Academy’s says her approach to teaching is a combination of how  and why, making learning much more of a inclusive experience.  Furthermore, all the classes are entirely hands on, which means you get so much more out of the learning and more likely to be able to repeat the recipes in your own kitchen.  

 There are a wide range of cookery classes available run by different chefs from all over the world and with different expertise.  To discuss a suitable cookery class for you please speak to Cara Brummitt on 01923 77 8880. or email cara@thecookingacademy.co.uk.  

Cooking Courses in Rickmansworth

Advance Thai cooking classes at The Cooking Academy

Thai cooking classes for the converted

Thai food is just divine, and no more so than when you cook it yourself and have the pleasure of enjoying such fresh delightful food.   If you know your Thai food then the next step is really to attend a Thai cookery class and enjoy the real deal home-cooked cusine just as Thai people eat.  

If you have already attended our 1 day Thai cookery class then today’s Advanced Thai classes  is really for you!  You’ll be taking the plunge from what you learnt at the last class and going into the Phad Thai’s and Scented fish salads.  The real essence of the day is in learning the hnts and tips around cookery, the techniques employed by the chef’s that provide such an insights on our cookery classes as well as the technical skill of the actual recipes. 

Thai cooking is amazingly easy when you are shown how.  On this class you will learn just how easily you can put together meals that look complicated yet are so simple, tasty and delicious, you’ll wonder hwhy you waited to so long and tolerated so many avaerage Thai restaurants and takeaways.  Learning to cook thai food is a day of pure pleasure.  Treat your self and book onto one of our classes today.   Tel 01923 77 8880 now to book the next class

Thai cookery classes at The Cooking Academy in Rickmansworth

Thai Cookery classes in Hertfordshire

Flavours of the East from beautiful Bangkok are summed up in this highly original and authentic Thai cooking class, here at The Cooking Academy in Rickmansworth.  

Thai cuisine is made up of lightly prepared dishes packed with spicy, fresh and well-balanced flavours.  As with Asian cooking it is based on the five taste senses of  heat through chilli,  sour flavours with the use of tamarind,  salty flavours typically using fish sauce, sweet flavours using jaggery, pure sugar, from cane juice and and unami flavours, bitter from lime.

We cover some of the classic Thai dishes that appear in menus throughout Thailand, highly original recipes that hit the note with all our customers and will leave your guests wanting to come back for more.   Our cookery classes are entirely hands on with all the recipes being cooked by attendees – No demonstrations, we want you to actually learn by making the cookery journey yourself and experiencing first hand to ensure you remember and can re create the dishes at home in your own kitchen. 

To book on one of our Thai cookery classes here email Cara@thecookingacademy.co.uk

Saturday 17th March, Thursday 29th March, or Saturday 12th May2012, or for further information call us on 01923 778880.

Thai Fish Kebabs    

I love this recipe, its really simple and no guilty pleasures, it’s all good.  It’s a great way of eating simple fish made tasty.  It also looks like fine dining food so it’s a fabulous dish if you’re entertaining and of course for BBQ’s.  But BBQ’s are a sore subject at the moment.  Loads of recipes, just no sunshine   .   Have a go and tell me how you get on and post me your pictures of the dish.

 Ingredients

 250g raw cod fillets cut into chunks (or any white fish or prawns)

3 lime leaves finely chopped

1 tbsp Green curry paste

½ egg

1 tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp sugar

1 tbsp plain flour (or corn flour)

1 large handful coriander leaves

60g French beans or sugar snap peas cut into

thin slices (julienne)

8 skewers

 Cooking Instructions  

 Place the fish, egg, sugar, fish sauce and red Thai curry paste into the processor and blitz for 10-15 seconds, and turn out into a bowl.

 Now add the lime leaves, coriander and flour and mix together. 

 Finally add the French beans or sugar snaps and mix well and divide into 10 balls.   

 Now roll into a sausage shape about 3.5 inches long, dab your finger in a little water to be able to work with the mixture and then push onto a sturdy skewer leaving at least 2/3 inches at the end to be able to pick up and handle. 

 Place on a foiled baking tray and cook at 180º Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes. 

 When cooked and ready to serve, garnish with fresh limes cut into quarters and a little chopped coriander. 

 Recipe by Kumud Gandhi, Food writer and broadcaster – Founder of The Cooking Academy – Home of Asian cookery classes – all things healthy and nutritious.

Pork on Lemongrass Skewers – Recipe of the week

Pork skewers on Lemongrass

The sun promises to shine tomorrow Tuesday 2nd day of August and if you’re looking for a mid week treat that smacks of outdoor eating,  then this recipe is for you!  It really is very simple and healthly as well.  Use extra lean pork mince, the mixture sticks pretty well to the lemongrass so you won’t need any excess fat to bind the mince. 

Serve with a sweet chilli dipping sauce or make the cucumber and chili dipping sauce from our Thai Cookery class

Pork and Lemongrass Skewers

 Serves 4

 Ingredients:

300gms pork mince

3 tsp garlic

2 tsp galangal or ginger

2 tbsp fresh coriander

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

8 lemongrass stalks (4 inch long)

 Cooking Instructions:

1)     Place pork, garlic, galangal, coriander, sugar and sauces in a bowl and mix.

2)     Divide into 8 portions and mould each one into a ball.

3)     Trim about a 1/3 off the top of the lemongrass sticks.

4)     Stick a length of lemongrass into each ball and press the mixture around the lemongrass in an oblong shape.

5)     Grill the sticks for approximately 3-4 minutes on each side

 Cooks Hint 1: Dampening your hands with a bit of oil before moulding the mix will help stop it sticking to you

Serving Tip: serve with sweet and sour sauce

Enjoy

Thai cookery classes in London & Hertfordshire

We have Thai cookery classes on the menu today with expert celebrity chef Kumud Gandhi .  Learn to cook the original red thai curry paste, Prawn soup, highly original Thai fish cakes, jasmine rice.  All the cookery classes are hands on and with small group numbers to provide lots of one to one time with the chef.  The Thai cuisine taught in this class is highly original – Thai food as eaten in Thailand. 

To book onto a class email kumud@thecookingcookingacademy.co.uk or visit our web site www.thecookingacademy.co.uk/thaiclasses or call us on 0845 0 68 58 48