Cookery Courses:

The Culinary Consultancy Company has been holding successful cookery courses for many years now, be it on a one to one basis in your own home, to a group as a demonstration or even hands on, for a corporate event cookery courses are perfect for team building, on the village green as part of a fete or the village hall to the WI.

Age is no barrier either, from school children to the retired or as the article from Waitrose illustrates even to middle aged men, cookery courses appeal to all!

This article was first published on Waitrose.com in August 2002

Thyme Gentlemen Please

Dominic Vaughan, 43, is a managing director who lives in St Albans with his wife Andrea and baby son Rupert. Though experienced, as he does most of the family's cooking, he describes himself as 'untrained'. He spent a day with former Michelin-starred chef Ian McAndrew, who runs specially tailored one-on-one cookery courses.

Rating out of 5

Five out of five. A personalised cookery course in my own home fitted in with my schedule.

What did you learn?

I chose to learn about stocks, sauces, and making puff pastry. The ambitious programme for the day included dishes such as feuilleté of asparagus with a beurre blanc, and we also fitted in spinach, whiting and brie tart.

Has the course expanded your repertoire?

I will definitely be more adventurous and try to dedicate some time each month to making stocks. I also found that just learning basic knife techniques has helped with the look of the food and reduced the number of plasters I use.