Whether your cooking skills are a few eggs short of an omelette, or you’re looking for a unique present for someone special, these classes could be just what you need. From the mastery of Indian spices to baking your own artisan bread, Manchester has a diverse range of cookery classes to suit every taste. Here are our top five.

The Spice Club’s North Indian Cookery Classes

The Spice Club is a secret place to learn about real, home cooked Indian food; they host secret supper clubs, cookery classes and an online spice shop. Classes are run by a mother and daughter team, who set up The Spice Club in honour of their family’s passion for Northern Indian cooking. Each lesson has a unique focus – from learning how to throw the perfect dinner party, to cuisine from a specific region of India. Under these fun and friendly lessons, students will learn to make dishes such as tandoori chicken, Kashmiri lamb chapattis, tadka dal and raita from scratch. Cookery classes with The Spice Club start at around £59 per person, or £100 for two people. Guests are welcomed as a part of the family and small classes ensure that guests get plenty of one-to-one tutoring.

 

A photo posted by Monica (@thespiceclub) on Dec 13, 2015 at 8:13am PST

Cracking Good Food bread, pasta and foraging classes

Get the most out of your time in the kitchen with Cracking Good Food who deliver cooking classes, all underpinned by a commitment to sustainability, local food and seasonality. Learn the art of breadmaking with artisan breadmaking courses (from £60 pp). These indepth and informative lessons are taught in four locations across Manchester, and are suitable for anyone - from complete beginners to dough dabblers. Alternatively, try their popular pasta making class - Pasta Perfetto (£60pp)– where you’ll learn how to roll, shape, cut and cook the perfect pasta. As well as cooking classes, the not-fo-profit organisation run a series of Wild Food Foraging sessions (£20pp). Subject to season, these tours of Manchester cast a whole new light on your surroundings, revealing seasonal mushrooms, berries and edible goodies in green spaces.

Brush up on your chocolate skills at Slattery’s Chocolate Workshop

Slattery is an award-winning chocolatier and patisserie in Whitefield, with over 200 years of expertise in chocolate craft. Their three-story chocolate emporium - just north of Manchester city centre - is a celebration of all things chocolate, boasting a dining room, cake showroom, bakery and chocolate workshop. The Slattery team are serious about chocolate, but their half day course (£75) is a fun introduction to the world of chocolate making. Guests will make their own truffles, learning essential skills such as tempering and piping along the way. For die-hard chocoholics, splash out on the ultimate chocolate course – the Essential Slattery Chocolate Experience. Coming in at £785, this in-depth five day course is aimed at beginners with a view of turning them into veritable black-belt chocolatiers.  

 

A photo posted by Pan Zhang (@pattyzhang928) on Dec 9, 2015 at 3:38pm PST

Ning Malaysian Cookery School

Based at the renowned Ning restaurant chef and co-owner Norman Musa delivers cookery masterclasses, focusing on Malaysian home cooking. These classes are a bucket list essential for any foodie. At £145 per person, the masterclasses aren’t cheap, but they offer a thorough introduction to Malaysian culture, history and cooking, and often book up well in advance. Each course highlights different areas of Malaysian cooking - join the Peranakan Nyonya class and learn to make the unique region’s Nyonya dishes, such as Loh Kei Bak – chicken and yam cooked in five spice wrapped in tofu sheet, or the Chicken Kapitan Curry – flavoured with galangal, chili, lemongrass and turmeric.

 

A photo posted by Ning Malaysian Food (@itsaningthing) on Sep 20, 2014 at 6:19am PDT

Learn to cook Cantonese food at Manchester’s famous Yang Sing restaurant

Now in its third generation of the Yeung family, the Yang Sing is a cornerstone of Cantonese cooking in Manchester. Based in the heart of Manchester’s Chinatown, the family-run restaurant is set in a characterful grade II listed building, serving traditional Cantonese cuisine. The Yang Sing cookery classes train guests in three key disciplines of Southern Chinese cooking: dim sum, roasting and wok cooking.  Choose from the basic Cantonese cookery class (£70pp), or the Yang Sing Master Class (£100pp) delivered by Chef Patron, Harry Yeung. Under Harry’s guidance, guests will explore the history and culture of Cantonese cooking, while learning how to whip up their favourite Yang Sing dishes at home.

By Lucy Lovell, Manchester Wire

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