Kids about to leave home for uni? Samantha Laurie shares the best local cookery courses for teens
Sara Gyngell is no stranger to kitchen howlers. One of her learner cooks admitted that when the recipe instructed him to reduce a sauce by half, he tipped half in the bin.
“But at least he was trying!” she enthuses.
Indeed, most of the students gathered in her kitchen, eager to pick up some basic pre-uni cooking skills, have not been within flambé distance of a cookbook in all of their tender years. Many will struggle to distinguish a clove of garlic from a bulb; few know exactly what a tablespoon looks like; all will be aghast at the final housekeeping task that Sara has in store (it involves rubber gloves and a toilet brush).
Surrey Hills Cookery School is one of a growing number of outfits to have found a healthy market in teaching teenagers to cook and look after themselves in preparation for university or a gap year.
“Knowing how to cook is a life-enhancing skill,” says Sara. “Yet most families are so busy rushing around with after-school swimming, tutoring, Scouts, Guides and so on that kids rarely get to see a proper meal prepared.”
As the mother of a teenage boy whose relationship with the kitchen is akin to that of a fox with a wheelie bin – in and out like lightning, leaving behind an unspeakable mess – I find the thought of sending him out into the world without having taught him to cook a little shaming.
“But it’s a bit like driving lessons,” says Sara reassuringly. “It’s so much easier for them to hear it from someone else.”
Plus it’s fun to learn with others. Together with friend and co-founder Sue Noble, Sara offers a one-day course covering four or five healthy and affordable meals that can be whizzed up in no time at all: lasagne, Thai stir-fry, a curry, a simple roast. Students also learn a little about hygiene and equipment – a knife, a pair of scissors and a wok is all they need, insists Sara – and a few basic housekeeping jobs to keep future landlords happy.
Having sent five children off to university between them, Sara and Sue reckon that kids soon tire of toast and cereal.
“Often it’s the boys who fare better,” says Sara. “They tend to cook in rotation as a group, which encourages them to be more experimental. The shock of an empty fridge brings them together. Girls often just live on a pack of lettuce in the fridge.”
Cooking courses for teens are booming. At Leiths, one of the best-known culinary schools in Britain, the number of young people paying over £600 for a four-day cookery boot camp doubled in 2014. Great British Bake Off and such like may have piqued their interest, but mostly the impetus is coming from parents who recognise that a few key skills could be the difference between a costly ready meal habit and proper, balanced nutrition – for the next three years, at least, and possibly for life.
And so, mindful of my own kitchen challenge, I rouse son number one from his phone to ask if he can watch the pan of rice, in case it boils over. He looks up with genuine bafflement.
“What shall I do if it does?” he enquires.
Time to book him in…
Best courses on the patch
Abinger Cookery School, Dorking runs a two-day ‘The Basics’ course on Aug 15 & 16 and Sep 5 & 6 from 9:30 - 15:15. Cost: £290.
Sassy Stirrers Cooking Club, a popular kids’ cooking school in Claygate, runs pre-uni classes in your own home. Each two-hour session can be booked individually or in a course of four. £35 per student per session or £135 for four sessions. Get in touch with them for more details!
At Tante Marie Culinary Academy, in Woking, a five-day course for pre-university students kicks off towards the end of September (£595). Meanwhile, a four-week ‘Essential Skills’ course starts on July 10 (£2,750).
The Avenue Cookery School in Putney offers various packages with or without accommodation (£690 – £1,045) tackling everything from basic white sauce to a twice-baked soufflé and profiteroles. Wine appreciation and basic life skills included.
Leith's School of Food and Wine, London W12, has a range of one-day courses for teens on different cuisines. Whether it's Italian cooking or a more intensive ‘from scratch’ experience, future students can fine tune their cookery skills in Leith's ‘Kitchen Survival Kit’ (from £705). Pre-uni students can sign up the ‘Essential Cooking Certificate’ (Aug 14 – Sept 8, £3,175), which will ease entry into culinary jobs for gappers.
Cook Genie – aka nutritionist and food enthusiast Fiona McGurk – offers tailored courses in students’ own homes from £249. Beginning with knife skills – “an essential first step”, according to Fiona – it includes a broad range of simple fish, chicken and veggie dishes.
