“Edinburgh is a lucky city to have such a fine cookery school,” said Nick Wyke, founder of Looking to Cook. “Fiona Burrell brings a depth of experience to a smart team that offers both affordable professional and amateur courses, from classic to contemporary, in an outstanding setting.”
Other winners included the Vegetarian Cookery School in Bath, which continues to innovate and delight students and the hands-on Food Safari courses run by Polly Robinson in Suffolk.
The awards have been set up, in conjunction with Tabasco Pepper Sauce, to recognise outstanding achievements in an industry that remains largely unregulated and the positive response from hundreds of schools far exceeded our expectations.
Summary of the winners:
Best cookery school
Edinburgh New Town Cookery School
Runner-up: Ashburton Cookery School, Devon
Best city cookery school
Vegetarian Cookery school, Bath
Runner-up: Cookery School, Central London
Best country/residential cookery school
Orchards Cookery School, Evesham
Runner-up: Culinary Cottage, Wales
Best short cookery course
Recipease, London
Runner-up: Pukka Paki, London
Best day cookery course or food learning experience
Food Safari, Suffolk
Runner-up: Mark Hix’s Kitchen Table and Library, London and Dorset
Best ‘diploma’ cookery course
Tante Marie Culinary Academy
Runner-up: Edinburgh New Town Cookery School
Best community oriented cookery school
Square Food Foundation, Bristol
Tideswell School of Food, Derbyshire
Best cookery school tutor
John Benbow, Food at 52, London
Runner-up: Rachel Davies, Rachel’s Kitchen
Best cookery school website to be announced shortly...