Cookery Courses Around Scotland
Learn to cook with personal tuition from the professionals - and enjoy a holiday in Scotland at the same time.
Background
With a tasty feast of popular television cookery programmes and glossy colour illustrated recipe books piled high in the shops it seems that we all want to plan a perfect dinner party. Rather than eating out, it is so much more fun and relaxing to be occasionally creative and imaginative in the kitchen and serve restaurant-style meals to our friends and family.But following a recipe is not always as simple as it looks on the page, so how can you learn the art of good cooking at home?
The answer is simple - enjoy personal tuition and pick up some trade secrets from the professionals by taking a short cookery course - and the whole family can enjoy a holiday at the same time. There is a wide choice of cookery schools around Scotland, from diploma courses, residential school hands-on masterclasses to observing demonstrations by the experts. Here's a selection.
The Ailsa Cooking School at the Turnberry Resort, Ayrshire
The Turnberry Resort on the stunning south west coast of Scotland with views across the Irish Sea to the island of Ailsa Craig, is a renowned country house hotel with world class golf on its famous links courses. The Cooking School at Turnberry has been running for three years, welcoming 40 people of all ages and standard, for a very relaxed series of masterchef demonstrations and workshops.
Under the direction of Turnberry Executive chef, Stewart Cameron, there are classes by leading chefs from around the world. From the United States is Steven Peterson, who is in charge of all the Westin Hotels, overseeing a portfolio of 175 restaurants. He has won many awards including the People's Choice accolade at the Texas Wine and Food Festival. Michael Omo has ten years` experience working in several leading Californian restaurants. Giuliano Vilardo from Italy runs London's famous Santini restaurant, specialising in Venetian cuisine. And from Scotland - Michelin star chef Andrew Fairlie, who has recently opened his own restaurant at the luxury Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.
Chef Stewart Cameron is delighted with the current enthusiasm for cooking and eating good food.
"The TV celebrity chefs have been highly influential. They make it look easy and people want to try it too. In our more affluent society people eat out more often and travel widely. They experience international food and then wish to experiment at home"
Cameron has worked in kitchens for 40 years. His family were all farmers but his mother persuaded him not to follow in the business. After a long apprenticeship working in some of the top hotels across the United Kingdom, including the Ritz in London and Gleneagles in Scotland, he has been executive chef at Turnberry for 20 years.
Stewart Cameron observes:
"Turnberry is an all round resort hotel with a developing Golf Academy, re-designed golf courses and excellent spa facilities with a 20 metre pool, gym, squash courts and saunas. We have an international clientele with a broad range of tastes. The main restaurant offers classical cooking, using modern French based methods, the brasserie serves lighter, Mediterranean style food and the club house caters for golfer's wishes - a quick turn around and range of food from full meals to sandwiches. I have a good team of chefs here including Colin Watson, Swiss trained who worked in the Bahamas for two years and Austen Reid who is a member of the Scottish culinary Olympic team."Attending the Ailsa Cookery school should therefore certainly offer the very best tuition in Scottish and international cuisine. The beauty of the Turnberry cooking school is that it's also a recreational holiday. Other family members who are not taking part in the course are welcome too, with plenty time for everyone to enjoy the facilities of the Resort with golf on the championship course, many other sports and the Spa centre.
For more details, contact Turnberry Hotel.
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