Cooking courses in Cape Town

I’m not entirely sure which category this post should fall under. I eventually decided to put it under General because it just doesn’t belong anywhere else. I have only posted once before on cooking courses (here) and that was a while ago. Interestingly, that has been one of the most hit posts on Relax with Dax and the one with the most comments. It seems there are a lot of people out there who are interested in cooking courses. The comments on that post included the details of a number of cooking courses in Cape Town, it seems there are quite a few. It’s quite arduous to read through all the comments to try and find the suitable options, so I have decided to collate the information here, in one comprehensive list.

If there are still others which I have left off the list, then please post the details in a comment. Also, if you have been on any of these courses, please post a comment on your experience and tell how it rated on value, fun and informativeness. I have just recently attended Sense of Taste cooking school and you can read that review here and I also attended a class at the SA Chefs Academy which I review here.

***Please read through the comments below as a whole lot of other cooking classes/courses have been added there.

Please bear in mind that the course details and prices are current at time of writing but will definitely change over time. To avoid surprises or disappointment, you are advised to call and confirm the details and pricing.

Kitchen Cowboys
The impression I get is that this course is for men only. The course is run by Peter Goffe-Wood, a chef well known to Capetonians and indeed, South Africans. According to their website: “All of the workshops are based on seasonal recipes and each session will include what to buy and where to buy it – how to stock the pantry wat skrik vir niks, wine pairings, top tips, rescue techniques and honing those culinary skills.”
Length: 6 Weeks (Tuesday evenings, 6pm to 9pm)
Includes: Ingredients, meal, drinks, apron, Kitchen Cowboys recipe book, recipes/course notes, 1 year subscription to GQ magazine
Cost: R3500
5 Portswood Rd, V&A Waterfront, www.kitchencowboys.co.za

Sense of Taste
This course is run by chef Peter Ayub, who may not be as well known as Pete Goffe-Wood, but he is no new comer. With many years of experience in restaurants, catering and teaching, Peter is highly qualified and very personable. Sense of Taste’s motto is “for life, for living, for the joy of cooking” and one can see that they enjoy cooking. I attended a course at Sense of Taste, you can read my full review here.
Length: 4 Weeks (Tuesday evenings, 6:30pm to 10:30pm)
Includes: Ingredients, meal, drinks, apron, recipes/course notes
Cost: R1600
Maitland – 021 511 0426 – www.senseoftaste.co.za

Superfoods
This is probably the healthiest option of all. Straight from their website: “The Program teaches people about raw food principles and most importantly HOW to prepare delicious tasting raw food meals so that you can practically go about transforming your health. We take some of the best of our Raw Food recipes, and present them to you so that you too can discover and embark on the raw food transitional and transformational journey.”
Length: 2 full days (over a weekend)
Includes: Ingredients, meal, juice, recipes & course notes
Cost: R1250
12 Price Drive, Constantia – 021 794 7793 – www.superfoods.co.za

Giggling Gourmet
Jenny Morris is quite a well know South African personality. Her course covers a wide range of topics including starters, desserts, working with chicken, fish and meat as well as making bread. I’ve done one class in their kitchen and it’s well equiped, with a work station for each pair of aspirant chefs. They also offer each night of the course as a once off lesson.
Length: 6 weeks (Monday evenings, 6:30pm to 10pm)
Includes: Ingredients, meal, drinks, recipe book, spice pack, apron
Cost: R2695 or R450 per evening
Bree Street, Cape Town CBD, 021 425 3000 - http://www.gigglinggourmet.com
(Will be moving back to premises in Cape Quarter in 2009)

SA Chefs Academy
This is Garth Stroebel and Paul Hartmann’s chef school, which is highly respected. Classes are run on the first Wednesday of each month using the facilities of the full time chef school so it’s well equipped. I attended one of these evenings, see my review here.
Length: 1 evening (6:30pm to 10:30pm)
Includes: Ingredients, meal and drinks
Cost: R350
Black River Park, Fir St, Observatory – 021 447 3168 – http://www.sachefsacademy.com/

Back to Basics
Nikki Green offers various classes such as Beginners courses, an Entertaining course (starters, main course and accompaniements and puddings), also courses for Domestics and youngsters/teens in the school holidays. This year once off cooking classes have been introduced, i.e. How to debone and stuff a chicken, East meets West, Moroccan etc… Minimum of 3 students and max of 8.
Length: 4 weeks or once off (days and times vary to suit requirements)
Includes: Ingredients, meal, recipes
Cost:R250 (once off class) to R800 (4 weeks)
Class are run from Nikki’s home in Fish Hoek – 021 785 7572 – nikkigreen@telkomsa.net

Kitchen Angel
From the website: “Experienced chef , Lynn Angel, now shares her “Five Senses” cooking philosophy with you in a fun, relaxed and stimulating environment.   Lynn shares her life-long passion for food and her deep knowledge of the cuisines she has learnt first-hand on her travels around the world.  Lynn trained under Michelin acclaimed master chef Raymond Blanc in London. Her food styles combine a classic background with an eclectic sensibility.”
Length: 1 evening
Includes: Ingredients and notes
Cost: R380
3 Fig St, Fernwood, Newlands – 021 683 5318 – www.kitchenangel.co.za

Silwood Kitchen
A well known Cape Town cookery school, they also offer a variety of part time courses to suit all sorts of requirements. They have a course (5 lessons) for domestics, a course (4 lessons) for home leavers who want to learn easy and inexpensive meals, a course (3 lessons) suited to cooking for guests, a baking course, etc.
Length: Course lengths vary, but can also be done as individual classes
Includes: Ingredients and meal
Cost: Sessions range from R300 to R360
Silwood Road, Rondebosch - 021 686 4894 – cooking@silwood.co.za – www.silwood.co.za

Top Nosh
According to the website, Nadin Demmler has a lot of experience at some well renowned restaurants. She teaches courses in a fully equipped kitchen, catering for a maximum of 8 people. There are quite number of courses to choose from: The basic course (6 lessons), the more advanced course (4 lessons) or just a fun evening for an occasion. They also offer a course for domestics.
Length: 6 (Mondays) or 4 (Tuesdays) lessons
Includes: Ingredients, meal, recipes
Cost: R1550 (6 lessons) or R1250 (4 lessons)
082 782 3622 – www.top-nosh.co.za

Love Green Food
Another option for those wanting to learn how to cook and eat responsibly. Larissa Green offers workshops in which she teaches people how to prepare and cook vegetarian meals (including a lesson on fish) which are tasty and not boring. She uses only organic and ethical produce.
Length: 3 midweek mornings (9am to 1pm) or a full weekend (10am to 4pm)
Includes: Ingredients, 2 recipe books, R100 voucher for organic produce
Cost: R1800
021 434 1559 – www.lovegreenfood.co.za

Capsicum Culinary Studio
Capsicum offers full time training for people wanting to become chefs but also offers individual topics as once off lessons, over the course of the year. Classes are a maximum of 24 people.
Length: 1 Evening (6:30pm to 10:00pm)
Includes: Ingredients, meal, drinks and gift bag
Cost: R300
Pinelands – 086 010 5954 – www.capsicumcooking.co.za

Pick ‘n Pay cooking school
There is a whole host of courses on offer here. From the 8 lesson ‘Executive Survival’ course to the 4 lesson ‘Pacific Rim’ course as well as single evening sessions and even ‘singles’ evening sessions for those who are looking for a cooking partner for life (just kidding, or maybe not). They also offer courses for domestics. Each course is taught by a different person.
Length: From 8 lessons to 1 evening session
Includes: Ingredients and meal (to take away)
Cost: From R1900 (8 lessons) to R300 (one evening session)
Cnr Campground & Main Rd, Claremont – 021 658 1162 – www.picknpay.co.za

Cyril Naicker
Cyril used to teach at Silwood Kitchens and now does lessons for individuals or small groups. He teaches South Indian cuisine in a home cooked style, as opposed to gourmet cooking. Things you will learn to cook are: Samoosas, curries (chicken, vegetable, fish), briyani, as well as breads (roti, puri and paratha).
Length: 1 or more evenings (depends on how much you want to learn)
Includes: Ingredients (apart from meat) and meal
Cost: R500 per session
Lessons are conducted at his home in Claremont – 021 683 1678 – info@aniseedcooking.co.za

Apron Cookery Classes
Apron runs a 4 session cooking course on basic household cooking. There is a morning course for domestics and an evening course for those who will be doing their own cooking. There are also evening courses which can be customised to a specific need or function, otherwise cover several simple and popular recipes.
Length: One evening or four evenings/mornings
Includes: Ingredients and meal for the evenings but ingredients are not included for the course
Cost: R400 per evening or R1850 for the course
At the home of Nicky Stubbs in Claremont – 021 671 6540 – http://www.apronfood.co.za/

Eleven Food Coaching Co-op
Eleven offers a myriad of cooking evenings which can be done individually or as a course. Some of the courses are ‘Al fresco dining’ and ‘Spring: taste, touch, smell, savour’ as well as regional evenings such as Moroccan, Italian or Spanish. The kitchen can accommodate 24 people.
Length: One to four evenings
Includes: Ingredients and meal
Cost: About R350 per evening but cheaper if you do the whole course
The Eleven kitchen is in Woodstock – 021 461 3820 – http://www.11cooks.com/default.asp

Chef’s Warehouse Cookery School
This is a new venture in town, owned by the well known chef Liam Tomlin. They will offer a 20 class cookery course which looks very interesting as well as a 6 class artisan bread making course. Specific classes for groups on various topics including wine tasting are also available. The Chef’s Warehouse will also be a retail outlet for cooking and food related products.
Length: One class or a 6 or 20 class course
Includes: Recipes and tasters of the dishes demonstrated, paired with wines
Cost: The full course is R10 500, the bread making course is R3000 and individual classes are priced per class
50 New Church St, Cape Town – 021 422 0128 – http://www.chefswarehouse.co.za

Stir Crazy Cooking School
These guys offer a variety of cooking clases in hands on or demonstration format. Classes take 8 to 10 people or more if it’s just a demonstration class. Apart from the usual sushi, fusion, Indian, Japanese, Thai, etc, they also offer specialised evenings such as nutritional courses or singles evenings.
Length: Most are single session
Includes: Recipes, ingredients, meal
Cost: Around R360 per session
Stir Crazy is based in Hout Bay – 021 790 7165 – http://www.stircrazycatering.co.za