For those blokes lacking in the brute culinary force and unwavering confidence of the likes of Gordon Ramsay or Marco Pierre White, cooking can be a daunting prospect and one that can leave a sizeable dent in male pride. If you’re considering the gift of culinary knowledge for the man in your life this Christmas, Tristan Plowman from www.lookingtocook, serves up his choice of the six best cookery courses for men.
According to a survey published this month by kitchen appliance manufacturer Kenwood, men are far less confident in the kitchen than women with 16% feeling clueless when it comes to cooking compared to 12% of the fairer sex.
An increasing number of UK cookery schools are acknowledging this and now offer ‘men only’ workshops, which range from boil-an-egg basics to aspiring MasterChef masterclasses. The following six courses should at least instil a will to cook and they all offer gift vouchers – let’s face it, as presents go, a cookery course for “your man” is a win-win gift.
There is proper ‘man-food’ like steak, roast dinner and barbecued lamb on the agenda in Abergavenny, Wales with The Culinary Cottage‘s intensive two-day course, Gentlemen Please. Covering all essential cookery techniques from roasting to baking bread it is reasonably priced at £300, which they say should leave some spare change for a pint down the local pub.
A full day course at £135, the portentously named Men in the Kitchen – at The Tideswell School of Food, in Derbyshire – is about stoking confidence, expanding the repertoire and inspiring new ideas and techniques. So, no more predictable pastas or convenient curries.
The Edinburgh School of Food & Wine presents the Glenfiddich Gourmet Cookery School for Men, aimed at aspiring chefs and whisky enthusiasts alike. Held every Saturday, and priced at £130 for seven hours, this will get you professional demonstrations, hands on cooking of a three-course meal, wine and – the crowning touch – a single-malt whisky masterclass.
Despite its name, the Fairyhouse Cookery School in County Meath, Ireland displays impressive masculine credentials with its Men in the Kitchen courses. A one-day course lasts five hours and costs €120 with punchy names such as Licensed to Grill. There are also three-part courses, held every month, that showcase global cuisine, which should stop you reaching for the take-away menu next time you fancy something exotic.
The Ashburton Cookery School‘s Gentlemen’s Relish is a two-day course that always culminates in arguably the most integral string to any man’s culinary bow, the perfect Sunday Roast. In addition, you may cook dishes such as ‘fat chips’, sirloin steak and a boozy bread and butter pudding, which for £289 at such a prestigious school is no small beer.
“Men just want all the glory…” is how Cook’s Academy in Dublin sums up the male approach to cooking and they claim to offer just that by making “the average incompetent male seem like he’s the next Jamie Oliver!” Courses last six hours, cost €150 and are held regularly on weekends, providing the perfect opportunity to work off the excesses of the previous night’s pub session.
For more ideas for cookery courses as gifts visit www.lookingtocook.co.uk.
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