The Globe Trotter: 31 August
The Raymond Blanc Cookery School at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshiremust be good – they even managed to teach me how to cook a steak without burning it! New for 2012, two of Raymond's favourite chef protégés, Adam Johnson and Ankush Bhasin, have created an exciting new course that encompasses techniques and recipes shown on BBC Two's Kitchen Secrets and The Very Hungry Frenchman. Dates for the course, from £350 per person, include 5 and 12 December; other dates available in 2013.
01844-278881, www.manoir.com
Meanwhile, Greece's five-star Skiathos Princess Hotel, Aghia Paraskevi, has launched Greek Gourmet Cookery Classes for guests. 'Pupils' will have a chance to create dishes including tzatziki and ntakos (Greek bruschetta), traditional spinach and cheese pies and honey dough balls. Then, of course, you get to eat your efforts, with a glass of Santikos wine straight from the hotel owners' own vineyard.
The two-hour classes, available from 1 September to 7 October, cost from €50 (approximately £40), including all food, house wine, water and refreshments. Thomas Cook Holidays with Style offers a seven-night holiday with flights from £576.
0844-412 5970, www.thomascook.com
Or you can join a Mediterranean cookery course at Annie B's Spanish Kitchen in the hilltop village of Vejer de la Frontera, Spain, one of Andalucia's lovely white villages. Guests create classic paella, chicken tagine, fennel and lemon roasted pork and chocolate and almond cakes. Sherry appreciation, olive oil tutorials and gourmet tours including a tapas crawl, are also on the menu. A four-night break costs from €848 per person (approximately £670) including B&B accommodation at the Hotel La Casa del Califa, and all food and wine during class hours. Flights and transfers extra.
Fleewinter has introduced Moroccan cookery lessons at its Rebali Riads complex on the Atlantic coast at Sidi Kaouki near Essaouira. The day starts at about 9.30am, when you meet the chef in Essaouira to be guided around the souks choosing ingredients. Guests then return to Rebali by taxi where the chef helps you prepare your chosen dish. The lesson costs from £20 per person plus ingredients (around £8) and taxi (£15 return). Stays at Rebali cost from £45 per person per night.
020-7112 0019, www.fleewinter.com
Hotel du Vin Poole, Dorset is holding a two-night Mushroom Foraging break, from £299 per person, 12 to 13 October. After a morning class, guests head to the countryside, then to the White Pepper Cookery School for a workshop and lunch made from the day's haul. Guests also enjoy a four-course dinner with wine.
01202-785570
Make perfect preserves at Bedruthan Steps near Newquay, Cornwall. During the Preserve Making Day you'll learn the art of preserving using fruit, vegetables and herbs, whether it's jams, jellies, cordials, spiced and flavoured vinegars or bottled fruits and tomatoes. The day costs from £75 per person, including all equipment; two-night break from £249. Or for the same prices, there's a Christmas Preserve Making Day on 18 November.
01637-860860, www.bedruthan.com
Contact Wendy on wendy.gomersall@lady.co.uk