Jamie Oliver Cookery School, Islington — Local services in London

My partner and I were very much looking forward to our Greek cooking class, but we were very disappointed by the whole experience.

Our teacher was James, who unfortunately had no energy and very minimal enthusiasm. I wasn’t even sure when he started teaching, with no music, no introduction - just cooked at us for 30 minutes. He chaotically hopped from one thing to the next without really explaining much technique or general reasoning- not even explaining all the ingredients as he was using them.

We were then cooking for 30 minutes, cramped together and for some reason only using half of the room. Whilst we were cooking, we tried to ask questions to understand the techniques and methods but the answers were rushed, it seemed like he was always looking around for the next thing- once walking off whilst we were still talking. We were also super limited in terms of utensils, seems like they wanted to keep the washing up to a minimum.

The only slice of energy that we received from the staff was when the door opened to the cooking class next door - I have no idea what they were cooking but it certainly seemed like a much better time.

Lastly, as I bought this experience for my partner’s birthday, I had paid extra to get a copy of Jamie’s new book. However, when we went to pick up the book, they informed us that they did not have any more copies and would not be able to give us a copy at all. Instead they gave us a few of Jamie’s other books to choose from which were fine but not what he had wanted or I had paid for. When I expressed my disappointment to James, he actually mocked me - leaving us a little bit bewildered and rather insulted.

Overall, I would not recommend this experience, which is a real shame as we are big fans of Jamie and the food we made was actually delicious. But I had paid for a 90 minute class, we spent 30 minutes standing in an awkward line watching someone cook, only 30 minutes cooking ourselves and the remaining 30 eating the food. There were too many things about it all that left about taste in our mouths, so overall it was just...

Another top notch course on 1st October in Islington. Cooking Bao's with Oscar and Chris popping in to say hello. Both locations are excellent. Personaly I prefer the intimate surrounding of Islington but that won't stop me booking another course at either.

Go on, give it a go, ramp up with a few online courses then go for it, you won't regret it and your cooking skills increase exponentially.

Another brilliant course, this time at John Lewis in Oxford street. Excellent set up and facilities with a nice coffee & snack cafe to wait in comfort. Oscar was the Chef for the North Indian Thali course with our old friend Chris popping in and out to assist. Oscar was exceedingly helpful and full of useful information & tips. Lost count on how many courses we've done, but we will certainly be back for more, as well as the cooking they are great fun.

Yet another brilliant course on the 24th April, must be at least our tenth at Islington. This time we had a new team of Chef Stephen excellently assisted by Shannon and Hollie. It was the Show Stopping Ravioli, excellent. Learnt an awful lot about making perfect pasta which is going to be extremely useful. Very friendly fun filled course, Stephen and his team are excellent teachers and they kept the wine flowing!!

Will DEFINATELY book another course as soon as possible

If you've not been on one, try the on-line courses first, they are fun easy and you learn a lot in organising, prepping, cooking & tasting. Basically, is several hours entertainment for very little cost. You start by shopping for stuff you’ve never heard of, spend an hour or so setting up and prepping, then an hour or so cooking and interacting with he chef followed by a 5-star meal. Lovely way to spend...

I had the absolute pleasure of attending an online class with the @jamieolivercookeryschool The class was delivered through zoom and ran for two hours and was called Sharpen your knife skills. This class was fantastic and I learned a lot. Although I’ve been cooking for a long time, learning the knife skills I was shown will transform my game in the kitchen. Cutting and chopping techniques, knife care and how to grip and hold your knife is covered. Throughout the class I prepped a range of veggies, herbs and a dressing for a stir fry. This class along with many others are only £29, they’re not only very educational, they are also interactive. I really loved mine and I’m delighted I done it. I honestly can’t believe that the classes are as affordable as they are, it feels like a one on one with a pro and to be honest in many ways it is. Check them out, there’s loads up on the website covering many different classes like: Italian favourites, Pasta Master, Thai feast, 7 ways family favourites ( based on Jamie’s new book and tv show) and more and there are even classes that are suitable for children too. Whether you attend alone or the whole family takes part it’s still just a flat rate fee of £29 per household. I will definitely be looking into more classes, there’s always more being added to the range and I’m specifically interested in the ones that are geared towards children as I’ve been teaching mine to cook and bake, but I know if they get professional tips and tricks now they will have them for life. Overall this was a worthwhile and...