Spice Monkey Indian Cooking School — Local services in London

I'm writing this, whilst gorging myself on the most luxurious tasting desert, that I made myself with the help of Nik, an undeniable master of his craft. My girlfriend booked a class for us at Spice Monkey for a special occasion, and a special occasion it was. Nik so gracefully takes you on a journey through the world of indian spices. You feel blessed with his knowledge and good humour. But the class is not merely a pleasant and calming experience. I feel like someone opened the door for me to a new dimension of flavours. I'm an amateur cook -- I used to dump all the ingredients as the recipe said and not give it a second thought. What a class in Spice Monkey gives you, for life I'm sure, is an understanding of how the spices add layers of flavour to the dishes. For example, you begin by learning to taste your spices. Then you move onto learning staple ways of cooking with them. Spices are grouped, they differ in the types of dishes they are used for and in the time when they should be added whilst cooking. At this point, if you only cook occasionally, you may think -- this sounds like a bit much. But that's the point -- Nik really simplifies it for you into small and memorable rules. This is a solid headstart that allows you to understand the endless list of spices that you see when trying out any Indian recipe. This knowledge will not only take my Indian cooking game to the next level, but also make the experience of Indian cooking more beautiful than before. I'm sure it will even change the way I taste Indian food in restaurants. If you are remotely interested in Indian food, this class will give you the sensitivity to enjoy it so much more. Maybe I got carried away, but this desert is really divine and lifted my spirits so much that I had to write this review. Thank you Nik!

I should also mention that the attendees at the class was just the two of us. The other people cancelled, but Nik kindly didn't reschedule. This made the experience even...

I was given the one day starter course for beginners as a Christmas present. I wasn't entirely looking forward to it because I'm no great cook and fully expected to be thoroughly flummoxed by the requirements of making a real curry, real daal, a real Indian potato dish, a real Indian aubergine dish, and rice that wasn't glued together by its own starch. But thanks to the misleadingly laid-back tuition by Nikita and Mrs G (his mum) I found myself able to understand how all these dishes are created, and then created them. I created them again the next day at home for my wife, and surprised the living daylights out of both of us. As well as a complete mastery of Indian cuisine, Nikita is a genuinely great teacher of the school “learn by doing". Under his expert supervision we made all the dishes on his blackboard on time and to a standard that surprised us all. The proof was in the pudding, and we ate the pudding with great enthusiasm for lunch. I came away feeling as if I had been given genuine insight into how to approach making Indian food and the confidence to try more in the comfort of my own home. I would wholeheartedly recommend this course to anybody interested in learning how to cook genuine Indian cuisine from 1st principles, as opposed to from a jar with Lloyd Grossman's face on it. The underlying strength of the day lay in the course's determination to debunk and dismantle any fear around cooking Indian food. And in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere in which the course took place. It was fun from start to finish, and consequently, effortlessly productive. Will almost certainly return to try another of Spice Monkey's courses when my wife grows sick of curry, daal, potatoes, aubergines, and flaky, coconut infused rice every mealtime. Oh, and I also learned how to open a coconut without smashing it into pieces and taking someone's eye out. All in all a really lovely, life...

LOVED OUR ADVANCED COOKERY CLASS EXPERIENCE!!

We booked this class with Nikita and Mrs. G months ago when planning a trip to London. We were joined by some wonderful people that booked locally and we had an amazing and informative time taking the advanced class. We tasted individual spices, made our own garam masala, the experience was immersive and we will take skills learned here to our home kitchen for some incredible meals.

Couple of tips: 1.) If you are thinking about making this a huge or a great time out... DO IT! 2.) If you take the tube from London, the class is another 15minute walk or so residential so an Uber ride was quick and easy. 3.) We were able to buy one of the spice tins what we used in class, and there are a few things available to get that might help in your home kitchen. 4.) I took pictures, and I'm confident the written recipes will be well documented when we get them, but I would have taken a few written notes had I brought a small notebook since there is so much information shared.

Bonus insider tips from just our class: ;) 5.) congratulate Nikita on his great health and life 6.) if you eat with a fork, try switching hands. It's fun 7.) if you are too scared to flip the bread on the open flame with your hands you can use Mrs G or tongs 8.) smuggle some curry leaves in from India as a gift for the hosts 9.) scratch down the usual suspects for the pop quiz

Have a great time, you...