Basic ingredients: The Bomford sisters, Lucy and Isabel, run this award winning cookery school for budding cooks, where courses are hands-on, lots of fun and conclude each day with a dinner party. The kitchen is based in a converted stable on the family farm in the heart of England, near Stratford-upon-Avon, and specialises in five-day or two-week residential courses for chalet cooks and students headed for university. The school relies entirely on word of mouth and personal recommendation to fill its courses, training over 650 students a year. Orchards Cookery also offers a recruitment service supplying cooks for ski chalets, private parties, outdoor sports lodges and holiday villas.
They say: We have an excellent track record when it comes to producing and placing potential chalet hosts and we expect that our graduates of the Off to University course will be seriously popular in their shared self-catering halls.
We say: A course to fast-track students from clueless to cool in the kitchen ensures a healthy start to life away from home. The bake-offs can get seriously competitive. Students live in cottages on site.
01789 490 259; www.orchardscookery.co.uk
Orchards’ long-term reputation has produced confident and innovative graduates from their highly efficient system.
YSE employs several students from Orchards Cookery every year and they are always well taught and fit in well with our team. The amount of knowledge their students obtain during their course is amazing!
They made me feel so welcome and at ease when I went for the one-day course. I learnt lots of useful tips and made some beautiful food!
Orchards Cookery consistently produce great young chefs.
They have consistently provided highly motivated students who have benefited from the courses. Also providing very satisfied clients who have employed those students
I vote for Orchards Cookery to win the Best Cookery School Award because they are family-run, friendly and hospitable.
I vote for Orchards Cookery to win the Best Cookery School Award because they offer a unique service and work very hard at it.
I vote for Orchards Cookery to win the Best Cookery School Award because their tuition of my sons has stood them in good stead in many catering situations.
Orchards transformed my son from a kitchen novice to a competent cook in a fortnight, not to mention improving his outlook on life and giving him a huge enthusiasm for all things culinary. He loved every minute.
A truly outstanding cookery school. I attended a course in June which was fantastic. The atmosphere at Orchards is truly amazing and their chalet cook course is the best.
I would vote for The Orchards School of Cookery. I have had lots of cooks from them, they have all been excellent
After a course at Orchards Cookery I am now not only a great cook but I’m no longer terrified about opening a recipe book and cooking. My family have commented on the complete sea change in me; I now love cooking and in fact cooked beef wellington the first day I was back home. I am off to be a chalet cook and can’t wait to show off and share my newfound skills to the guests.
After completing a week’s cookery course here I gained so much more confidence in the kitchen and learnt new skills which enabled me to host many dinner parties.
I had an absolutely fantastic cooking experience with this company. I met some great people whilst on this course and the staff where friendly and exceptional in their job. The meals I learnt were delicious and put me in a fantastic position for my ski season. I would recommend this cooking school to anybody (which I do) and they should be recognised for their excellence.
I had an amazing two-week experience at Orchards; the course was brilliant and I’m so glad I chose it. It was extremely well organised, the tutors were great and had an impressive amount of experience and the whole atmosphere was very friendly. The course was intense; everything we packed in I was greatly enthused to attempt once I got home, hosting dinner parties for friends and neighbours.
Orchards not only give you an amazing week of cooking but they are also there to help after the course, to help you to produce a great CV and to find a job.
The young Orchards’ graduates that we have employed on three occasions to cook for our large family holiday gatherings have all been superb. They have been responsive and responsible, confident, flexible, friendly, hard working, willing, cheerful, doing everything needed and more, providing three generations with good food that we have all enjoyed.
We have a great experience with Ms Rebecca Combes who takes care of our household in Geneva / Switzerland. Highly recommended!
I found Orchards Cookery to be fantastic from the content of the course to the friendly atmosphere. I learnt so much and had such a wonderful experience.
Orchards really helped my daughter get confidence in her cooking by explaining it clearly and in an engaging manner. I can hang up my spatulas, she can now be the master chef
My daughter attended a pre-University Course. She loved it and the results have been stunning!
My daughter has just finished a week – Off to Uni – course. Although we are a household of food lovers and cooking is an everyday pleasure she hadn’t actually done much herself. The school awoke her desire to cook beautiful, inventive, practical dishes. Great atmosphere. Very professional. And above all makes cooking fun and inclusive.
I vote for Orchards Cookery School to win the best cookery school award because they were able to convince a bunch of teenagers (boys and girls) that there’s more to food than fast food!
I vote for Orchards Cookery to win the Best Cookery School Award because I went there being completely incapable of cooking and left not only feeling very comfortable in the kitchen, but also having enjoyed every minute of my time there.
I vote for Orchards Cookery to win the Best Cookery School Award because my daughter has just returned from the Off to University course and thought it was brilliant.
I did the Orchards Cookery Chalet course this summer and had the best time ever. Not only did Orchards provide me with exceptional cooking skills, and the ability to cook for 12+ but all the people there were so friendly. Who knew cooking was so much fun?!
I had a fantastic time on my chalet cooks course last year with Orchards and learnt so much that I’m heading back for a second winter season very soon!
Orchards offer a lot more than cooking – self confidence, CV help, interview practise – each an important part of the jigsaw when job hunting both for a gap year job and in the future. Expensive? Yes. Value for money? Yes. Would I recommend? Yes – 2 children down, 1 to go. You get what you pay for ultimately.