Basic Ingredients: Ready Steady Cook chef Lesley Waters leads hands-on, demonstration and bespoke masterclasses in the historic private family home of Minterne House. Located in the Dorset countryside between Sherbourne and Dorchester, the 1,300 acre venue is special and four en-suite bedrooms are available to cookery school guests for overnight stays. Fish dishes and Dorset kitchen style food are the mainstay. Group sizes are small. Prices range from £75-£275.
They Say: Cook, taste, relax and laugh and be prepared to get charged by Lesley’s ‘infectious enthusiasm’ for cooking. According to Guardian journalist Simon Jenkins, Minterne House is one of the Top 1,000 homes in Britain.
We Say: Probably best to make a weekend of it in this idyllic West Dorset setting. Hive Beach with its amazing seafood cafe at Burton Bradstock is near by.
0844 800 4633; www.lesleywaters.com
