COOKERY SCHOOLS - 10 OF THE BEST

Ballymaloe Cookery School & Gardens
Shanagarry, Co Cork

While cookery is of course central to the schedule Darina Allen’s internationally renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School, it’s developed over the years to include life skills of every kind

The Neven Maguire Cookery School
Blacklion, Co Cavan

The delightfully homely cookery school adjoining MacNean House & Restaurant offers a range of classes suitable for people of all cookery levels, with small numbers allowing hands-on instruction and assistance from Neven and his dedicated team. All courses are conducted by Neven who has carefully selected a range of his own recipes for people of all levels of experience. 

The Tannery Cookery School
Dungarvan, Co Waterford

Renowned chef Paul Flynn offers an exciting range of courses to suit all tastes and abilities from evening demos to a five-day hands-on course.

Dunbrody Country House & Cookery School
Arthurstown, Co Wexford

Converted outbuildings at Catherine and Kevin Dundon’s elegant Georgian manor house what must be Ireland’s most stylish cookery school and has been designed to cater for all levels of cooks, from budding enthusiasts to the experienced gourmet and, alongside it, a beautiful spa.

Ballyknocken House & Cookery School
Ashford, Co Wicklow

Perfectly placed for walking holidays in the Wicklow Hills, playing golf, or simply for touring the area, Catherine Fulvio’s charming Victorian farmhouse provides comfort, cosiness, home-cooked food and hospitality. Ballyknocken Cookery School offers a selection of day, weekend and resedential courses, on application 

Cooks Academy
Dublin 2

Justifiably styling themselves 'Dublin's Premier Cookery School', Vanessa and Tim Greenwood's stylish purpose-built city centre cookery school offers a wide range of cookery and wine lessons for both the amateur enthusiast and the professional cook.

Berry Lodge B&B, Restaurant & Cookery School
Miltown Malbay, Co Clare

Near the coast of west Clare, between Kilkee and Lahinch, this attractive Victorian country house is set in well maintained gardens. It was the family home of the owner, Rita Meade, who has run it as a restaurant with accommodation since 1994 and, more recently, as a cookery school (details of courses on application).

Good Things Café & Cookery School
Durrus, Co Cork

Carmel Somers, chef, teacher and food writer does more than any other chef in the region to promote local produce and conducts courses including a series of demonstration and hands-on courses, one day, two day and five day, “action oriented”, provocatively titled events (imagine “A Dozen Quickies in a Day” or “Fish Orgy Weekend”!) across a spectrum of culinary interests and capacities, for young and old, vegetarians and carnivores. 

The Kitchen in the Castle
Howth, Co Dublin

Run by an experienced team - founder Edwina St Lawrence, with Head Tutor Hazel McFadden and tutor, Liberty Finnegan - this unusual cookery school is based in the beautifully restored Georgian kitchens in historic Howth Castle.

Fiacri Country House & Cookery School
Roscrea, Co Tipperary

Enda & Ailish Hennessy’s lovely country house style restaurant and cookery school offers excellent cooking and caring service that makes it a special experience. Ailish also offers cookery classes throughout the year and aims to teach cooking skills in an atmosphere in which students will also make new friends. This is a very popular restaurant and advance booking is essential.

Belfast Cookery School
Belfast

Conveniently located in the centre of Belfast, at the rear of the Mourne Seafood Bar, this is the city's first purpose built cookery school and it is a bright airy space with state of the art equipment and a great team of tutors headed up by proprietor Andy Rea and Wayne Carville, head chef at Mourne Seafood Bar.