Hampstead Cuisine School

04-08-2008
Stefan muller

This place is really amazing, attending the workshop where I learnt so much more than I could have imagined from oils, salts, use of ingredients how to shop. the workshop was well organised but the biggest surprise was the restaurant - a real palace !!! my girlfriend who joined for me dinner was balled over as she expected a brightly lit commercial kitchen like a moterway cafe! the trainer told us it was a replica of a banqueting room in a German palace and boy, it really did feel like one too. Highly recommend this place.

26-09-2007
Beate Brown

I was told about this school by my colleague who had already attended so before I decided I bought my boyfriend a cooking for blokes gift voucher and since then he has dramatically improved his precence in MY kitchen! We decided because of the rising costs of restaurant prices in London to entertain more at home and we are indeed more now than anytime before. Thanks to this cookery school, Philip learnt so much, not only recipes but better kitchen organisation and how to pre prepare, cooking techniques inlcuding right use of different knives and so much other stuff. I attended the evening champagne reception and dinner and can only comment what excellent service and hospitality this place offers. The restaurant was a spectacle. With the savings alone we make on dining at home, we have recouped the course cost already. Im looking forward to going together on the Al Fresco course and excited to invite my parents for a surprise evening dinner treat.

13-09-2007
charlie lenke

I am a trained chef in Munich and had had the need to develope something new with my side dishes and sauces. My idea was that the vegetarian cuisine might invest more energy and creativity in that to make people not miss anything. I booked a cooking course in the Frankfurt branche of HCS because I heard that the school is an international institution which benefits from it. I got more than I expected! Chico Francesco is a specialist in wild fusion, using his family traditions from Sicily, India and (when I am right) Brazil. I received great ideas to top my sauces with unusual cents and flavours and to practice new techniques etc. - But it was more than that, the day by itself was an experience! Chico understands to teach and entertain, my feeling was, it was something between friends who are going to explore a thrilling new world. Thank you for the experience and the valuable input!

13-09-2007
john rushton

This ia an actual review that I did for an American magazine a little while ago, I've been back since to the school and I thought it appropriate to repeate this review as it as it's true in every respect.REVIEWJohn Rushton.Writer, broadcaster, lecturer.www.thelifealchemist.com HAMPSTEAD CUISINE SCHOOL Chico Francesco is the proprietor and owner of one of the new breed of cookery schools emerging on the ever growing food skills markets today, where people want to learn food knowledge and skills more in line with eating and food aspirations yet haven�t got 5 years available to devote to it. The Hampstead Cuisine School is a premier boutique cookery school that shines head and shoulders above the rest, it has as its clients many large corporate names which willingly send their prized employees for a worthy �treat� that they can enjoy, learn and utilise every day of their lives, whereas some corporate spend it like a firework, a quick fizz and it�s all over. Other clients are those that seek to grow their knowledge and experience in culinary skills and food knowledge. The world now is becoming so small that world food is available just down the road from every supermarket, and year round too. Chico Francesco has successfully amalgamated traditional skills, arts, protocols and delivery with ultra modern flair, aplomb and panache to give a real uniqueness not just a difference to what his school teaches and how well it�s all received by those who attend. Already his �niche� cookery school has built up a reputation second to none and Chico�s friendly, and attentive manner means that no one goes home without having had his personal attention and service eradicating any potential embarrassment and nerves. Cooking is fun, and that�s what this is from start to finish, fun. The camaraderie that�s instantly built up with everyone on the course whether it�s a day, a morning or a series of courses makes for a conducive experience with real and tangible results. Everything is supplied, and full �hands on� instruction given so no dithering or blank moments, it�s real fun in every respect. The courses that are run are almost all unique too, there�s the famous �Cooking for Blokes� which many a wife and girlfriend has bought for their other half, and even corporate clients are on the waiting list for this. There�s the half day course which is everything that you would need to literally start and produce fine fayre. And then there�s the crowning glory which is the full day course with champagne reception. This course allows the �blokes� to cook during the day then invite their respective halves to join them in a sumptuous private dining room in the evening and experience an experience. The dining room is intimate, plush and is lavish, with real linen tablecloths, cut glass, the finest wines and a unique ambience that will easily fit into one of those �treasured� memories that we keep and hold on to. The school runs many courses all with very different �flavours�, purposes and experience levels, but whether you are a budding amateur, someone with knowledge, or you�ve never made more than a cup of tea, you�ll not go home disappointed.

12-09-2007
sam hale

I have always found myself to be a bit of a novice on the cooking front and tend to cook plain easy meals so that I dont have to spend too long in the kitchen. As a surprise gift my boyfriend booked me on a 1 day session at the Hampstead Cuisine School which initially I thought was a bit cheeky of him! However, I went along feeling like a novice and met some really nice people and was made to feel really welcome. Between the small group of us we prepared a number of interesting meals which were easy to do but looked lovely and were full of flavour. At the end of the day our partners joined us and we were seated in a really lovely dining area and ate all the courses we had made. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others who either want to brush up on their cooking tips but also to those that love spending time in the kitchen. There are different levels depending on your skills and what you want to achieve and I hope to send my boyfriend on the advanced version.