Come fry with me

A decade ago cookery holidays were a new phenomenon, attracting only a handful of food-obsessed individuals. Since then, the public's interest in cooking has been aroused by an explosion of TV programmes and books on the subject and today thousands of keen amateur cooks annually pack their bags and head off on holiday in search of new recipes and instruction in the kitchen.

According to Alastair Little, chef-proprietor of two London restaurants and a director of cookery holiday company Tasting Places, the appetite for cookery holidays has grown out of all recognition in the 10 years since he stood in front of his first class in Italy. "Back then it was a struggle to entice people on cookery holidays - the demand was very small. But that's changed in recent years. Demand is such that we're looking to expand our range of destinations," he says (Tasting Places currently offers courses in Italy, Thailand and Cornwall), "and we're thinking about adding France, India and possibly Morocco and Mexico, too."

Teaching to the converted

Alan Murchison, formerly senior sous chef at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, and now director of its Ecole de Cuisine, comments that it is professional, working chefs in particular that the public seems eager to learn from. Experienced home cooks or home economics teachers simply do not have the same appeal.

"People eat in restaurants far more than they used to and this is the type of food they want to be able to reproduce at home. They can only learn that from the chefs who actually cook it," he says. "As a result, there are now more opportunities for chefs to teach cookery courses than ever before."

Murchison admits, however, that when Le Manoir's chef-patron, Raymond Blanc, first suggested that he should apply for the job as head of the cookery school, he was in two minds about it. "I thought it would be Henley and Ascot ladies on the courses and wasn't sure it would be enjoyable teaching them all the time," he says. "In fact, we get a huge mix - people in their 20s to people in their 80s and from all kinds of professions."

Sebastian Snow, chef-proprietor of Snows on the Green in London, who does a couple of weeks' teaching a year for Tasting Places in Italy, says he is also surprised at the diversity of the people on cookery holidays. "What particularly amazed me was how many men go on these courses. The courses I've taken have been 50:50 men and women," he says. "It has made me realise how many men are cooking as a hobby these days."

All abilities catered for

Snow has been astounded by how knowledgeable many of his pupils are, as has another Tasting Places tutor, Peter Gordon, formerly head chef of London's Sugar Club restaurant. "Considering the people on these courses aren't chefs, they really know a great deal about food and are generally passionate about it. That was a pleasant surprise for me."

But, of course, not all students are at exactly the same level and this provides teaching chefs with one of their greatest challenges. Rosemary Shrager, head chef at Amhuinnsuidhe Castle on the island of Harris in the Hebrides, who opens her kitchen for cookery courses 10 weeks a year, says she gauges skill levels quickly and tailors her teaching accordingly. "I watch what everyone's up to every minute of the day. If someone is having trouble, I'll take that individual right back to basics to give them confidence. But if someone is more experienced, I'll get them to go a stage further in their cooking."

Hopeless students

Occasionally, however, there are pupils who are beyond help. Susan Elliott, head chef at Miller Howe hotel in Windermere, which offers cookery holidays every winter, admits that in the 12 years she has been at the property there have been a handful of "odd characters". "Just occasionally there's someone who consistently asks stupid questions and who can't grasp anything," she says.

Snow agrees and relates the tale of his worst ever pupil: "There was this stockbroker from Moscow who didn't appear to know the difference between a pig and a cow. There was nothing I could do with him."

Dealing with difficult people

Murchison says he has most difficulty with people who watch every cookery programme under the sun and who consequently think they are budding master chefs. "We only get the odd smartarse, but for me, they are the most frustrating part of this job."

At Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, Shrager similarly gets irritated by "know-alls". "I gently tell these people they are doing things the wrong way and suggest they slow down," she says. "They usually respond to me because I always make sure I have a twinkle in my eye and humour in my voice when I tell them off."

However annoying those on the cookery courses are, and whatever their skill level, they always have to be treated courteously. After all, they have paid a great deal of money to be there. A four-day course at Le Manoir, for example, costs £1,475, while a five-day course at Amhuinnsuidhe Castle is £1,200 and Tasting Places holidays cost about £1,000 a week, plus flights.

Murchison asserts that patience is the number one prerequisite for teaching. Any chef with a temper or with a tendency to use bad language would have to reform their behaviour before taking a class, he says.

Shrager supports his view. "It's heartbreaking to watch someone trying to fillet a beautiful sole and ripping it to pieces, for instance. But whatever state the poor fish is in, you have to have patience. You have to be encouraging and tell people how to put things right."

"Anyone who thinks that teaching the public is easy has got it wrong," concurs Snow. "It requires a hell of a lot of energy talking to people for hours at a time, showing them what to do and keeping them happy."

Positive experience

Despite all the hard work, energy and patience required, all the chefs who spoke to Caterer said they loved teaching and claimed they got a lot out of the experience.

Snow reckons that meeting people from different countries is one of the most enjoyable aspects of teaching. Peter Gordon and Shrager, meanwhile, say that they find teaching a refreshing change from everyday life at the stove. "Let's face it, the kitchen is bloody hard work day in day out," says Shrager. "Teaching is a little bit of fun."

It is also useful to get feedback from the public about particular dishes, adds Gordon. "Listening to people's views about my ingredients and combinations and finding out which of my dishes they most enjoy is really interesting," he says. "I certainly bear it in mind when I write my cookery books - it means I can give people the recipes they like."

Murchison points out that those who come on cookery courses have often eaten in some of the finest restaurants around the world and, therefore, frequently have useful experiences to share. "I find that it's not a one-way street with these courses. I learn lots of things from my groups, as well as them learning from me," he says. "It's fascinating hearing about dishes people have tried in the great restaurants of France, Hong Kong, Japan and so on and I've picked up tips from that."

Occasionally, in cases where his pupils have particularly good culinary expertise in a certain dish or style of cooking, he has got them to demonstrate it to him and the rest of the class. "For example, I had a Spanish woman on a course a few months ago, who showed us all how to make a proper paella. And there was an Indian man on another course who showed us how to make a bhuna correctly."

Passing on the passion

Above all, though, Murchison and the others say they enjoy teaching because it is so rewarding seeing people gain confidence in the kitchen and become more passionate about food. As Elliott at Miller Howe puts it: "It's fantastic when you see people itching to get home so they can try out something they've learnt. And I really love it when they come back to the hotel for dinner a few months later and tell me how much pleasure they are getting out of their cooking following the course."