Cooking with the celebrity chefs

These days our TV screens are filled with the sights and sounds of food. Luscious and exotic fruit, fish straight from the sea and organic vine ripened tomatoes are turned into mouth-watering meals by enthusiastic chefs who chop, braise, bake, boil and eulogise over the dishes they create in front of our eyes.

Bookshop shelves and magazine racks are groaning under the weight of an apparently endless stream of new cookery titles: books specialising in baking or poultry, books about Mexican cooking, food magazines from the supermarkets, vegetarian cookbooks and recipe books from well known restaurants. Top of the list, and often top of the bestseller list too, are the spin off titles from the TV programmes. These are the days of the celebrity chef.

What has this done to our perception of food and cooking? We have learnt that cooking can be fun, creative and very satisfying. In times where 'domestic science' is no longer a compulsory subject in schools the likes of Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver have taught us that we can cook and that the idea of supper party for six isn't as scary as we thought. They have demystified cooking and introduced us to a whole new range of foods and cooking styles. Any wonder then at the current popularity of cookery holidays and courses.

A cookery holiday will allow you to learn new skills, enjoy good food and wine and satisfy your creative urges, all at the same time. They come in all shapes and sizes: from the 'come and cook in my farmhouse kitchen' type to the large formal cooking schools. They can be taken close to home or away in the sun, can be just for a weekend or for several weeks at a time, can focus on one cuisine or cover a broad range; the choices are yours. However, for some, the icing on the cake is the chance to cook with the celebrity chefs and this series is intended to introduce you to opportunities to do just that.

While some of the top TV chefs just make guest appearances at established cookery schools; others have set up their own. In either case be aware that you may not actually get to cook with the celebrity chef him or herself. They may simply do demos or will, perhaps, be cooking in the same kitchen. They may not put in an appearance at all, trusting the instruction entirely to carefully selected and very competent chefs who they have worked closely with, or trained in their style of cooking.

If you want to rub shoulders with celebrity chefs themselves then go for some of the lesser stars, perhaps the established cookery writers who haven't made it to our TV screens yet, or the celebrity chefs of a few years ago. Alternatively go to one of the bigger, established schools such as Leith's School of Food and Wine. Although Prue Leith is no longer involved in the running of the school her standards and reputation live on ensuring the school can attract renowned chefs and cookery writers for demonstrations and guest appearances.

To help you make a choice we have listed some of the celebrity chefs and details of where you might be able to cook with them or, at least, under their influence. We will be adding to this list on a regular basis, but have started with some of the top names:

• Raymond Blanc
• Nick Nairn
• Rick Stein
   (Click on names to select)

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