Cooking with the celebrity chefs

Raymond Blanc – Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons

Le Manoir aux Qua'Saisons, in Oxford, is the home to a well-established cookery school and restaurant set up by Raymond Blanc in 1991. It caters for everyone from the complete novice right through to the experienced cook. The courses are run in a state of the art kitchen that is actually part of the kitchens of the, two Michelin Star, restaurant. This offers you an unequalled opportunity of watching Raymond Blanc preparing the dishes of the day.

Raymond Blanc conducts demos and drops in on the classes but the main instruction is from the school director, Stephen Bulmer. Stephen Bulmer was taught by Raymond Blanc and then went on to work at several notable restaurants before returning to Oxford and taking on the role of School Director in 2001. One of the main aims of the school is to get over the idea that cooking is fun and Stephen's relaxed and patient approach helps this along.

The cookery school offers a broad range of courses, inevitably with a French flavour and with fish and seafood a speciality. There is an organic market garden on the premises and most of the vegetables for both the school and restaurant come from this.

Courses are from one to five days in length and are on the expensive side, but do include accommodation and Raymond Blanc's seven-course 'Menu Gourmand' dinners. Non-cooking partners are offered accommodation free of charge, with meals and drinks charged separately.

Further information can be found on the Le Manoir website; an attractive site that is easy to find your way around. Information about the cookery school is under >Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons>L'Ecole. The essential information is presented on the webpages, while course dates and prices are available as PDF files. Go to Le Manoir website now.

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