Ashburton Cookery School
Ashburton Cookery School
Ashburton Cookery School
4.8
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
The Ashburton Cookery School & Chefs Academy in Devon is one of the UK's top cookery schools offering inspirational cookery courses taught by our team of expert chefs. With over 50 cookery courses to choose from, designed to suit beginners as well as advanced home cooks we will teach you to cook with imagination, passion and enjoyment. If you want to take your cookery skills to the next level we have a cookery course for you.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.8
96 reviews
Excellent
87
Very good
5
Average
2
Poor
1
Terrible
1
Peter B
poole12 contributions
Jul 2024 • Couples
The Ashburton Chefs Academy Dining Club. We visited on a July Tuesday evening and were immediately made to feel welcome. The two students in the dining room that night were courteous, friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. Whilst is was a tasting menu we sat down at seven o'clock and did not leave until after ten ! It was a sumptuous affair with great presentations, showing off the students skills in the kitchens. We were impressed and will visit the dining club again.
Written August 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helen T
Totnes, UK84 contributions
Mar 2022
I just did the Chef Skills one day course and it was a wonderful experience. There was a warm welcome on arrival and I couldn't fault the teaching. Ingredients were of an excellent quality and I was so pleased with what we all produced and ate together at lunchtime ( With a nice glass of well earned wine!) This is the second course I have done at the school, the first was the canape half day course. Both were taught by Stuart Brown, and his passion for teaching and good food was reflected in the session. I honestly learned so much- thank you!
Written March 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gacco29
Sheringham, UK92 contributions
May 2021 • Couples
We did a 2 day Indian cookery course, with Rob Spencer as the Lead Instructor.
The delivery of the course through mini tutorials, great written guidance and a friendly, attentive, helpful (but not intrusive) support team of Rob plus 3.
The pace was busy, but very doable.
The challenge to me as an intermediate was spot on. All the team were helpful with some excellent general tips and specific support.
We created a mountain of food, and everything we’ve eaten so far has been top drawer. It’s taken us back to our life in India and added some great knowledge for us.
Pedagogy, style, humour and passion abounded in Robs delivery. Excellent facilities, well equipped and a lovely location (not Derbyshire).
Brilliant - wish it was closer to us.
Thanks all. Faultless.
The delivery of the course through mini tutorials, great written guidance and a friendly, attentive, helpful (but not intrusive) support team of Rob plus 3.
The pace was busy, but very doable.
The challenge to me as an intermediate was spot on. All the team were helpful with some excellent general tips and specific support.
We created a mountain of food, and everything we’ve eaten so far has been top drawer. It’s taken us back to our life in India and added some great knowledge for us.
Pedagogy, style, humour and passion abounded in Robs delivery. Excellent facilities, well equipped and a lovely location (not Derbyshire).
Brilliant - wish it was closer to us.
Thanks all. Faultless.
Written June 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ad 478
2 contributions
Apr 2024 • Solo
An incredibly well organised day packed in with breadmaking. I had never made any bread before, but that didn't matter. Everything was seamless from the fresh coffee welcome to the lovely lunch we made ourselves with a sociable glass of wine. Olivia was simply brilliant and hit the mark perfectly between stunning professional capability and a real human touch to get the best out of her class. Could not have asked for better, it was faultless. There is obviously so much that goes on behind the scenes to provide such a fantastic product.
Written April 14, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Frances
4 contributions
Jul 2021 • Friends
We had dinner last night at the school cooked and served by the students as part of their course. The food was delicious, imaginative and well presented and the students charming and attentive. They had all enjoyed their course and had good ideas about their future careers. Obviously a few rough edges, but a great start as their first service! Can’t wait to go again!
Written July 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tinkerbella75
Swindon, UK84 contributions
Oct 2020 • Couples
Arrived at the cookery school and we were seated in a room and given tea/coffee and we were introduced to our chef Darren who explained how the class would run etc
We moved into the kitchen where there were our own work stations with all the ingredients and tools we would need for our pasta. Firstly Darren showed us (a large tv screen also) how to make the dough then the pastas and whilst our dough rested made a pesto. Throughout the whole time Darren checked on our progress gave hints and tips which was reassuring. Darren was light hearted and informative. One thing I would love to mention is the team around the kitchen who did a fabulous job cleaning and clearing anything we finished with. They deserve recognition. We took our pastas home in a box with a pot of pesto. Well worth a visit and will definitely try another course x
We moved into the kitchen where there were our own work stations with all the ingredients and tools we would need for our pasta. Firstly Darren showed us (a large tv screen also) how to make the dough then the pastas and whilst our dough rested made a pesto. Throughout the whole time Darren checked on our progress gave hints and tips which was reassuring. Darren was light hearted and informative. One thing I would love to mention is the team around the kitchen who did a fabulous job cleaning and clearing anything we finished with. They deserve recognition. We took our pastas home in a box with a pot of pesto. Well worth a visit and will definitely try another course x
Written October 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
txteva
Bristol, UK26 contributions
Aug 2020 • Friends
Spent half a day doing the knife skills course. Came away with some new tips on chopping onions (the PPE masks actually help stop my crying... nearly!) Plus many ways to slice up a carrot and even gutted my first fish!
Friendly & helpful staff, kept things clean and safe without being intrusive. One of my first post-lockdown outings and felt very safe but didn't feel the added PPE requirements got in the way of training at all. The only downside was the car home smelling of freshly chopped onions with all 4 chefs in training takeaway boxes 🤣 - we very swiftly came up with recipes for our veg!
Friendly & helpful staff, kept things clean and safe without being intrusive. One of my first post-lockdown outings and felt very safe but didn't feel the added PPE requirements got in the way of training at all. The only downside was the car home smelling of freshly chopped onions with all 4 chefs in training takeaway boxes 🤣 - we very swiftly came up with recipes for our veg!
Written August 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CheekyLondon
Southend-on-Sea, UK1,645 contributions
May 2022
We did a two day British Plus cookery course at the school. Every aspect of the course was excellent. It was very well organised, the chef was excellent in his teaching methods and we learned professional tips! The equipment is also very good. The two days were really fully packed with every minute of time being a fun learning experience. We also had time to eat the food we had prepared, served with an inclusive glass of wine! The staff did everything to make this a most memorable and enjoyable experience.
Written May 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
josephineBristol
Bristol58 contributions
Oct 2021
My friend and I just did the dinner party plus weekend course at Ashburton. We had a fabulous time and learned some great recipes and lots of cooking tips. Although it was a busy weekend it was strangely calm and relaxing in the kitchen. Darren was our chef teacher and he was very enthusiastic, entertaining and pleasant. Obviously he was also a great chef. The only downside is that I have put on about 3lbs.
Written October 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
remarkableroamer
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia5 contributions
Feb 2017 • Solo
It's hard to judge a place after visiting for just a day but if your serious about professional cookery courses, I'd chose one of the London schools or Tante Marie in Woking. The one day Italian cookery course I attended, which had a chef trainer who seemed more concerned with being popular than training (a symptom of boredom or pedagogically deficient), was supposed to be a taster course to help me decide if I wanted to do the upcoming 4 and/or 20 week course. They assured me there'd be places available for me on both after attending the day course, but when I checked, the 20 week course was fully booked without them notifying me. However, I was further assured I was first on the waiting list. The next day when I checked if I was still first on the waiting list, I was told someone else was first on the waiting list. In short, customer service at this place is shambolic. I found the staff who dealt with me to be inept communicators, defensive and evasive in the face of any kind of criticism and lacking in humility. I understand the school is busy and somewhat over-subscribed but that shouldn't be a reason to be complacent and disrespectful towards potential customers. They also make you believe they are close to the Finlake accommodation, but in fact it's over 7 miles away and more than double what you'd pay in other schools. I also have it on good authority that they plagiarised their level 4 diploma curriculum from a renowned school in the UK, which is another reason to be slightly concerned.
I'm afraid my experience with this school was rather dreary and altogether forgettable.
Tony
I'm afraid my experience with this school was rather dreary and altogether forgettable.
Tony
Written February 23, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Tony,
Thank you for taking the time to share your review of the 1 day Italian Cookery Course on TripAdvisor.
Whilst we always take fair criticism on board, I can't agree with your attempt to discredit the business and staff based on inaccuracies.
Your main source of anger appears to be that we did not reserve a place on our 6 month Professional Culinary Diploma whilst you decided over a period of months whether it was a course you were going to apply to take.
You told us that you wanted to take our 1 day taster course (free if you take a Chefs Academy course later) and then perhaps a 4 week Culinary Certificate, and then perhaps a 20 week Culinary Diploma.
There were no barriers to you booking on the 4 week Culinary Certificate - you could have done so with a phone call at any time as you well know.
However, there is great demand for our 6 month Culinary Diploma and there was only one place remaining for June at the time of your enquiry.
It was explained to you by multiple Customer Service staff over several phone calls that we couldn't reserve you a place on a Diploma until you were accepted onto that course following an application and chef interview - that's the same for everyone.
You chose not to apply for the Diploma. Had you done so, and subsequently been accepted, you would have been next in line for the June course, or worst case a guaranteed place on the January course since that is not full.
It is unfair of you to expect to displace the many other applicants for the Culinary Diploma that have followed the application process and have been offered a place on the course.
Your claim that our Culinary Diploma course content is plagiarised is simply wrong. You are confusing QCF qualifications with course content, which is unique and distinct between schools.
Had you arranged an interview or come to one of our regular open evenings you would have understood about the course and the qualifications it incorporates in detail.
At the same time you would have learned about our Finlake accommodation option - and a cursory look on our website shows that we state it is 15 minute drive away (and that we provide daily free minibus transport between sites).
Since Finlake is a unique accommodation option amongst UK culinary schools your claim that it is twice the price of other cookery schools is meaningless.
In regard to your experience on the 1 day Italian course, I'm sorry if this wasn't to your liking. Your tutor for the day was a senior chef tutor who is a highly regarded, qualified teacher and a Michelin star level chef. All experiences are subjective, but the feedback from the other participants on that day has been positive.
In regard to your statement on other cookery schools - Tante Marie, and others at that level in London are all fine culinary schools that we have a lot of respect for - you have some great options.
I hope you find a training provider to meet your expectations and I wish you success with your future ambitions in cookery.
Yours sincerely,
D. O'Nions
Managing Director
Ashburton Cookery School & Chefs Academy
Written February 25, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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