A Morning at Chewton Glen Cookery School: Mastering Curries, Spices and Pastes

I love a cookery class. Whether I come away having learnt a new recipe or simply one little kitchen tip that makes life easier, I always leave feeling inspired to cook more. Curries are without a doubt my favourite food – I love them so much that my husband and I even had a local Indian takeaway cater our wedding! So, as a treat, I booked my mother-in-law and I onto Mastering Curries, Spices and Pastes at Chewton Glen Cookery School, hoping to learn how to recreate some of those incredible flavours at home.

We were welcomed with a coffee and the most delicious chocolate cookies before heading into the cookery school. The kitchen itself is beautiful – bright, spacious and so well designed that you instantly want to start cooking. One thing I hadn’t expected was that the entire school is surrounded by glass, so diners enjoying lunch in the restaurant can watch the classes in action. Hopefully we gave them a good show!

Our chef for the morning was Gerard Molloy, with his lovely assistant, Sarah, keeping everything running effortlessly behind the scenes. Between the demonstrations, preparing ingredients and magically making every dirty bowl and pan disappear, Sarah made the whole experience feel wonderfully relaxed. I could definitely get used to cooking without having to wash up afterwards!

The course lasted just over three hours, but it flew by. Gerard would demonstrate each stage while we gathered around to watch, before we returned to our own stations to recreate it ourselves. Every ingredient had already been measured out, meaning we could spend our time concentrating on the cooking rather than weighing spices or hunting for equipment.

What I loved most about Gerard’s teaching wasn’t just the recipes, it was his philosophy. Rather than encouraging us to follow recipes to the letter, he talked about cooking as having a base and then branches. Once you understand the foundations of a dish, you can take it wherever you like, swapping vegetables, changing proteins, adjusting spices or simply using whatever you already have at home. It made cooking feel much less about getting everything perfect and much more about building confidence.

Our menu for the morning included a beautifully fragrant biryani, a Sri Lankan curry and a comforting tarka dhal. I made vegetarian versions, with sweet potato in my biryani and vegetables in the curry, while my mother-in-law cooked with chicken for her biryani and monkfish for her curry. I loved how easily the dishes could be adapted without compromising on flavour.

As much as I enjoyed the cooking, my favourite lesson of the day was probably the simplest one. Gerard mentioned that he keeps fresh ginger in the freezer and simply grates it straight into whatever he’s cooking. I genuinely had no idea you could do that! It’s such a simple tip, but one I’ll use all the time.

Once everything was cooked, we all sat down together on the terrace to enjoy the lunch we’d made. Sharing food with people you’ve spent the morning cooking alongside somehow makes it taste even better, especially with a lovely glass of James Martin’s Chardonnay, which was included in the course.

Before we left, we were given recipe packs, a gorgeous Chewton Glen apron and lunch boxes filled with the curries we’d made to take home. It was such a lovely finishing touch.

Chewton Glen’s cookery courses are definitely more of a treat than an everyday activity, but for me they offer so much more than a few new recipes. I came away with practical kitchen skills, a different way of thinking about cooking and, perhaps most importantly, a really lovely morning spent with my mother-in-law.

I’ll certainly be freezing my ginger from now on and, if that’s the smallest thing I learnt, I can’t wait to see what I’ll pick up on my next course.

Now I just need to start saving!