Food at 52 Cooking Class in Clerkenwell: Wine Included, £115

Food at 52 runs its cookery classes at 96 Central Street, London EC1V 8AJ, in Clerkenwell, and it describes itself as more dinner party than classroom. Classes cost £115 for a two-and-a-half-hour session and £145 for the longer world-cuisine evenings, and every price includes free-flowing red or white wine and soft drinks while you cook and eat. The last 45 minutes to an hour of each class is spent around the dinner table, eating the feast the group has just made.

Emily and John have run Food at 52 since 2008. For the first four years they taught from their own home kitchen, which happened to be at number 52, and the name stuck when they moved to their current premises. They say they always wanted it to feel like stepping into someone's home, with wine, music and a lot of laughter, and the long shared table is still the centre of every class. The couple are now also opening a cook-and-dine house in Olhão, Portugal, but the London school carries on as before.

The Authentic Italian Pasta Masterclass is the core class, with handmade pastas and traditional sauces, finishing with an Italian dessert such as a chocolate torta. It costs £115 for two and a half hours or £175 for the five-hour version; the next London date is Saturday 14 November 2026, from 6.30 pm to 9 pm. The Thai Cookery Class runs for three and a half hours at £145, with the next date on Saturday 28 November from 4 pm. Classic French, Indian Street Feast and Vietnamese classes are also £145.

The newest addition is the Taco Cookery Class at £115. It is built around what the school calls the four pillars of seasoning, salty, sour, sweet and spicy, inspired by Oaxacan cooking. You learn to pair salsas with different fillings and to make traditional corn tortillas from scratch. Dates include Friday 23 October and Saturday 12 December 2026, then monthly into 2027. It is the most relaxed class on the list and suits a group of friends who want a lively evening.

The maximum public class size is usually 12 people, which keeps the kitchen sociable without being crowded. Many guests come as couples or in small groups, but solo bookings are common and the shared table makes it easy to talk to strangers. Expect music and conversation rather than silent concentration. If you want detailed technical correction on every step, a larger professional school may suit you better; if you want a fun evening where you also learn something, this is the place.

The minimum age to attend alone is 18. Children aged 8 to 17 are welcome when accompanied by a paying adult, which makes the pasta and taco classes a good option for a family weekend activity. All you need to bring is yourself, in flat, comfortable shoes, and the school suggests a hair band if you have long hair. If you have a dietary requirement or allergy, contact the school before booking; it cannot guarantee the kitchen is free of allergen traces.

There are no refunds. Date changes are free if made more than 28 days before the class. Between 28 and 14 days, a change costs £25 per person. Within 14 days of the class, dates cannot be changed under any circumstances, but you can send someone else in your place. Since all prices include drinks, the ticket price is the full cost of the evening, which makes it easy to budget for a night out.

The school's own directions give Old Street station, exit 7, as a ten-minute walk, with Angel also ten minutes away on foot. Barbican is a similar distance, and King's Cross, Farringdon and Liverpool Street rail stations are all nearby. There is a car park in the area but limited street parking, so public transport is the easier choice, especially since wine flows throughout the evening.

Clerkenwell rewards an early arrival. Bunhill Fields, the old burial ground where William Blake and John Bunyan are buried, is a quiet tree-lined walk a few minutes south and makes a calm detour from Old Street. Exmouth Market, to the west, has a pedestrianised strip of cafes and restaurants that is busy on Friday and Saturday evenings. Keep lunch light, because the class ends with a full meal.

Classes finish in the evening, and the Barbican Centre is close enough for a late drink or a look at its brutalist terraces lit up at night. By daylight, Wesley's Chapel on City Road, built for John Wesley in the 1770s, sits opposite Bunhill Fields and is a short detour. Several buses run along City Road toward Angel and King's Cross for the trip home.

Each class is hands-on. The chef demonstrates a step, then you have a go yourself, usually working in pairs or small groups at your own gas ring around a long handmade oak table. The menu is planned so you eat something early on, and the main meal comes at the end, when the last 45 minutes to an hour is spent sitting down together. On the Thai evening the centrepiece is a green curry with sea bass, or mixed vegetables for non-fish eaters.

Book Food at 52 if you want a social cooking evening with drinks included, a meal at the end and a homely atmosphere. It suits birthdays, couples and solo travellers who enjoy meeting people. It is less suited to anyone who wants a strict technical course or who does not drink, since the price includes wine either way. The strict date-change rules also mean you should only book once your plans are fixed.

Food at 52, 96 Central Street, London EC1V 8AJ. Classes from £115 (2.5 hours) to £175 (five-hour pasta masterclass); Thai, French, Indian and Vietnamese classes £145. Free-flowing wine and soft drinks included. Usual maximum 12 people. Over-18s alone; ages 8 to 17 with a paying adult. No refunds; free date changes more than 28 days ahead.