Leiths Cooking Class: One-Day Masterclass in Shepherd's Bush

Leiths School of Food and Wine teaches its one-day cooking masterclasses at 16-20 Wendell Road, London W12 9RT, a residential street off Askew Road in Shepherd's Bush. Each masterclass is a single day: arrive from 9.30 am, cooking starts at 10 am and ends around 1.45 pm, then you sit down to a lunch of the dishes you made before the day closes at 2.30 pm. The masterclass pages show a headline fee of £210 including VAT, while each dated place in the booking list is priced at £175, and booking two places together takes 20 per cent off.

Prue Leith founded the school in 1975 with Caroline Waldegrave, at a time when, as the school puts it, spaghetti bolognese seemed exotic. Her idea was to teach fresh, seasonal ingredients cooked from scratch with simple methods and recipes that work, and the school says tens of thousands of students have since been trained the Leiths way. Its flagship Culinary Diploma still runs in London, and the masterclasses borrow that teaching for one day. They are aimed at beginners, and the school describes them as best suited to people with little or no culinary experience. Expect small groups and hands-on teaching throughout the day.

Each masterclass focuses on one skill rather than one menu. Pasta Skills runs on Friday 30 October and Friday 27 November 2026, Knife Skills on Saturday 7 November, Bakery Skills on Saturday 21 November and Pastry Skills on Saturday 5 December. The Fish Skills class has its next date on 9 January 2027. Spaces were limited when the listings were checked, with Knife Skills showing two places left, so the short-notice dates go first. Pasta and Bakery had the most room.

The structure is the same for every subject. You arrive from 9.30 am, class begins at 10 am, and you cook until about 1.45 pm. Then everyone sits down to a relaxed lunch featuring the dishes they have prepared, with refreshments, and the day ends at 2.30 pm. Ingredients, knives and equipment are all supplied by Leiths. Bring containers if you want to carry leftovers home, because pasta and pastry days often produce more than one lunch can finish.

The school advises long trousers and a long-sleeved top, plus closed-toe, flat-soled shoes, which matters on a knife or fish day. If you have allergies or need dietary adjustments, Leiths asks you to email before you book rather than after, since the menus are planned around each skill. The school's rules state that no one under the age of 18 may drink alcohol on site.

All fees are paid in full when you book. Cancel more than seven days before the course and Leiths refunds the fee minus reasonable administration costs. With less than seven days' notice there is no refund, but you can take a credit less admin costs, and for one-day courses you may send someone else in your place. Cancelling on the day or after class has started counts as non-attendance, with no refund, credit or transfer. The terms were last reviewed in July 2026.

The simplest saving is the 20 per cent discount for booking two places on any Culinary Masterclass together. It suits couples, a parent and adult child, or two friends who plan to cook together at home afterwards, since you will learn the same techniques side by side. Pasta Skills makes a sensible pair booking because you go home with a method you can repeat on a weeknight, whereas Pastry Skills appeals more to keen bakers who already have the basics.

The school's own directions list Stamford Brook on the District line as a 15-minute walk. Goldhawk Road on the Hammersmith and City line is a 20-minute walk or a five-minute ride on bus 94 or 237 to stop SJ. From Shepherd's Bush Central line station, the same buses take about 15 minutes. Route 266 stops on Askew Road at stops AE and AD, which is the closest bus if you are coming from Hammersmith or Acton.

Arrive early and you will find Askew Road waking up with independent cafes and bakeries, which makes a good place for a coffee before the 9.30 am arrival. Keep breakfast light, because lunch is the meal you cook. If you are coming from the District line, the walk from Stamford Brook passes Stamford Brook Common, a small green with old trees that makes a quieter route than the main roads.

Once you finish at 2.30 pm, Ravenscourt Park is a short walk south, with a lake, tennis courts and a cafe, and on a fine autumn afternoon it is a good place to walk off lunch. Hammersmith's riverside, with its pubs along the Upper and Lower Mall, is a little further on and makes a classic Thames walk. On wet days, Westfield London at Shepherd's Bush has cookware shops where you can buy the knife you just learned to use.

Book a Leiths masterclass if you want proper technique taught the way professional students learn it, compressed into a single day with lunch included. It is less suited to travellers looking for a cultural or market experience, because the setting is a working school in a quiet residential area rather than a historic district. Experienced cooks may find the beginner level slow. For confident home cooks, the pastry or fish days offer more to learn than knife skills.

If a masterclass leaves you wondering about cooking professionally, Leiths holds an open evening at the school on Thursday 12 November 2026, from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm, aimed at people considering its Culinary Diploma. It is a chance to see the school in the evening and ask about the full-time route before committing. The school also hires out its professional kitchen and studio space, so you may share the building with a private event on some days.

Leiths School of Food and Wine, 16-20 Wendell Road, London W12 9RT. School office hours Monday to Friday 8.45 am to 4.45 pm. One-day Culinary Masterclasses: £210 including VAT on the course pages, £175 per dated place in the booking list, with 20 per cent off two places booked together. Arrival from 9.30 am, class 10 am, day ends 2.30 pm with lunch. Wear long sleeves, long trousers and closed flat shoes. Cancellation more than seven days ahead is refunded less admin costs.