School of Wok Cooking Class in Covent Garden: 3 Hours, £115

School of Wok teaches its public Asian cooking classes at 61 Chandos Place, London WC2N 4HG, on the quiet back side of Covent Garden and a short walk from Chinatown. The format is simple: a three-hour class costs £115 and gives you two and a half hours at the wok followed by 30 minutes eating what you cooked with a glass of wine, while the full-day courses run from 11 am to 4 pm for £195.

Jeremy Pang founded School of Wok in 2009 and describes himself as a fourth-generation foodie. The school started with visits to clients' own kitchens before Jeremy and his business partner Nev grew it into a flagship school in Covent Garden. Its stated goals are to eat great Asian food, to teach great Asian food and to laugh while doing it, and the classes reflect that: the tone is relaxed, but the teaching is about technique, especially heat control and knife work, rather than following a recipe card.

The dated listings for late 2026 cover several cuisines. A Full Day Introduction to Dim Sum runs on Saturday 31 October and Saturday 19 December, 11 am to 4 pm, at £195. A Full Day Japanese Izakaya course runs on Friday 30 October at the same time and price. Among the three-hour classes at £115, the Chinese Banquet runs on the evening of 30 October, a Japanese Cuisine Masterclass on the afternoon of 14 November, a Seafood and Fish Cookery course on the evening of 6 November and Dim Sum and Bao on the evening of 18 December.

Classes are capped at 12 students with one head chef and one assistant chef, and the FAQ says groups usually run between eight and twelve. That small size means dates sell out quickly. When the listings were last checked, several October and November evenings showed no spaces, the Japanese masterclass and the seafood class had one place left each, and the Chinese Banquet had two. If you have a fixed date in mind, book as soon as you know it rather than waiting for the week of your trip.

The three-hour evening classes suit travellers and anyone who wants dinner as part of the experience, since the session ends with your own dishes on the table. The full-day dim sum course is the better choice if you want to learn the dough work properly, because folding dumplings and pleating bao takes repetition. Beginners can join either, but the full day gives the assistant chef more time to correct your technique, which is where most of the learning happens.

You do not need to bring anything, but wear comfortable, non-slip, closed-toe shoes. The school recommends bringing a food container for leftovers, and you will usually have some. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult who has also bought a place. One rule surprises people: no alcohol is served until all the knife work is finished, so the wine comes with the meal at the end, not during the chopping.

School of Wok says it can work around allergies by offering alternative recipes or ingredients, and it offers halal alternatives whenever possible. You need to tell the team at the time of booking, since substitutions have to be prepared before the class. Vegetarians should mention it too, because dim sum fillings and banquet dishes lean heavily on pork, prawn and chicken.

For public classes, cancelling more than 48 hours before the class costs nothing. Between 24 and 48 hours, you pay 50 per cent of the booking price, and with less than 24 hours' notice you pay the full amount. That is more flexible than many London cookery schools, which makes School of Wok one of the safer choices for visitors whose plans might shift.

Chandos Place runs parallel to the Strand, so the school is easy to reach from Charing Cross, Leicester Square or Covent Garden. Before an evening class, the Covent Garden Piazza is a few minutes' walk away, as are Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, which has free entry to its permanent collection. After a daytime course, Chinatown's supermarkets on Gerrard Street and Lisle Street are the obvious next stop for the sauces, wrappers and rice flour you just cooked with.

Beyond leftovers, the main thing you leave with is a way of cooking rather than a set of dishes. The school's teaching focuses on preparing everything before the wok goes on, cooking in small batches over high heat and building sauces in the right order. That approach works on a home hob as well as a restaurant burner, and it is the reason many students come back for a second cuisine.

The school also teaches Korean and Thai cooking, though every listed date for both was fully booked when the timetable was last updated. The Thai Street Food class at £115 covers jungle curry, Thai fish cakes, flash-fried morning glory and son-in-law eggs with jasmine rice, while the Full Day Thai Cuisine course at £195 adds som tam salad, green chicken curry, pad Thai and mango sticky rice. On the Korean side there is a bibimbap class and a vegetarian Korean class, both three hours at £115. Watch the school's pages for new dates, since these releases go quickly.

Book School of Wok if you want an energetic, social class in central London with a meal at the end, and if Asian cooking is what you want to learn. It suits couples, friends and solo travellers, since every place is individual. It is less suited to anyone wanting a quiet, slow-paced lesson, and if you cannot eat pork or seafood, check the class description before booking.

School of Wok, 61 Chandos Place, London WC2N 4HG. General enquiries 03333 584220. Office hours Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm. Three-hour classes £115; full-day courses 11 am to 4 pm, £195. Up to 12 students per class. Wear closed-toe, non-slip shoes and bring a container for leftovers. Under-16s must attend with a paying adult. Free cancellation more than 48 hours before class.