Cookery classes in Cape Town will make you a pro

There are so many different restaurants in Cape Town and its surrounding area, that eating out offers a myriad of taste experiences. At the V&A Waterfront alone there are more than 80 restaurants, of a wide variety of types and styles. There are many more in the centre of the city, and thousands more scattered throughout the burgeoning suburbs. Whatever you want in the line of food, be it simple or stylish, you are sure to find it somewhere in Cape Town.

But dining out can be expensive; apart from which there is something special about being able to prepare and create your own personal cuisine. So why not sign up for a cookery course and learn some of the tricks of the trade from the experts? There are numerous courses on offer, from those that will earn you a diploma, to those that will simply teach you the basic skills needed to wow your friends and family. Here are just a handful of options.

Silwood School of Cookery in Rondesbosch, better known as the Silwood Kitchen is undoubtedly the most famous of all Cape Town's cookery establishments. The oldest cookery school in South Africa, it was founded in 1964 by Lesley Faull, Commanderie des Cordons Bleus de France, and is currently run by her daughter, Alicia Wilkinson, who holds the same prestigious qualification as her mother. It is a highly respected institution and top choice for those wanting a complete culinary education to be well equipped for a career in cooking. However the school does also offer a basic cookery course, as well as bread making, baking, cake decorating and other part-time courses for kiddies, teenagers and those simply wanting to learn how to cook healthy family meals.

A typical basic cookery course is held over three evenings (one per week for three weeks) and will teach you the hands-on skills to produce fun, healthy meals. Their "domestic" course is run over four weeks, one morning a week, and will teach you a range of basic skills that will enable you to cook varied dishes.

Giggling Gourmet School of Cooking is run by Jenny Morris (aka the giggling gourmet) who is a well known author and celebrity chef who is regularly heard on radio. She is also a culinary tour guide and popular celebrity chef at food festivals and expos, including the well established Good Food and Wine Show. She has cooked for many fellow celebrities and world leaders including the British Prince Charles, former South African president Thabu Mbeki, Kenya's first president Kenneth Kaunda, and South African-born award-winning actress Charlize Theron.

Originator of CooksCourses and CooksClasses, Jenny calls her concept "recreational culinary instruction". The CooksCourse she offers is a six-week hands-on course that teaches specific techniques you can use at home. Her various CooksClasses are one-off cooking classes with a particular theme, from bread-making to a particular style of cooking, Chinese or Italian for example. She also offers a CooksSashay where celebrity chefs and food specialists are invited to make "guest appearances".

Jenny's Giggling Gourmet School of Cooking offers a U-shaped, state-of-the-art demonstration theatre as well as retail shops that are stocked with a wide range of professional cooking tools. Courses are held on Monday evenings; sessions lasting about 3½ hours, with no more than 24 people participating. The school is located at De Waterkant, just around the corner from the V&A Waterfront which is in the heart of Cape Town's working harbour.

Chez Gourmet in the heart of Cape Town's southern suburbs, close to the Claremont CBD, is a short-course cookery school (amongst other things) that is run by a team of qualified cordon bleu chefs. Their mission is to offer cooking courses "in a novel way" so that those attending them can choose the time, level, pace and price that suits them best. The school caters for a wide range of people from those wanting to learn the basics, to those wanting to upgrade their skills. They also cater for those who want to get the "Chef Factor" into their food; those who don't realise how easy good food is to make; and mageirocophobics who are terrified by kitchens and cooking gadgets!

Whoever you are and whatever you want to learn to cook, there is a cookery course in Cape Town waiting for you.

Penny Swift is a seasoned writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and has produced numerous books on many different subjects. She also writes long-distance courses and tutors for a correspondence college.