Ashburton Cookery School

The Ashburton Cookery School was started in 1997 by Stella West-Harling, delivering cooking lessons to small groups from her home kitchen in Ashburton. Her belief in the use of locally sourced, seasonal, organic produce is one of the cornerstones of the business today.

Our range of courses are designed for home cooks of any ability, whether you are learning to cook for the first time or you are an advanced cook. Our courses are streamlined to maximise your enjoyment and the amount of practical cookery you will do - we take care of all the washing up, the weighing and peeling, so you can focus on learning the skills. Plus you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour with a lunch/dinner menu and wine each day.

Today the Ashburton Cookery School operates from a purpose built cookery school in Ashburton, with state of the art training kitchens and facilities. The cookery school offers over 40 cookery courses suitable for beginners up to advanced cooks. Our team of 7 full-time, professional chef tutors now run courses 7 days a week across 3 training kitchens, and we are now one of the busiest culinary schools in the UK, seeing over 4000 students a year - however we still remain true to the founding ideals and source 90% of our produce from within a 25 mile radius of Ashburton.

In 2012 we launched the Ashburton Chefs Academy to train those looking to turn their passion for cooking into a vocation as professional chefs.

Whilst very much a small business, we believe you can achieve Michelin star standards whatever your size and constantly strive to deliver the best experience possible.