Cookery courses

Irish chefs are making their mark on haute cuisine kitchens all over the world. It’s no surprise then, that everyone from the budding cook to armchair foodie is flocking to Ireland to learn the craft, Irish-style. 

Expert tuition, internationally renowned ingredients and stacks of warm, Irish hospitality are features of Ireland’s cookery schools. Choose from formal teaching in critically acclaimed year-round schools, or more informal get-togethers run by enthusiastic owner-chefs in tiny rural restaurants. 

Where to go

• Ballymaloe Cookery, County Cork
  Ireland’s most famous cookery school run by top chef Darina Allen is a delight with everything from 12-week certificate courses to one-day courses with subjects like Cooking for Christmas or How to Start a Smokery. 
• Belle Isle School of Cookery, County Fermanagh
  Top cooking, a relaxed atmosphere and a beautiful location make Belle Isle one of Ireland’s most popular cookery schools. Courses include weekenders and four-week diplomas.
• Berry Lodge, County Clare 
  Excellent food, accommodation and tuition in a charming Victorian house in the West of Ireland. The two-day courses cross a wide variety of subjects from Italian Cooking to Men in the Kitchen.
• Dunbrody Country House Hotel and Restaurant Cookery School, County Wexford
  Set in 200 acres of stunning parkland, Dunbrody caters for all levels of cooking from the intrepid novice to the experienced gourmet. Tuition comes courtesy of Masterchef Kevin Dundon.  
• Island Cottage Restaurant and Cookery School, West Cork
  Probably the smallest cookery school in the world, this spot on Heir Island off the West Cork coast specialises in two-day cookery courses for two people with an overnight stay included. 
• Pangur Bán, County Galway
  Cookery schools don’t get more picturesque than this – Pangur Bán is a 300-year-old thatched cottage set between the Atlantic Ocean and the stunning Twelve Bens Mountains. All levels catered for.
• Ballyknocken Cookery School, County Wicklow
  Situated in the renovated Milking Parlour on the grounds of the stunning Ballyknocken House & Farm, you will cook simple country food, taking fresh local foods and turning them into mouth-watering Moorish dishes.
• The Belfry, County Westmeath
  The Belfry Restaurant & Cookery School, formerly a Georgian Gothic Church was opened in 2001 and offers a range of one day/evening cookery classes throughout the year    
• Good Food Ireland offers a whole host of cookery schools that offer residential and non residential courses. From the simplest of cooking to the aspiring gourmet the collection caters for all needs. Online booking available.