...and a baker’s dozen of courses to turn you into the next Nadiya
NORTHCOTE Lancashire
At this Michelin-starred hotel outside Preston, chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen also presides over a cooking school. There’s a wide variety of baking courses and October sees both breadmaking and cakes, including Swiss rolls and Sacher torte. It costs from £210, including tuition, lunch with wine and a cream tea. northcote.com
TRINNE HAHNEMANN Copenhagen
Butter, and lots of it, is at the heart of Danish cooking. Trinne is Denmark’s most famous cook and she opened her cooking school last year. Courses are taught in Danish and English. September sees bread take centre stage with courses on rye and crisp bread. Classes cost from £135 a day. hahnemannskoekken.dk
CIVIC KITCHEN San Francisco
San Francisco kickstarted the US sourdough revolution and you’ll learn how to make the Civic Kitchen’s famous naturally leavened bread on this one-day course. It costs £118, including lunch, and you’ll go home with a special batch of starter dough. civickitchensf.com
BETTYS Yorkshire
Yorkshire’s most famous cafe – currently celebrating its centenary – also runs cookery schools. Most of the classes centre around baking, including making some of Bettys classics, including Yorkshire tea loaf and fondant fancies. They’re often booked up far in advance – and there are gluten-free baking courses, too. From £185. bettyscookeryschool.co.uk
DENMAN COLLEGE Oxfordshire
The WI is famous for its baking, and you don’t have to be a member to take one of the courses at the college it runs from a stately home near Abingdon. Every form of baking takes place, from meringues to vegan breads and cakes. From £50 for non-members. denman.org.uk
BALLYMALOE HOUSE Ireland
This hotel in County Cork has been a place of foodie pilgrimage since the 1960s. The house is garlanded with Michelin stars and surrounded by its own farm, and the hotel started a cookery school in 1983. Baking is a speciality. Prices from £145 for the day. cookingisfun.ie
THE BERTINET KITCHEN Bath
In England’s most beautiful city, a cookery school that specialises in baking, head by anglicised Frenchman Richard Bertinet. Courses include pies, Nordicstyle doughnuts and Christmas cake. Prices start at £40.
thebertinetkitchen.com LIMEWOOD Hampshire
Chefs Angela Hartnett and Luke Holder have their own cookery school at this New Forest hotel. This month, it’ll be macaroons that take centre stage. A session costs £75pp – and you’ll head home with plenty to share. limewoodhotel.co.uk
DOMAINE L’ANCIENNE ECOLE Provence
On a wine estate near the village of Vinsobres, British cooking course specialist Panary has a four-day session that promises to bring classic French baking to life, including brioche and pain au raisin, using a wood-fired oven. From £1,045pp including accommodation and all meals, but not travel. panary.co.uk
CA DE MEMI Padua
A Palladian villa in the middle of a town near Padua is now a very food-minded B&B. It’s family-run and families can make pizzas together, as well as more complicated breads and pastries. From £60 a night, with breakfast (cooking classes cost extra.) cadememi.com
BEDRUTHAN HOTEL Cornwall
Outside, there are waves pounding the shore, but inside, you’ll be whipping up focaccia and doughnuts, or as winter approaches, Christmas cake and stollen. Baking courses start at a £85pp and you’ll take plenty home with you. bedruthan.com
P&O CRUISE BRITANNIA
In 2015, P&O introduced cookery classes on board Britannia. Master patissier Eric Lanlard is one of the chefs who regularly come on board to give masterclasses in everything from bread to cakes. A 15-night cruise from £1,229pp, not including flights. pocruises.com
ROME
The cooking specialist company Tasting Places can arrange sessions with top Rome baker Carla Tomasi, who helps guests whip up some of Italy’s best regional breads and cakes, including torta caprese, almond and walnut biscotti plus apple and olive oil cake. Prices from £150pp. tastingplaces.com