Waitrose is the first retailer to open a cookery school

Waitrose will unveil a “state of the art cookery school” in London this autumn, which it says will cement its position as the destination for everyone who cares about and loves good food.

It will be the first UK supermarket to own and operate a cookery school. The school will create 16 new jobs in the capital, including highly skilled chefs to deliver expertise and theatre.

The cookery school is located above the retailer's Finchley Road (John Barnes) branch in north London and is set to open its doors in mid October 2010.

The 4,600 ft² cookery school comprises a theatre, teaching area, dining area, bar and kitchen.

Waitrose marketing director, Rupert Thomas said: "Our position as a supermarket gives us a unique understanding of the part food plays in people's everyday lives and special occasions. We want our customers to leave the school feeling it has made life richer, inspired them into the kitchen and been fun. The school also provides an opportunity for us to forge even stronger relationships with its customers and gain a better understanding of what shoppers are looking for from a modern supermarket."

The school's varied timetable will offer consumers a choice of cookery classes, including sessions focusing on particular cuisine styles such as Indian or Italian, to more skills-based sessions such as butchery, baking, knife-skills.

Courses will cover how to get the best out of cheese, meat and fish as well as all that is in season. The retailer will also use the space to train its specialists that work across the company's 229 branches.

Waitrose executive chef, Neil Nugent, will create the bespoke cookery classes. He explained: "This exciting new venture for Waitrose echoes the strong appetite for food education as a result of the growth of celebrity chefs and food programming, coupled with the lack of nutrition education since it was removed from the National Curriculum in 1984. We want to inspire the nation to move from just watching cookery programmes to actually cooking and experimenting with new ingredients."

Words: Clare Riley

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