Meet School of Wok

Strap on that apron, prepare your tastebuds and dive into the mouth-watering world of Asian cooking with culinary wizards School of Wok. This award-winning creative hub started life as a mobile cookery school and has since grown into a thriving kitchen in the heart of vibrant Covent Garden. It’s here they host foodie workshops that will help you dice, slice and simmer your way to success!

From hearty, warming Indian dishes packed full of spices to Chinese recipes made with the freshest, crispest vegetables, if you’re looking to head off on a flavour-filled Eastern adventure, you’ve come to the right place. Led by a team of professional chefs, you’ll be able to whip up anything from classic dim sum and bao buns to traditional sushi and Thai street food. 

Cooking should be your next hobby…

“It’s incredibly rewarding for so many reasons! Cooking is one of those things where you’ll never, ever stop learning – there’s always room to grow and nurture your skills that little bit more. I’ve been creating Asian food for 12 years, and there are still so many techniques and recipes that I’m waiting to try out. Plus, after a few hours in the kitchen soaking up all that knowledge, you get to sit down and eat your amazing creation – what could be better than that?”

Daily creativity is a stress buster…

“It’s the perfect way to escape! Immersing yourself in creating means you’re fully in the moment, and you’ve left all those stresses behind; you’re thinking about what’s coming together in front of you and nothing else. It’s time purely for you, away from the daily chaos.”

We create a nurturing environment by…

“At School of Wok, it’s all about the welcome! Learning to cook can be nerve-wracking, so we want to do our best to make sure our students are as relaxed and comfortable as possible – and for us, that starts as soon as they walk through the door. We focus on easing people in gently, encouraging questions and making sure they know they’re going to have a brilliant time – the welcome drink always helps, too!”

My favourite part of the workshop is… 

“Hands down, the best thing is the interaction with the students. You start out as strangers, then hours later you find yourself laughing and joking, completely united by this wonderful creative process happening in front of you. Food has a way of bringing people together; from the shared learning experience to gathering around the table to enjoy a delicious, flavourful meal at the end, there’s nothing quite like it.” 

My most heartwarming student moment ever is…

One student flew across the world just to cook with us in Covent Garden, and when he arrived he told us it was one of his bucket list activities! That was an incredibly humbling, heartwarming moment – what an accolade!”

We show our love to the planet by…

“We’re always working hard to boost our eco-credentials at School of Wok. We already recycle and try to limit our food waste as much as possible; we work with a great charity called Plan Zheroes which takes any surplus food from the class and distributes it to the local community. It helps the environment and provides people with healthy, nutritious food – and that’s a win-win in our eyes. We’ve not set any goals so far, but there are always improvements to be made!” 

Cooking can be a great money saver…

“It’s cheaper than takeaways! I feel like cooking is a core skill that’s been lost a bit; people are pressed for time in their day-to-day lives, and companies such as Deliveroo have made it so easy to not cook, but it’s really so beneficial to learn. Batch cooking up something tasty can give you plenty of meals for around £2 per portion – you’re never going to experience something so fresh and delicious for that price via an app! 

Asian recipes in particular are super budget-friendly. We don’t use glamorous cuts of meat, and lots of dishes are full of fresh vegetables, tofu and rice – real staple things that don’t cost a fortune. Add a couple of store cupboard essentials, some soy sauce or oyster sauce and you’ll have a good pantry that you can use regularly. Most Asian dishes use a lot of the same ingredients, so you won’t end up paying a lot for something obscure that you’ll never use again!”

My top three tips for culinary beginners…

“1. Start. Honestly, just start. Don’t worry about getting it right, don’t worry about needing lots of fancy equipment, just strap on an apron and dive right in!

2. Trust yourself. The most important tool in the kitchen is a teaspoon for tasting; the more you taste, the more you’ll learn what works and the more your confidence will bloom. If you like it, other people will like it too!

3. Don’t worry about making mistakes, and don’t let the fear of getting it wrong hold you back. Mishaps are a huge part of any learning curve and rather than seeing them as a setback, see them as opportunities to grow. All successes are built on a mountain of mistakes, after all.”