Knife skills class Bristol: use your knives like a chef
A hands-on knife workshop at Cooking It on Gloucester Road, Bishopston. £75 a person, bring your own knives, we provide the rest.
This knife skills class Bristol home cooks book covers the things that make everyday cooking faster and safer: how to hold a knife, how to keep it sharp, and the classic cuts. You practise on real ingredients, with the knives you bring from home, so you learn on the knives you use at home.
Cooking It is an independent cookery school at 37 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8AD, founded and run by Monica Worsley and teaching for about ten years. The workshop is hands-on, capped at 12 people, and costs £75 a person. Like every class here, you cook and then sit at the long communal tables to eat what you made.
What you'll learn in this knife techniques class
Safe handling first. Then sharpening and knife care. Then the classic French cuts: julienne, brunoise, chiffonade and a few others, practised on real ingredients.
The reason to bring your own knives is simple. Learn the technique on the knife you actually use.
Why bother with named cuts? Because even pieces cook evenly, and because a confident grip and cut make preparation faster and safer. Julienne is matchsticks, brunoise is small dice and chiffonade is ribboned leaves. Each cut has its own shape and hand movement, and consistent cuts help ingredients cook evenly. That is what a knife skills class Bristol cooks book is for.
This kitchen knife workshop covers the classic French cuts and complements the knife work in the French and Japanese classes. It is also a cookery skills class Bristol beginners can take before any cuisine class.
- Safe handling and grip
- How to sharpen a kitchen knife and look after it
- Julienne, brunoise and chiffonade
- More classic French cuts
- Practice on real ingredients, with your own knives
How the class runs
Allow 2.5 to 3 hours, and that includes cooking and the meal at the end. Evening sessions start at 6:00 pm, weekend daytime sessions at 10:30 am or 12:30 pm. The group never goes above 12 people.
Ingredients, equipment and aprons are provided; the knives are yours. Bring a container for leftovers, and a bottle if you would like a drink while you work, since the class is BYO. Recipes are emailed after the class on request. Tell us about dietary requirements when you book and we will accommodate them where we can.
- 1. Arrive, put on an apron, lay out your own knives.
- 2. Work through handling, sharpening and the cuts on the ingredients provided, then cook with what you have prepared.
- 3. Eat together at the long communal tables and take the leftovers home.
Who it's for
Complete beginners and people who have cooked for years and never been taught to hold a knife properly. If you are starting from scratch you learn the basics in a small group. If you cook every night you get to fix habits on your own knives at a knife skills class Bristol based, on Gloucester Road, that suits beginners and experienced home cooks alike.
It also makes an unusual date night or a night out with friends, and a voucher is a good present for someone who cooks when you have no idea which cuisine they would pick. Adult classes are for ages 16 and over.
It is also a sensible first class if you have just bought a good knife.
Dates, price and how to book
The class is £75 a person. The next dates are listed on the Use your Kitchen Knives like a Chef workshop page, where you book online and pay by card through Stripe. Your place is confirmed on payment. Everything else that is bookable is on all upcoming dates.
Cooking It has 4.9 stars from over 230 Google reviews. Any class can be bought as a gift voucher. The workshop also runs as a private event for a hen do, stag do or birthday through private parties, or as corporate team building. Booking questions: 07765 844763, office hours, Monday to Friday.
Related classes at Cooking It
Knife work is part of the teaching in the French cooking class, where sauces and stocks sit alongside it, and in the Japanese and sushi classes, where the knife skills are for fish and vegetables. The full programme is on all adult classes, and every cuisine page is on all our cuisine classes.
Questions people ask
How much is the knife skills class in Bristol?
£75 a person. That covers the hands-on workshop, the ingredients you practise on, the equipment and an apron, and the meal at the end when everyone sits at the communal tables.
Do I bring my own knives?
Yes, please. Learning on the knives you use at home is what makes the handling, sharpening and care advice useful afterwards. Everything else is provided.
Is the knife skills class suitable for complete beginners?
Yes. This knife skills class Bristol beginners book starts with safe handling and grip, then works through the classic cuts, julienne, brunoise and chiffonade among them. Confident cooks use the same session to tidy up technique and get more consistent.
Do you cover sharpening?
Yes. Sharpening and knife care are part of the class, alongside safe handling and the cuts. A sharp knife is safer than a blunt one, so it is not an afterthought.
Do we eat at the end like the other classes?
Yes. The session includes cooking and a meal, so you sit down together at the long communal tables and eat what you made. Leftovers go home with you (bring a container), and the class is BYO if you want a drink while you cook.