Edinburgh New Town Cookery School

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

One of the smartest and most elegant cook schools around, ENTCS takes up five floors of a Queen Street town house. This gives tastings and demos a dinner party feel - watch owner Fiona Burrell, once principle of Leith's School of Food and Wine, demonstrate the best carving techniques before taking the results upstairs to share with your fellow students over a bottle of wine. Lessons come in various levels of seriousness, from children's cupcake decorating classes to the six month practical diploma for aspiring professional cooks. Some of the more unusual courses include the family cook day for a child (9+) and an adult, and the five-day 'Getting Ready for University' course for basic, healthy cooking skills. Day courses vary throughout the year and include beer and food pairing as well as the basics to almost every style of cooking imaginable. A wine school is run by Tom Bruce Gardyne and is made up of various evening tastings, or a longer, four-week course (one evening a week) to build up a more detailed knowledge base.