Special ingredients at cookery school are the recipe for success

Bettys Cookery School, part of Bettys, has been awarded a double helping of recognition in the space of just a few days.

The school, which neighbours Bettys Craft Bakery in Harrogate, has been named Best Cookery School in the Looking to Cook UK Cookery School of the Year Awards 2014. The win was followed with a Highly Commended at the British Cookery School Awards in London.

Emma Wray, head of the cookery school, said: “While we are one of the longest established cookery schools, opening our doors in 2001, there are now over 400 schools in the UK today and it is a competitive marketplace. We were being judged alongside famous names such as River Cottage, Daylesford and the Bertinet Kitchen and the judges on both award panels included nationally known food experts such as MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers and Karen Barnes, editor of Delicious Magazine.

“We are all so delighted to receive this national acclaim.

“It’s a real testimony to the expertise and skills of our tutors and to our philosophy of teaching cooking ‘the Bettys way.’ We are especially grateful too for the teaching support of our master craftspeople at Bettys Bakery. We are in good company - they recently won their own national award Craft Business of the Year.”

Judges, which included MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers, gave Bettys Cookery School the winning title in the national competition for its expertise “nurturing staff, innovation in courses, free breadmaking classes for school children and attention to customers” needs. The second award was in the category Best Large Recreational Cookery School.