APPROVED DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD SKILLS PROVIDER
courses for teenagers and young people
12 MONTH BRILLIANT BAKING or STREET FOOD D OF E GOLD COURSES
The Organic Cookery School were the first DofE Approved Activity Provider offering cookery skills opportunities to teenagers and young people across the UK. We’re currently working with young people from over 200 UK schools and colleges, offering cookery courses which fulfil the Bronze, Silver & Gold levels of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme.
12 month cookery skills courses for gold
Cookery is an extremely popular choice for the Skills requirement of your son or daughter’s D of E Award. We’ve been running Duke of Edinburgh Cookery Courses for nearly ten years, and know just how much pleasure young people get from cooking great recipes and building skills that will last a lifetime. This page gives some information about our home study cookery courses aimed at Gold D of E participants who need to follow one of their sections for 12 months.
(If you are more interested in 3 or 6 month cookery skills courses please click our to visit our main D of E course page)
We’re delighted to now be offering two different 12 month D of E skills options: Brilliant Baking, Street Food (or 6 months of each).
Duke of edinburgh cookery skills ecourses
Your 12 month Gold D of E course will be structured in two 6 month blocks:
Brilliant Baking (6 modules over 6 months), plus one of our Brilliant Baking Extension courses (also 6 modules over 6 months)
Street Food (6 modules over 6 months), plus one of our Street Food Extension courses (also 6 modules over 6 months)
or
6 months of Brilliant Baking and 6 months of Street Food.
At the beginning of each month, you receive access to recipes and resources for the month. We include vegetarian options, and many recipes can be adapted to suit vegan and other dietary preferences.
Your tutor will be your personal contact throughout the course, and support you with any questions about ingredients, skills or equipment. You will need to send him or her monthly evidence (e.g. photos/video) of what you’ve cooked (with some feedback from whoever’s lucky enough to sample your finished recipes). They will also give you a friendly nudge if you are falling behind.
We’ll provide you a list of all ingredients, and suggested equipment, plus additional support materials (videos/articles etc) through the course. We suggest you make the most of your tutor, and don’t be afraid to ask questions - they are there to help you and make your 12 month Gold D of E cookery skills course as rewarding as possible.
We offer three Street Food courses, and two Baking courses, so even if you’ve already completed one or more of our courses for your Bronze or Silver award, there will still be a choices of cooking challenges you haven’t cooked through before.
Our 12 month Gold D of E Cookery Skills courses run 12 times a year, and starts on the 1st of each month. To sign up, purchase a course below and we will be in touch to organise a start date, and enrol you on your preferred course combination (Street Food, Brilliant Baking, or a combination of both).
If you really need to start your 12 month course out of these dates, email us and we will see if we can help.
“We have all really enjoyed this course - Annie has flourished in the kitchen and we have devoured her dishes!”
FAQS
Here are a few of the questions we’ve been asked about the course which may help you decide if it’s right for you.
what will i cook?
Over 12 months, we will work through 12 modules of cooking challenges, (two six month courses of 6 modules each), on either a Street Food or Baking theme. Each module includes a choice of recipes, and a range of skills. Download an example Brilliant Baking recipe overview here.
Can I complete the course with a friend (in the same kitchen?)
Yes, you are very welcome to buddy up with a friend! When you enrol, we will send out a pre-course questionnaire (normally to the adult who purchased the course) and in this we ask if you plan to complete the course with a friend. We will then make sure you are allocated the same assessor. Working through the course with a friend is a great idea, and often means you can save time (and money) on shopping and support each other.
How much does the course cost?
Our 12 month D of E skills course currently costs £297, which includes access to all materials for 18 months, plus online support from one of our experienced Duke of Edinburgh Assessors.
Prices valid July 1st 2021, and subject to update.
Do I need lots of fancy cookery equipment?
We devise our recipes using basic cookery equipment, wherever possible, although there are a few gadgets (such as a hand blender and food processor) which you might like to see if you can borrow, for a couple of recipes. You will receive a full equipment list before you start your course, which is broken down recipe by recipe. If you can’t complete a recipe because you can’t buy or borrow a certain piece of equipment, we will offer advice - and each monthly module has at least three recipes (four or five if you include bonus recipes), so there will still be plenty you can cook.
Do I need to buy organic ingredients?
Our Duke of Edinburgh Street Food and Baking Courses develop and assess your skills (not your shopping preferences), and you are welcome to buy whichever type of ingredients suit your budget. You will notice that we choose organic, fair-trade and seasonal ingredients, whenever we can, and we are happy to share why we might prioritise organic or non-organic for certain foods over others, with those who wish to find out more. Our experience is that many of the families who choose to learn to cook with us prefer to minimise non-organic residues in their food, and the best way to have a control over what’s in your food is, of course, to cook it from scratch wherever possible.
Do I need an adult around when I’m cooking?
With any course, whether it be home study or otherwise, safety has to be a priority. We require all applications from students under 18 to be signed off by a parent or legal guardian, and we ask that all students read our ‘Keeping Safe in the Kitchen’ guidelines (covering basic food safety and hygiene and what to do in the case of an accident or injury in the kitchen) BEFORE they start the practical part of the course.
Most students organise weekend or evening cooking sessions, when there is an adult around (often hovering and waiting to taste the finished recipes).
is this course suitable for special diets?
The Organic Cookery School’s Brilliant Baking and Street Food Courses feature a wide range of recipes, and with many vegetarian choices. We will support you to adapt recipes to avoid major allergens, wherever possible, and to adapt to plant-based, Kosher or Halal principles. If you follow a special diet we suggest you request a copy of our recipe list by email (dofe@organiccookeryschool.org) in advance of purchase, and talk to us about any particular needs you have. Each fortnightly module contains a number of recipe options, so there is plenty of choice for participants with specific dietary needs.
What happens if I get behind or miss out some recipes?
Over the next 12 months, you will have the opportunity to cook over 40 recipes. You probably only need to cook half of them to fulfil the skills section of your award. So as long as you are regularly cooking and evidencing the skills you have developed (through photo evidence and recipe feedback), you will be fine. Our D of E cookery skills courses are meant to be fun and relaxed, and to fit around your life and your studies, so please don’t worry if illness, or other unexpected interruptions mean you miss a couple of recipes out.
Is there any support for lower income families?
Over 70% of the cookery classes we run in the community are offered free of charge or with a large subsidy to vulnerable children, families and young people. We work with schools, children’s centres and community support organisations to ensure those who would most benefit from these subsidised classes are able to access them. Every purchase of an Organic Cookery School’s Duke of Edinburgh Cookery Course goes towards supporting these community initiatives.
can you do this course if you aren’t working towards a duke of Edinburgh award?
We have had lots of enquiries from parents wishing to buy this course for their son or daughter, even though they aren’t currently D of E participants, as well as from parents/adults who love the sound of the recipes and want to join in too.
This D of E course offers additional support from a tutor experienced in developing young people’s cooking skills, and helping them evidence this for the Skills section of their Duke of Edinburgh Award (as well as completing their online assessor report).
It is also suitable for a number of Guiding and Scouting Awards, which require a similar time commitment. Please email info@organiccookeryschool.org for further information.
“I loved every minute of my Duke of Edinburgh cookery skills course. We made so many recipes which I’ll cook again, and were given opportunities to be creative with the flavouring and presentation which appealed to my competitive side! It’s so much better than any cookery I’ve done at school.
”
“Brilliant course, Daniel really enjoyed cooking the meals for the family and trying new dishes that he might not have tried if someone else had prepared them!”
We offer regular afterschool/weekend and holiday cookery skills courses which can count towards your Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Jamie Oliver Home Cooking Skills BTEC. Both these courses offer a great base in practical cookery skills, nutrition, cooking on a budget as well as some amazing recipes you’ll want to cook again and again.
If you’d like to volunteer on our outreach community programmes, we may be able to offer CIEH accredited training in food safety and hygiene and nutrition, and supported volunteer placements (subject to funding).