Mikeal made us very welcome and put everyone at ease. He presented easy to follow demonstrations and was on hand to guide us throughout the morning.
Really enjoyable and in a lovely setting. I loved the ravioli!
Thank you.
If you have always wondered what you can eat from the hedgerows, then look no further than the Groundup Cookery School. The day is full of information, tastings, walks in the countryside and much more. Colin is very knowledgeable, and the whole day is fun, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the highlight of the day, for me, was all of us cooking different recipes of foraged food and sitting down to share it together. It doesn't get much better than that!
Wendy
Thank you Colin for a great day.
It was so, so inspiring, i learned a lot on the walk, including that many of the plants we had thought of as weeds in our gardens were in fact edible. I am local so it meant a lot to see what available in our area.
Back at the school , we put the foraged plants on a board to reinforce our knowledge..........excellent.
Colin then did a talk, taste session and lots of information , Q and A `s
Next we all cooked a dish using some foraged plants and other ingredients following recipes with guidance.
The day finished when we all presented our dishes for a very tasty meal together with wine and lots of chatter and exchange of experiences.
What a super Day. Thank you again Colin and Tasha
I highly recommend it.
Beautiful setting
Warm welcome
Friendly informative chef - fun and relaxed
Would recommend
Wonderful gift
I had an absolute blast, really interesting and tasty food!
I absolutely loved the Edible Flowers Spotlight Course at Grown Up Cookery School – a truly delightful way to spend a Friday evening. The session struck the perfect balance: relaxing, fun and genuinely informative, without ever feeling like information overload. Exactly what you want at the end of the week.
The tasting elements were a real highlight. The vegan hunny was charming and delicious, the elderflower champagne vinegar beautifully fragrant with real depth of flavour and the magnolia ash was a revelation – creative, surprising and utterly memorable. Every bite felt thoughtful and carefully crafted. But things we could try at home too.
Colin’s teaching style made the evening shine: warm, engaging and full of enthusiasm, creating an atmosphere that was welcoming and easy-going. It felt like a perfect way to unwind, learn something new, and simply enjoy tasting Colin’s delights in great company.
A wonderful experience from start to finish – I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a calming, inspiring and delicious way to spend an evening.
I had a fantastic and very informative day with Collin, absolutely eye opening finished off with a delicious spread cooked up by ourselves.
Great kitchen and facilities plus coffee and biscuits with a little mead thrown in for good measure.
Thanks you very much and I look forward to coming back in the near future
The workshops are a perfect balance of information, demonstration and tasting - especially enjoyed the vegan 'hunny' and trying the magnolia ash. Highly recommended. Thank you
Had a wonderful day on the cookery course.
We'd barely left the car park and were shown more species than you could've imagined. The shoreline was a complete eye opener.
Colin's obvious enthusiasm for the subject shone through and really cemented the enjoyment of the course.
Colin's kitchen and larder was an inspiration for further foraging investigations. The recipes prepared and eaten at the school were an excellent end to a brilliant day. I highly recommend this course if anyone is curious about expanding their foraging experience.
What a fabulous day! Colin was knowledgeable and inspiring about nature and the bounties on our doorstep, encouraging curiosity and creativity in tastes and cooking. Hugely enjoyable; this experience will stay with me for a long time. Thank you.
Great course for beginner chocolatiers. Lots of yummy chocs to bring home and enjoy.
I booked this for me and my hubby for valentines day. It was really informative and we learnt lots and had a great few hours together trying some new recipes
This day of Fermentation and Preservation techniques with Colin was completely extraordinary and utterly marvellous! For a start we must have tasted about 40 or more very unusual and dramatically delicious fermented and preserved things which I had never thought/heard of (coffee ground miso, fermented egg yolks, smoked herb infused vinegars, fermented green pinecones, brined apples, tapache, fermented banana etc. etc.). It was like being in Willy Wonka's fermentation factory and a huge eye opener as to the way we might sustainably use every scrap of the food we forage and grow to elevate the meals we make, support our gut health and develop our local cuisine. As a fellow Devon resident with a big garden and a lot of people to feed I found it incredibly exciting to plunge into this 'nose to tail' approach to plant based foods. There is nothing worthy and dull about Colin's approach, it is absolutely top-flight culinary excellence putting every bit of local produce to use making outstanding food that tastes of the place we live in.
The scope of the day is pretty huge and the pace is fast. You need to be fairly confident with the basics of preservation to benefit but the quality of the teaching was so good that even though it was potentially overwhelming I came away with a lot of clarity about the things that instantly appealed to me. We made a traditional Kimchi in the superbly equipped and beautifully appointed kitchens We were given a very good Wild Garlic soup for lunch and plenty of teas and some very tasty biscuits throughout the day. We were given some printed notes, which were helpful although not completely aligned with what we tasted, I don't think this mattered, it was the gist of the experience written down. I wish I had taken a bit more care to write better notes myself as I struggled to remember everything by the time I got home. But quite frankly I'd be happy to do the whole day over again. I will be unpacking the contents of this outstanding day of teaching for many months and years to come - it just pushed me into a more experimental mindset and widened the scope of my cooking in the most remarkable way. Very, very highly recommended.
Excellent tuition and a lot of fun, we had delicioius chocolates to take home
Good fun and I was very pleased with the taste and look of my “shop like” chocolates
Forage, Cook, Feast: A Seashore Adventure at Ground Up Cookery School Explore the rich and rugged coastline of South Devon through a full-day experience that blends coastal foraging with hands-on cookery....
Having grown up in a fishing and farming community on the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides, Colin has always been surrounded by the finest seasonal ingredients and driven by the necessity to make the most of them. Over 30 years as a professional chef has seen Colin work in a variety of different roles from charter yachts and boutique hotels to leading catering companies this has given him the opportunity to showcase his skills to the most discerning of guests.
Having grown up in a fishing and farming community on the Isle of Coll in the Inner Hebrides, Colin has always been surrounded by the finest seasonal ingredients and driven by the necessity to make the most of them. Over 30 years as a professional chef has seen Colin work in a variety of different roles from charter yachts and boutique hotels to leading catering companies this has given him the opportunity to showcase his skills to the most discerning of guests.
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Just complete our contact form with as many details as you can and we will get back to you to discuss your requirements.
Discover the chocolate moulds, coloured cocoa butter, thermometers and chocolate we use at Ground Up Cookery School to create beautiful artisan chocolates. Whether you're a beginner or looking to upgrade your equipment, this guide includes our recommended supplies and links to help you get started at home.
With so many cookery courses to choose from, finding the right one can feel overwhelming. Here’s how to choose a cooking course that fits your skills, curiosity and love of good food.
Looking for gluten free cooking classes that focus on real food and proper technique? Learn how Ground Up Cookery School teaches confident, from-scratch gluten free cooking, plus which courses can be adapted to suit gluten free diets.
What are the benefits of taking a cooking class while on holiday?
Why Ultra‑Processed Foods (UPFs) are a major issue—and what you can do about it.
A summary of Essential Cuisine's Chef Team training day at Ground Up Cookery School. They learned all about foraging, fermentation and reducing waste in menu design from industry leader; Colin Wheeler-James.
Elderflower is a symbol of what’s possible when you begin to see the wild edges of your world differently.
Our top 5 recommended fermentation books,
Mikeal made us very welcome and put everyone at ease. He presented easy to follow demonstrations and was on hand to guide us throughout the morning.
Really enjoyable and in a lovely setting. I loved the ravioli!
Thank you.
If you have always wondered what you can eat from the hedgerows, then look no further than the Groundup Cookery School. The day is full of information, tastings, walks in the countryside and much more. Colin is very knowledgeable, and the whole day is fun, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the highlight of the day, for me, was all of us cooking different recipes of foraged food and sitting down to share it together. It doesn't get much better than that!
Wendy
Thank you Colin for a great day.
It was so, so inspiring, i learned a lot on the walk, including that many of the plants we had thought of as weeds in our gardens were in fact edible. I am local so it meant a lot to see what available in our area.
Back at the school , we put the foraged plants on a board to reinforce our knowledge..........excellent.
Colin then did a talk, taste session and lots of information , Q and A `s
Next we all cooked a dish using some foraged plants and other ingredients following recipes with guidance.
The day finished when we all presented our dishes for a very tasty meal together with wine and lots of chatter and exchange of experiences.
What a super Day. Thank you again Colin and Tasha
I highly recommend it.
Beautiful setting
Warm welcome
Friendly informative chef - fun and relaxed
Would recommend
Wonderful gift
I had an absolute blast, really interesting and tasty food!
I absolutely loved the Edible Flowers Spotlight Course at Grown Up Cookery School – a truly delightful way to spend a Friday evening. The session struck the perfect balance: relaxing, fun and genuinely informative, without ever feeling like information overload. Exactly what you want at the end of the week.
The tasting elements were a real highlight. The vegan hunny was charming and delicious, the elderflower champagne vinegar beautifully fragrant with real depth of flavour and the magnolia ash was a revelation – creative, surprising and utterly memorable. Every bite felt thoughtful and carefully crafted. But things we could try at home too.
Colin’s teaching style made the evening shine: warm, engaging and full of enthusiasm, creating an atmosphere that was welcoming and easy-going. It felt like a perfect way to unwind, learn something new, and simply enjoy tasting Colin’s delights in great company.
A wonderful experience from start to finish – I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a calming, inspiring and delicious way to spend an evening.
I had a fantastic and very informative day with Collin, absolutely eye opening finished off with a delicious spread cooked up by ourselves.
Great kitchen and facilities plus coffee and biscuits with a little mead thrown in for good measure.
Thanks you very much and I look forward to coming back in the near future
The workshops are a perfect balance of information, demonstration and tasting - especially enjoyed the vegan 'hunny' and trying the magnolia ash. Highly recommended. Thank you
Had a wonderful day on the cookery course.
We'd barely left the car park and were shown more species than you could've imagined. The shoreline was a complete eye opener.
Colin's obvious enthusiasm for the subject shone through and really cemented the enjoyment of the course.
Colin's kitchen and larder was an inspiration for further foraging investigations. The recipes prepared and eaten at the school were an excellent end to a brilliant day. I highly recommend this course if anyone is curious about expanding their foraging experience.
What a fabulous day! Colin was knowledgeable and inspiring about nature and the bounties on our doorstep, encouraging curiosity and creativity in tastes and cooking. Hugely enjoyable; this experience will stay with me for a long time. Thank you.
Great course for beginner chocolatiers. Lots of yummy chocs to bring home and enjoy.
I booked this for me and my hubby for valentines day. It was really informative and we learnt lots and had a great few hours together trying some new recipes
This day of Fermentation and Preservation techniques with Colin was completely extraordinary and utterly marvellous! For a start we must have tasted about 40 or more very unusual and dramatically delicious fermented and preserved things which I had never thought/heard of (coffee ground miso, fermented egg yolks, smoked herb infused vinegars, fermented green pinecones, brined apples, tapache, fermented banana etc. etc.). It was like being in Willy Wonka's fermentation factory and a huge eye opener as to the way we might sustainably use every scrap of the food we forage and grow to elevate the meals we make, support our gut health and develop our local cuisine. As a fellow Devon resident with a big garden and a lot of people to feed I found it incredibly exciting to plunge into this 'nose to tail' approach to plant based foods. There is nothing worthy and dull about Colin's approach, it is absolutely top-flight culinary excellence putting every bit of local produce to use making outstanding food that tastes of the place we live in.
The scope of the day is pretty huge and the pace is fast. You need to be fairly confident with the basics of preservation to benefit but the quality of the teaching was so good that even though it was potentially overwhelming I came away with a lot of clarity about the things that instantly appealed to me. We made a traditional Kimchi in the superbly equipped and beautifully appointed kitchens We were given a very good Wild Garlic soup for lunch and plenty of teas and some very tasty biscuits throughout the day. We were given some printed notes, which were helpful although not completely aligned with what we tasted, I don't think this mattered, it was the gist of the experience written down. I wish I had taken a bit more care to write better notes myself as I struggled to remember everything by the time I got home. But quite frankly I'd be happy to do the whole day over again. I will be unpacking the contents of this outstanding day of teaching for many months and years to come - it just pushed me into a more experimental mindset and widened the scope of my cooking in the most remarkable way. Very, very highly recommended.
Excellent tuition and a lot of fun, we had delicioius chocolates to take home
Good fun and I was very pleased with the taste and look of my “shop like” chocolates
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