Now that school’s out for Summer we caught up with one of our Teens' Kitchen Students, Fenella, and asked her about her experience learning with Leiths Online.
Tell us why you chose a teen's cooking course.
I only just recently started to get involved in cooking at home. I didn't have any skills and it's been a hobby that I've picked up. I thought, for the summer, it would be nice to do something different. After convincing my mum that I would commit to it, she found Leith Online and thought it would be a good way for me to learn at home rather than travelling back and forth to classes in the city.
Did you like using the Workshop app? How easy was it all?
For someone like me who likes things to be structured and step-by-step, it was great. I really felt like the teacher was guiding me through it all and I didn’t have to rush anything. You could pause when you wanted or repeat if you needed to. I liked the fact there was a list of everything you needed ingredients-wise and for the equipment as well.
The app meant that you felt like you were getting to know your teacher and it was great being part of a class discussion and seeing what other people had cooked as well. It would probably be quite cool to do it with a group of friends so that you could compare your food photos. It was super easy to use and made it feel accessible to my age group as we’re all used to using devices.
What were the recipes like?
I loved the recipes - there was a good mix of savoury and sweet. I obviously loved all the baking and sweet things! But definitely good to learn about both. There are recipes that I’ve definitely cooked again and now that I’ve finished the course I do one dinner a week for me and my family (which my Mum is very pleased about). One of my favourites was the sticky chicken which everyone seemed to love.
Would you choose it again?
Yes - my mum would also want me to choose it again as I can now cook and am much tidier and more organised when I do! The more of the course I did, the more I realised that knowing how to cook can really help me as I get older, whether that’s living on my own at uni or getting cooking-related jobs whilst travelling.
Why Leiths Online?
I loved the app and the fact that it was a class of students so we could all encourage each other. You get feedback from your mentor on the pictures you post so I felt that I was really supported, they answered my questions and gave me some really good tips. Now everyone in the family wants my special chocolate chip cookies…
