Gordon Ramsay Academy

What Gordon Ramsay Academy is and where it operates

Gordon Ramsay Academy is a cooking school that runs its own hands-on classes with its own chefs, under the Gordon Ramsay Restaurants name that appears in the site's footer. The UK site lists academies in Woking, Surrey, and at 22 Bishopsgate in the City of London, plus live online classes, and the locations page adds an academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which it calls "the first Gordon Ramsay Academy outside the UK."

Woking is the original. The locations page says it "launched in Woking, Surrey in 2021" and describes it as "Gordon's first-ever cooking Academy!" The Woking page adds that it is "less than 25 minutes from London," at 57-61 Commercial Way, Woking, GU21 6HN. The London academy at 22 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4BQ, sits in "a professional kitchen on the 58th floor of a London skyscraper," and the site calls it "the highest cookery school in the UK," with a kitchen "over 250m above London." It is "powered by HexClad," the cookware brand whose pans, woks and knives students use there. Class prices on the UK pages are in pounds sterling.

Alongside recreational classes, the academy sells professional routes: culinary qualifications and WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) wine and spirits awards, taught at Woking.

Classes, masterclasses and qualifications

The Woking academy sorts its classes into full day, half day, evening, brunch, family and junior formats, with themes such as knife skills, baking, Italian, Indian, Mexican, fish and seafood, meat and wine. Upcoming classes on the page show the range and prices. Taste of the Middle East: Street food is a half-day class of falafel, kofta and fattoush from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm for £110. The evening classes run 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at £70: Skills in 90: Veg for chopping and dicing, and Dinner in 90 dishes such as Malaysian-style laksa or butter chicken. The Steak masterclass is a half day at £125, Taste of Italy: Classic menu covers filled pastas and easy bakes for £110, and Next level baking runs 10:00 am to 3:00 pm for £210. Cook together: Noodles and brownies is "an adult and child ticket all-in-one" at £110.

The London academy is built around short, view-heavy classes. The Beef Wellington masterclass runs from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm for £190, and students leave "with your own Welly that's ready to finish and eat at home." The Eclairs masterclass is £140, the Pasta masterclass is a "2-hour class" at £140, the Bao masterclass is £150, a steak class is £160, and the Pad Thai mini masterclass teaches the dish "in just 30 minutes" for £75.

Online, the site lists live virtual classes such as an Online masterclass: Falafel, from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm for £30.

The wine courses page lists WSET awards from Level 1 to Level 3. Level 1 in Wines and Level 1 in Spirits are each a one-day course including the exam, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, at £185. The WSET Level 2 Award in Wines is a "3-day WSET course" at £485, with "over 38 wines to taste and a 60-minute exam." The WSET Level 3 Award in Wines is a "5-day WSET course (plus a final exam day)" with "over 60 wines" at £875. The site says the courses are taught by its sommeliers.

What a class is like

The site says all classes "are relaxed and designed around you," whether guests have "a whole day to spend with us or just an evening to drop in." The classes are hands-on and aimed at "whatever your level or experience," from people who "don't know one end of a spatula from the other" to seasoned home cooks. Several descriptions end with eating the result with fellow guests, and the London classes add a drink or a meal with the skyline view.

The Woking academy is described as having "four teaching kitchens, a stunning demonstration room, cosy lounge and cookbook library," making it "an incredibly versatile venue for groups of 1-44 guests to cook, celebrate and come together over delicious food." The London gift voucher text promises "intimate cooking tuition in small classes." The Riyadh academy is described as having "world-class teaching kitchens and hands-on cooking classes for all ages and skill levels."

Family and junior classes exist at Woking, and the Cook together class is sold as an adult-and-child ticket. The site does not state a minimum age for the adult classes or the junior ones, and the class pages say nothing about step-free access, allergies or dietary swaps. The footer links to a Health & Safety page and an FAQ, but those are not part of the class listings.

Booking, vouchers and private events

Classes are booked online. The homepage search filters by location (Woking, 22 Bishopsgate or Online), date and class, and each listing shows its next date with a link to "see all available dates." Some dates show "Full" or "Limited places."

Gift vouchers are a large part of the offer. The site sells cooking class vouchers for both UK academies and dedicated wine course vouchers at £185 for the one-day course, £485 for the 3-day course and £875 for the 5-day course.

Groups have several routes. Woking promotes team building, where "our chefs can set you up with culinary challenges, skills tests or creative recipes," and private classes for birthdays, anniversaries, pre-wedding celebrations and children's parties. There is also a Studio & Room Hire section. In London, the private event format is spelled out: "Up to 10 guests, over 250m above London," with "2-3 hours of cooking and a stunning meal to finish it off."

For questions, the Woking page lists 020 7352 2442 and woking@gordonramsayacademy.com, and the London page lists bishopsgate@gordonramsayacademy.com.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The class pages do not set out cancellation, refund or rescheduling terms; those sit behind the Terms & Conditions and FAQ links rather than on the listings. The site does not give a maximum class size for public classes, apart from the 10-guest cap on London private events, and it does not publish prices for private classes, team building or room hire. The Riyadh academy is described only in outline on the UK site, with no prices or class list, and the culinary qualifications are named without course details.

Gordon Ramsay Academy suits home cooks who want a short, well-produced class with a clear price, from a £70 evening session to a masterclass, and fans who want to cook a Wellington in a skyscraper kitchen. The WSET courses give wine lovers a qualification path the site calls internationally recognized with published prices and lengths, and Woking's family classes and larger venue suit groups and celebrations.