HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a cookery teacher in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register lists cookery teachers. Here is what to ask about ingredients and allergies, the vetting for children, and the terms to agree.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a cookery teacher in five steps

  1. Pick the cuisine and lengthWeeknight dinners, pasta, knife skills or a cuisine — two hours or a full day. A cookery teacher prices each differently.
  2. See the check before the first cookery classEnhanced DBS, PVG or AccessNI depending on where you live. A parent cannot apply for it; a cookery teacher can show it in a minute.
  3. Ask what they have taught, and to whomWhich levels, how many cookery students now, and what those students went on to do. Knowing cookery is not the same as teaching it.
  4. Start with one classOne cookery class at a cookery school or a community kitchen tells you more than any profile; commit to a class place per person only afterwards.
  5. Get the terms in a messageBefore you pay for a class place per person: hands-on or demonstration, allergies, and the refund rule for a set-date class. A message on Locufy is enough.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to cookery teachers in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no qualification is needed to teach cookery at a cookery school or a community kitchen. Training, a portfolio and teaching experience are things you ask about, not things on a register.

Ask the cookery teacher what they hold, where they trained, and for two people they teach now.

Vetting for lessons with a child

Regulated activity in England and Wales starts when someone teaches or instructs a child on more than three days in a 30-day spell, or overnight; a cookery teacher teaching at a two- to three-hour class passes that easily, so the enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list is the one to ask for. Since 1 September 2026, being supervised by someone else no longer takes a cookery teacher out of that rule. Scotland's system is the PVG scheme — mygov.scot lists tutors and instructors engaged by a parent among the roles to check — and Northern Ireland's is an enhanced AccessNI check with the children's barred list, which a self-employed cookery teacher gets through an Umbrella Body.

Ask a cookery teacher to show you the certificate before the first cookery class, and write down its date — there is no official expiry. PVG proof in Scotland; the AccessNI certificate from their nidirect account in Northern Ireland. gov.uk →

What the cookery teacher can show you

Teaching cookery needs no licence in any UK nation. Professional kitchen experience, teaching record and food hygiene training are what to ask about. HSE says a business with employees will probably need employers' liability insurance; ask a cookery teacher working alone whether they hold public liability insurance.

Ask a cookery teacher how long they have taught and who their insurer is. hse.gov.uk →

The terms for a class place per person

A cookery teacher is a trader in law, so the Consumer Rights Act 2015 term of reasonable care and skill applies to every cookery class. The usual 14-day right to cancel a distance or doorstep contract usually does not apply to leisure activities booked for a set date or period (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28); read a cookery teacher's own terms before you pay. Most arguments with cookery teachers are about a "hands-on" class that turned out to be a demonstration.

Get hands-on or demonstration, allergies, and the refund rule for a set-date class in writing — a Locufy message counts — before you pay for a class place per person. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Cookery classes are exempt only when a sole trader or partner teaches them personally, cookery being ordinarily taught in schools; a cookery school run as a company, or its employed chefs, are standard-rated. Once its taxable turnover passes £90,000 a year it must register, charge VAT and print it as its own line.

Ask whether the cookery teacher runs the class as a sole trader or for a school company, and for the VAT number if VAT is added. gov.uk →

“What vetting do you have for teaching children?”

A good answer: A specific answer naming the check for your nation, offered before you ask twice — a cookery teacher who teaches at a two- to three-hour class hears this question often.

“Is it hands-on or a demonstration?”

A good answer: Hands-on means you cook; a demonstration means you watch. The cookery teacher should say which.

“How do you handle allergies?”

A good answer: Asked before the class, with ingredients adapted or a clear answer if they cannot be.

“Are ingredients and recipes included?”

A good answer: Yes or no, and what you take home.

“How many people per cooking station?”

A good answer: A number; shared stations mean less cooking each.

“What is your notice period, both ways?”

A good answer: A rule you can live with, in writing — and fairness both ways: if a cookery teacher cancels, the cookery class is rescheduled or refunded.

Getting the quote right

  • Who actually attends to teach — the cookery teacher named, or a chef the school sends, employed or subcontracted
  • The price per class, and how long a cookery class lasts
  • Anything you must buy for the cookery classes, listed
  • How a class place per person works, and the refund if it is cut short
  • Any extra for where the cookery classes happen — at a cookery school or a community kitchen
  • The VAT number if the cookery school charges VAT, and VAT shown apart from the class price

Walk away if

  • They brush off the DBS, PVG or AccessNI question for cookery classes with your child
  • The cookery teacher cannot say in writing what the class includes until you arrive
  • No allergy question before the class
  • No refund rule for a class place per person, or one that changes after you pay
LOW
£60
TYPICAL
£85
HIGH
£115

What a cookery teacher costs: £60–£115 per class

Cooking classes are priced per person per class; length, ingredients and the venue set most of the price. Cooking Classes price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Cookery teachers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Welcome and safetyKnife and kitchen safety, and allergies checked.
  2. DemonstrationThe teacher shows the technique.
  3. You cookHands-on at your station with help.
  4. EatUsually together at the end.
  5. Take homeRecipes, and sometimes the food.

Hands-on class
You cook yourself, rather than watching.
Mise en place
Preparing and measuring everything before cooking.
Knife skills
Safe, quick chopping techniques.
Masterclass
A longer, more advanced class.
Station
Your own space and equipment in the class kitchen.
Allergen
An ingredient that causes allergic reactions; ask about it.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the paperworkHold on to the booking terms and the recipes; together with the agreed terms they settle most disagreements.
Test the progressCook the dish at home within a week; if it works without the teacher, the class did its job.
What you are owedRestaurant cooking after one class is not something anyone can guarantee; the agreed cookery classes, well taught, is.
Leave the reviewOnly booked cookery classes can be reviewed on Locufy; if something went wrong, the make-it-right step sends it to the cookery teacher first.

STEP 1Put it to the cookery teacher in writingSay what went wrong — for example a "hands-on" class that turned out to be a demonstration — and what you want: cookery classes made up, repeated or refunded. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you can ask a cookery teacher to repeat what fell short, or for part of the money back if that cannot be done.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the cookery teacher first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers cookery teachers, so a consumer complaint goes to Trading Standards through your nation's helpline: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeSmall claims handle a dispute with a cookery teacher without a solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales (small claims track), £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland. The booking terms and the recipes will be your evidence.

Hiring a cookery teacher: questions people ask

The law does not require it of every cookery teacher. What it does say is that a barred person must not work with children in regulated activity, which across England and Wales includes teaching a child on more than three days in 30 — so ask to see an enhanced DBS check, PVG membership in Scotland or an AccessNI check in Northern Ireland.

The law in all four nations is silent on who may teach cookery. Kitchen experience and teaching record are what to ask about.

£60–£115 a class, with £85 typical for a two-and-a-half-hour beginners' session. The cooking classes price guide explains the spread, and the search at the top finds cookery teachers near you.

Only if the class is run by a company: a cookery teacher working as a sole trader or partner is exempt, as cookery is taught in schools. A cookery school company or its employed chefs are standard-rated and add VAT once over £90,000.

Look for a children's or teen class with a vetted teacher.

Usually nothing; an apron and a container for leftovers sometimes help.

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Cookery teachers near you

Cookery teachers in LondonCookery teachers in ManchesterCookery teachers in BirminghamCookery teachers in GlasgowCookery teachers in BelfastAll cookery teachers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk (DBS) — regulated activity with children
  2. gov.uk — change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026
  3. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  4. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  5. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  6. gov.uk — VAT registration thresholds
  7. HSE — get insurance for your business
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts excluded from cancellation
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  11. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  12. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  13. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  14. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  15. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  16. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register