Eight amazing vegan cookery courses to up your culinary game

There are few things more impressive than a strong culinary game. So, whether you’re trying to lock down that Tinder date or open your own restaurant, there’s no harm in picking up some quality skills.

Whether you want to learn basics in a short, intensive course or go all-in with your vegan cookery skills, there is a program out there for you.

It’s a new world. The modern vegan is by no means confined to diets of julienned carrots and steamed tofu — although there’s really no explaining spirulina. It tastes gross but it works, okay?

Bali Raw Food Chef Training – Ubud

Situated in the magical little town of Ubud, on the island of Bali, massively popular raw restaurant Sayuri Healing Food offers a number of fully raw food training programs.

With four short, intensive training curriculums to chose from, you’ll be ready to show off your new skills in a matter of weeks, and will have the opportunity to eat lots of amazing food along the way. The courses include two levels of general raw food training, as well as a chocolatier and dessert course.

It’s not cheap, granted, but could be well worth it by the time Valentine’s Day rolls back around — if you’re not sobbing into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and listening to T Swift with the rest of us. Talk about delicate.

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Vegan Chef Institute – London

The newly launched Vegan Chef Institute (VCI) in – you guessed it — London, is also designed to offer a speedy route to upgraded cooking skills. In fact, Fast Track Vegan Chef aims to prepare attendees for a career in vegan cookery.

While it’s a £4,000 investment (US$5,048), it may sound a lot better than the tens of thousands some of us spent on arts degrees, only to end up drowning in student debt and using our diplomas as placemats a few years later. Just sayin’.

The VCI, however, isn’t just about employing individuals but, according to the website, has a big-picture plan to progress “veganism, sustainability and compassionate ways of being through communication, learning, research and development”.

Food is the route to more than just hearts, it seems.

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PLANTLAB Culinary School – USA, international, remote

Culinary academy PLANTLAB offers a near endless list of vegan cookery classes in a number of different locations.

Not only can students partake in a remote learning program, but the curriculum is offered in Los Angeles, Bali, New York, and Barcelona — the last of which is a Spanish metropolis famed for its rich gastronomical scene.

Any excuse to dig into some plant-based paella, sangria and pinchos on your down time, right?

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Veet’s Vegan Cooking School — Australia

Veet’s Vegan Cooking School in Australia claims to offer something “for everyone”, with a wide selection of courses to choose from.

At only three to six days in length, the school’s intensive curriculums are a quick way to say goodbye to cooking humdrum, and nights of boxed mac and cheese and peanut butter toast.

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Northwest Culinary Academy 3-Week Plant Based Culinary Bootcamp – Vancouver

Northwest Culinary Academy’s 3-Week Plant Based Culinary Bootcamp is among the more affordable options on this list at $2,750. It should be noted that that’s Canadian dollars, otherwise known as Monopoly money, so it really is relatively cheap (US$2,039).

With five hours a day of culinary education, the course will develop skills you can apply to all of your gastronomical ventures.

What should be noted about this course, however, is that it is technically a vegetarian curriculum, which accommodates for vegan eaters and chefs.

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Blue Lotus Hua Hin — Thailand

The Blue Lotus Vegan Cooking School in beautiful Hua Hin, Thailand offers introductory and advanced courses in plant-based culinary arts, as well as a business course tailored specifically to those looking to build ethically motivated, small businesses centered around food.

Maybe you’re one of those people perpetually tossing around ideas for your next great endeavour. Well, Blue Lotus can help you get off the couch and put your dreams to work.

We all know your friends are just humoring you at this point.

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National Gourmet Institute — New York

The National Gourmet Institute in New York offers not only full-length professional chef training programs, but a number of single day classes that anyone can get in on.

With options focused on concepts such as vegan comfort food, breakfast and baking, you can pick up the practical skills that say “I don’t live in my mom’s basement”.

But let’s face it, if you’re under 30 in the year 2018, there’s a pretty good chance that you do.

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Vegan Gastronomy Culinary Academy’s Pizza School — Mallorca

So, Vegan Gastronomy offers a vegan pizza school. In Mallorca.

While further information shouldn’t really be required (hello — Mallorca), the course is offered not only as a five-day program on the beautiful Spanish island, but as a remote learning experience.

So, if you’d prefer, you can learn all you need to know about plant-based pizza making from the comfort of your own home, wherever that happens to be.

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