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The Langham promises 'trade secrets' with launch of first-ever cookery school, Sauce

For the first time in its 153-year-old history, the Langham is launching a cookery school, with the help of Michel Roux Jr.

The new venture, Sauce, will open at the five star Portland Place hotel in May, promising to share “trade secrets”. Interactive classes will cover everything from basic baking to master butchery, with standard sessions starting at £150, and premium classes from £250.

Found in the heart of the hotel and kitted out as a farmhouse kitchen, the school will teach groups of up to 12 would-be cooks master core kitchen skills, including knife work and the basics of sauces, while the hotel’s chefs, including Roux Jr, will lead detailed sessions on their specialities.

Details of Roux Jr’s classes are being kept under wraps, but the Langham’s executive pastry chef Andrew Gravett will lead patisserie training, executive chef Chris King will deconstruct the French fare served in Roux at the Landau and, elsewhere, there’ll be lessons on cooking the “posh pub classics” from the Wigmore, the hotel’s upmarket freehouse. The majority of the classes will be overseen by kitchen manager Millie Simpson, who’ll be helped by the hotel’s senior sous chef, Quentin Plateaux.

“Sauce is a great opportunity for our brigade to share their passion for good food and show their love for our industry,” Chef King told the Standard, “I’m fortunate at the Langham to work with some very talented and energetic chefs who have so much to teach; every class will be packed full of learning, with a pinch of fun.”

Roux Jr added: “The facilities for the new cookery school are exceptional. We’re going to have a perfect environment to share our passion for good food with like-minded home cooks at whatever their skill level.

“Cooking should be first and foremost enjoyable, and we’re looking forward to providing a real confidence boost so that everyone can be proud of what they achieve.”

For more information, visit saucebylangham.com