Welcome to The Culinary Crafts Academy
At The Culinary Crafts Academy, we believe that great cooking begins with respect—for ingredients, for tradition, and for the hands that prepare them. Founded in the heart of Manchester, our school is more than a place to learn recipes; it’s a sanctuary for those who seek to understand the soul of seasonal cooking.
What We Do
We offer immersive, hands-on classes and expert-led tutorials that teach the art of artisan cooking using ingredients at their peak. Whether you’re a home cook looking to deepen your skills or an aspiring chef refining your craft, our curriculum is designed to nurture patience, precision, and creativity in the kitchen.
Topics We Cover
Our courses revolve around the rhythm of the seasons, exploring:
- Foraging and sourcing local, seasonal produce
- Traditional preservation techniques: pickling, fermenting, and curing
- Artisan bread-making and pastry craftsmanship
- Mastering knife skills and fundamental techniques
- Building balanced, flavour-forward dishes with minimal waste
About the Creator
I’m Magnus Whitmore, a lifelong enthusiast of British culinary heritage and a former sous-chef in Michelin-starred kitchens across the North. After years working in high-pressure environments, I found myself drawn back to the quiet magic of cooking with what the land offers each season. This school was born from that rediscovery—a desire to share not just techniques, but a philosophy: that the best meals are those made with intention, care, and deep connection to place.
Why This Website Exists
Too often, cooking is reduced to quick fixes and fleeting trends. We created The Culinary Crafts Academy to counter that. Here, we slow down. We honour the earth’s cycles. We teach you not just how to follow a recipe, but how to listen to it—to smell the change in a simmering stock, to feel the right texture in dough, to know when a fruit is truly ready. This is cooking as craft, not chore.
Our Values and Approach
Every class, every recipe, every tutorial is crafted with three principles at its core: seasonality, craftsmanship, and accessibility. We don’t believe in exclusivity. Our methods are designed to be replicated in any home kitchen, with ingredients you can find at your local market. We teach with patience, document with honesty, and learn alongside our students every step of the way.
Contact Us
We’d love to hear from you—whether you have a question about a class, want to suggest a seasonal ingredient we should feature, or simply want to share a dish you made using our recipes. Reach out anytime at [email protected] or visit us at 1 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3EB, United Kingdom.