Vegan Sushi & Cocktails at The Avenue Cookery School, London

Photo by Rebecca Crew Photography

The Avenue Cookery School first opened its doors 15 years ago. Since then, the cookery school has quadrupled in size. There are now about 60 classes packed into a varied timetable. But despite how busy they are, the energetic team still makes time to connect with every student.

Everything about The Avenue is welcoming. Although the shiny kitchen is sleek and modern, there’s a cosiness to it that makes cooking there fun. And the thoughtfully designed interior makes it a lovely space for a supper club or brunch.

Vegan Sushi & Cocktail Class

I went along to The Avenue Cookery School to take part in a special vegan and cocktail-making class. As a long-standing fan of veggie sushi, I was excited to learn how to make fish-free rolls all by myself. Rich, The Avenue’s resident sushi expert, started by giving us a quick history of sushi. He then went on to show us how to make the most popular types of sushi rolls.

Photo by Rebecca Crew Photography

During Rich’s demonstration, I tried to keep up with the steps for rolling Maki (rice and filling wrapped in seaweed), uramaki (rice on the outside and seaweed around the filling) and temaki (a cone shape stuffed with the rice and filling). Rich also generously showed us how to square off our rolls to make them look more like California rolls. But that was a step too far for me.

Bowls full of avocados, scallions, peppers, and cucumbers were already waiting for us on the cooking stations. So after cooking the rice, all we needed to do was slice the veggies and choose between Veganaise and soy sauce for flavour. But things took a turn for the more difficult when we started using our rolling mats. As it turns out, making perfect sushi takes a bit of practice. Luckily, Rich was on hand with tips throughout the making part of the class.

Photo by Rebecca Crew Photography

Sushi rolled, we moved on to a Japanese-inspired cocktail. Mixing sake, fresh lemon juice, and Big Dogs Vodka resulted in a refreshing cocktail to add to our feast. And for those of us who couldn’t handle the sharpness of the lemon, Rich recommended adding a splash of Fentimans Tonic.

Vegan Classes at The Avenue Cookery School

Sushi-making isn’t the only vegan class at The Avenue Cookery School. There’s an impressive range of workshops, courses, and classes to choose from. For anyone new to veganism, the Vegan Basic Cooking Class is a great introduction to creating simple, plant-based meals. During the class, students learn how to cook a two-course vegan lunch, along with some extra dishes.

Photo by Rebecca Crew Photography

If you really want to get serious, there’s also a week-long vegan cooking course. The course is designed so that students progress from Monday to Friday, gaining confidence in their cooking skills. Each day focuses on different skills and fresh recipes, so you’ll leave with plenty of new tricks.

Meanwhile, the Vegan Brunch Club is all about creating delicious brunch recipes with purely vegan ingredients. But it’s an extra fun class because there are bottomless bellinis to go with whatever you make for brunch. Other fully-vegan classes include a Thai cooking class, Mexican street food class, baking class, and a pasta workshop.

Vegan Ingredients

During the sushi evening at The Avenue Cookery School, the team also introduced us to some vegan products and ingredients. Veganaise – a vegan mayo that tastes the same as regular mayo to me – was an ideal creamy filling for our sushi rolls. It also made it super quick and easy to add extra texture and flavour to the rolls.

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Photo by Rebecca Crew Photography

Kikkoman soy sauce, also vegan, was another delicious addition to the sushi. On Rich’s advice, I mashed it up with some avocado as a filling and I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier. On the drinks side of things, we celebrated with Thompson & Scott Prosecco before making our own cocktails.

The whole night reminded me how easy it’s become to cook vegan meals – the number of widely available vegan products is continuously growing. And the range of vegan cooking classes in London has become seriously impressive.

Planning to book a vegan cooking class?

• If you’re looking for cookery classes in south-west London, The Avenue Cookery School is ideal.
• The Avenue lists all of its cookery school events on its website. There are also seasonal events and courses, so it’s worth checking regularly.
• You might also like: Vegetarian Restaurants in Edinburgh

Many thanks to The Avenue Cookery School for hosting me and to the event sponsors, which include Drink Stuff Cocktail Shakers, NDCake Atelier, Yutaka MultipleSushi Ingredients, Organic Delivery Company, and Follow Your Heart Veganaise. Thank you to Rebecca Crew Photography for providing the photos in the post! As always, all opinions are my own.