Jamie Oliver’s Café & Cookery School

Wir waren während unseres Brighton-​Urlaubes 2 mal zum Frühstück hier. Das erste Mal war 5 Sterne wert. Beim zweiten Besuch war der Service weniger aufmerksam und anscheinend ein anderer Koch, denn am ersten Tag waren die Pancakes leckerer.
Trotzdem eine Empfehlung!!!

Sympathique adresse dans la rue commerçante de Brighton où l’on peut prendre un déjeuner sur le pouce ou un goûter. Produits frais accueil au top.

With the Jamie Oliver brand taking over the world at the moment, it’s easy to be sceptical when you see another branch of his multi pronged business open up on the high street. Yes, I quite like his branch of Jamie’s in the centre of town, but I had never really taken much notice of Recipease on Western Road. I’ve peered in a couple of times and been a little put off by the overpriced merchandise that the shop sells in Jamie’s name, so put off in fact that I failed to notice the cute café and lunch spot also housed here, not to mention the cookery school at the back (and I call myself a Unilocaler!!).
Anyway, when a LivingSocial offer popped up a few months back, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try out one of the classes. Being a little unorganised I left it to the last minute and had to pick a class based on availability rather than theme. This resulted in us attending a «how to cook the ultimate pork belly class» on Christmas eve.
The class was slightly over booked with seven of us (it’s normally restricted to four apparently) but this didn’t affect the teaching. Our Chef, Han, was a brilliant instructor and I think runs most of the classes here. A complimentary glass of wine got the session of to a good start — who doesn’t like to cook with a glass of red in their hands?!!
First we prepared the apple sauce, I’ve made apple sauce numerous times before but not with Jamie’s secret ingredient (bribes will be taken if you want to know the recipe…). Next the veggies and herbs for the roasting tin, and then the meat itself. We were all provided with a 1kg piece of pork belly and given tips on what to look out for when making our own purchases. We scored the fat and coated it with slat, pepper and fennel seed — the ideal combination for perfect crackling.
Han then produced a piece he had cooked earlier and showed us how to make the perfect gravy from the juices and stock in the pan. The session ended with a tasting session of Han’s food, and a box to take away our own pork belly, roasting pan and apple sauce to cook at home. Han’s meat was delicious and I was ecstatic to be able to reproduce this at home, along with the most amazing crackling I have possibly ever tasted, let alone cooked.
Even at full price (£35-£40 per person) these courses are extremely good value. It’s a great think to do as a couple, with friends or on your own, and there is a huge variety of courses ranging from steak, to sushi, to cheesecake, to Vietnamese street food. I have purchased my Brother and his girlfriend vouchers for Christmas so I will be interested to hear their feedback, and my boyfriend and I will definitely be back for another course (after we have cooked our second piece of pork that is!!)

It is the noisiest café in Brighton, the staff seem like trying to break the coffee machine whenever they make a drink! Once my friend order a toasted croissant with cheese but it came cold Very unpleasant. However the breakfast is better than lunch menu. Don’t try the homemade baked beans though because it is not that special.

I’ve been in Recipease a few times before but never bought much, mainly cause they don’t do much veggie food. I think this is an obvious gap, especially in Brighton.
This pasta making lesson was very different though as I was able to experiment with the pasta filling and adjust it to my own taste (although my choice to include the sage in the filling was met with «oh, you’ve put it in there» by Chef — I didn’t know it was supposed to be used in the buerre noisette! I had a flashback to my HE teacher in school who disapproved when I inevitably strayed from the recipe).
I only wish there’d been more time to make other types of pasta but did come away with a recipie sheet that covered other types and the inspiration to try them out.
Really enjoyed eating what I’d made and learning from Chef. I have been motivated to try some more lessons (maybe the knife skills like some others here) now I know how it all works.
Sorry to Dawn for keep hitting her with the pasta machine handle as I cranked it round.
Oh, and can’t wait for the video from the lovely Alex.
Thanks for arranging it all.

My pasta making lesson with fellow qypers to Recipease last night was both inspiring and fun. Inevitably skilled chef Matt made the process look easy. When it came to my turn I amateurishly did the ‘dough dance’ and clumsily wielded a knife; Jamie would have cried out despairingly ‘she doesn’t understand me’. But I made it through, triumphantly sitting down to eat our creation, washed down with a glass of wine. I leaned a great deal about making pasta, and my inquisitive, dynamic team mates made it an even more interesting experience. Sarah and Eamon, you put on a great event. Recipease lessons get the thumbs up from this cookery school drop out!

Had a fabulous time last night learning how to make fresh pasta, thanks to the lovely Matt.
We all managed to sit down with a glass of wine and eat some thing quite amazing. Having never actually made pasta before it was quite an experience.
Lovely meeting all of you, and Eamon i’ve forgotten all the jokes…
Hope to meet you all again soon.

I have visited Recipease on a few occasions now for lunch and coffees (try the selection of fresh salads — a choice of three as one course) and actually took our team there to do the Mexican Street Food course a few weeks back. We all had a great time, it was a super activity for a bit of ‘team bonding’ and we left suitably stuffed with all the delicious treats we had created and some leftovers for lunch the next day.
Thanks to qype, I had the opportunity to try out another of the brilliant courses yesterday — ‘filled pasta’. Matt (aka ‘chef’) was a brilliant teacher — funny, engaging and informative and he welcomed all of the questions we had to throw at him. We made butternut squash and ricotta filled pastas in a variety of shapes — I had so much fun I left having bought a pasta roller to continue the fun at home with the recipe cards they sent us home with. Fresh pasta at chez Tuckwell may be on the menu for a while!
I’m going to give the knife skills course a go next…

I had a such a great time at the cooking lessons at Recipease that it has inspired me to organise singles and social networking events there.
It is a great way to meet other like minded single folk who want an alternative to speed dating! It’s also great for those who are new to Brighton and want to meet new people and increase their social circle
If anyone is interested in attending an event with just single people in attendance then drop me a line, I still have some available spaces on Wednesday 25^th May for Age group 38 to 54 and also on Friday 27^th May for 30 to 44 age group.
I also have events specifically for gay men & women too.

I went to the taster session yesterday, as well (thanks Sarah!) — it was great fun, seeing pasta being made by Matt, then trying* to do it ourselves.
(* A leftover pasta and parmasan kebab-​alike effort didnt quite work out, though out 2^nd batch of ravioli/​tortellini was fab!)
It was quite satisfying, tasting something I had made myself, rather than opening a tin of ??, and popping in the microwave.
I hadn’t realised they did regular courses like this, or that there was a full-​on kitchen at the back of the store. I might try going there for breakfast one day, too.
would have given 5 stars, but it was hard work, and i kept hitting my head on the storage racks!

Thx to Qype my intro to Recipease was fantastic! What a great concept (though I admit I’m not exactly a JO fan).
Matt the Chef was brilliant, funny but informative (not to mention patient!). The pasta making lesson was great fun… and surprisingly, my pathetic efforts at making butternut squash & ricotta ravioli/​tortellini were amazingly delicious. Would definitely recommend it — for singles or groups. Met some lovely people there, hopefully might bump into them again sometime in the future. Considering the fish filleting lesson! This could become addictive :).
Btw the menu board looked very tempting… I’ll be back!!!

Came here for lunch on a Groupon: Had a burger with cheese, Pancetta and caramelised onions which was lovely.
Actually there isn’t much on the eat-​in lunch menu but worth popping in to see what’s on.
What really surprised me was how good a deal the take-​away sandwiches (£2.50 for free-​range Ham and cheese sandwich) and pies (25% off right now making them £2.71 each) were. There’s a meal deal with these too!
I went for the Chicken and Ham pie to take away and seriously, it’s a winner. Soft pastry, not to thick — SO MUCH meat inside and incredibly tasty.
I hear the loyalty card is very good there — not only for just the coffee (every 6^th one free) but lunches!

Oh. My. Lord.
Not content with serving damn good salads, soups and sandwiches for lunch, Recipease are now open for breakfast and brunch. The home-​made baked beans garnished with fresh parsley and yellow and red baby tomatoes are heaven in a bowl but my favourite dish has to be their caramelised banana pancakes. Presented as a tower of three, they are cooked to perfection and available with mixed berries or maple syrup and crispy pancetta. Being a self-​confessed maple addict, I usually opt for the latter then watch as my breakfast companions drool with envy.
A note to the chef: See you the same time next Saturday for M*O*U*T*H*W*A*T*E*R*I*N*G brunch.

Another of Jamie Oliver’s culinary creations, Recipease specialises in cooking equipment and classes: sounds as weird as it is. I like the ethos here: «high-​end equipment and advice on how to use it» makes sense to me as a concept for a shop, it’s just a shame that everything is, again, typically for Brighton, ridiculously overpriced. There is also a greater issue here: as mentioned by other reviewers, I think it’s pretty patronising to run a cookery class shop; still, the thought here is genuine.
If some of this stuff were cheaper, I’d probably go for it: it is very nicely made, looks brilliant, and would definitely not look out of place in a well-​stocked kitchen. However, with a much cheaper cooking chop (Bill’s?) just across the road, with much of the same equipment, just not as shiny, the point of Recipease is a little lost on me. Still, if you have Jamie fever, what better place to start than here?

I know Jamie has transformed the entire nation single handedly into bean stew eating health fanatics, but still with this place, I just don’t buy it. To me the mistake is in the arrogance of what is on offer, which just seems to be one or two of a big range things to do mostly with Italian cooking, and you are supposed to buy it here, because it’s Jamies and because that means obviously it will be the best. The thing Jamie didn’t count on is that most of us don’t just eat processed meats and drink frying oil, we already eat very well, and we can also go and get foods like whats on offer here in a billion other places in Brighton (well, maybe 6 or 7). Also, if I want a pizza I can make it perfectly well, if I don’t want to make a pizza I will buy a ready made or order one in, I won’t stand in a shop being patronised.

I am so torn on both Recipease and the larger Jamie Oliver brand. I have a number of Jamie books, all of which are pretty good. When I first came to Recipease during my happier Jamie based months, I was impressed by the slick yet rustic open plan design, not to mention the host of quality ingredients that stock the shelves.
I took advantage of the ‘make your own pizza’ facility, which was definitely fun. But everytime I’ve returned here, i’ve increasingly left with a feeling that this is nothing more than a money making machine, filled with crazily expensive items that actually aren’t anywhere near as high in quality as you first think.

You don’t have to reduce yourself to penury in order to enjoy this place. My friend and I both went for today’s ‘Superdooper soup of the day’ which turned out to be a nourishing bowl of spinach and lentil (£4.25). Other reasonably priced options are a DIY salad (use your imagination and choose from pancetta, anchovies, tomatoes, croutons, Parmesan, lemon and olive oil) at £6.95 and the old school pâté platter (liver pâté corinchons, balsamic onion and bread) at £6.50.
A cup of tea is £1.75 and a cup of coffee is £2.20. If you plan to linger over lunch, a bottle of Alpha Zeta Garganega (a crispy white from the Veneto) is £13, as is a bottle of Ponte Pietra Red (a fruity red also from the Veneto).
The staff are efficient and friendly, the ambience is welcoming and with that good food and lovely wine inside you, the Western Road might seem bearable after all.

One of Jamie Oliver’s shop-​come-​restaurants where you can not only buy ingredients and utensils, but cook on site in group lessons led by staff and either eat there or take home to show off to your friends and family.
The lessons range from how to cook fresh fish, risotto, steak and meatballs, to knife skills and homemade pasta. Prices vary from about £20 to £50 but you’ll be in there for a good couple of hours and get to sit back with a glass of wine and fully appreciate your new found gastronomic expertise.
Booking onto a lesson will earn you a 10% discount on any product in the shop although it won’t make too much of a dent in the price of a Tefal frying pan, as I discovered while trawling the shops for one.
The Jamie Oliver Tefal weighs in at a massive 60 odd quid, so after my heart attack I politely perused the rest of the shop before making a sharp exit next door to Robert Dyas.

Even if you don’t like Jamie Oliver but love food Recipease will be your new favourite thing. It’s basically like food porn. As with most of Mr. Oliver’s ventures its goal is to get more people cooking and at least interested in food. As well as selling various ingredients and takeaway dishes Recipease offers on-​site cooking lessons for beginners and wannabe chefs. ‘Knife skills’ is another course they offer so whether you’re serious about learning some new tricks or just fancy a bit of informative fun it’s going to be very much up your street. The crockery and ceramics may be extremely overpriced but the £10 meal deal for two is both great value and great quality. Essentially it’s a one-​stop-​shop for everything foodie.

I went along to recipease on the hunt for pizza-​I had been told that jamie oliver’s new place did a great deal: two pizzas that you make yourself and a bottle of wine for ten pounds. How could I resist?! I was a little less confused therefore when I walked in– I’d been prepped on what the shop involved. It still hit me though as I went in that it WAS all a little disorientating, mostly because what Oliver is trying to do here is so different from anything else out there-​constantly trying to get people involved in cooking. I admire that and agree that it’s so important… even if the man himself verges on the caricatural. The pizzas, by the way, were excellent-​great crispy dough base– and the whole experience made for a really fun evening-​a take away with the added satisfaction of having participated. And I love the pink.

As stated in other reviews, Jamie Oliver’s new Brighton store Recipease is a little confusing. When i first walked in I saw a whole array of nice looking bread products, so beautifully arranged I wasn’t totally sure whether they were merely for display purposes only, or whether I was actually permitted to disturb this lovely demonstration in order to buy whatever took my fancy. On the plus side, these items did look very appetising, and I’m sure they tasted great. There was also some nice, freshly-​made pasta, kitchen bowls, aprons, dishes, olive oil, vegetables and cooking books, none of which was particularly expensive.
Again, as aforementioned, this store also doubles as a cooking school. You can take lessons here to improve your culinary craft, and, rather bizarrely, you can pay to make your own pizza here. The latter gimmick, personally, i didn’t particularly get. Why would someone want to come to pay to make a pizza here when they could have one made for them and delivered to their house for the same price, with a greater chance that the end result might be edible? Furthermore, surely if you wanted to make your own pizza, you would simply go out, buy the required ingredients, and make it yourself in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the price?
This minor complaint aside, this store seems ok, though it does need a larger selection of food products, and a clearer explanation as to its function.

This is part of Jamie Oliver’s new chain. Part cookshop, part ready meals vendor, part daytime TV cookery show. Brave of him to (i) try to get us cooking properly again, and (ii) to open something this pricey in a recession. I wish him luck though, cos on a first try, the grub is first rate. I got sea bass with fennel for £6.45. It was a whole fish, not a fillet. It came in a foil bag which you cook it in, and was seriously high quality cuisine. Other things in the shop included various pastas, giant pizzas, chicken cacciatore, etc. All ready meals are prepared on the premises, apparently. It’s not much more than Waitrose or M&S, but — on this evidence — very good value. If you can afford it, I recommend you give it a go.