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Last night, my boyfriend and I took a cooking class. He bought me a voucher, on the recommendation of friends, to the cooking school just under a year ago for our anniversary and we only now got around to booking a class.

We chose the ‘Middle Eastern’ class, lured in by the promise of learning to make lamb koftas, middle-eastern flatbreads as well as a fish tagine.

Upon arriving at the class, we were pleasantly surprised to see that, due to social distancing requirements, the class size was very small – with only 5 other participants. While this obviously makes turning a profit a struggle for the cooking school, it meant we got a great, hands-on experience, and were able to have the instructing chef’s undivided attention for all the crucial moments.

With all the ingredients included in the price of the class, all we had to do was follow her instructions and demonstrations. We started with the tagine, which involved chopping up various herbs and spices to make a quick and easy (and very tasty) marinade for the fish, before allowing all of the ingredients (mixed) to simmer on the stove for about 45 minutes. The end result, served with some flavoured cous cous, was very tasty and something we’ll be sure to make again at home.

The real highlight was the flatbreads, which include only two main ingredients and took a total of five minutes to make and cook (and much less time to eat!). The recipe doesn’t include any yeast, so there is no need to knead (lol) or rest the dough. All you have to do is  mix up the flour and yoghurt (in equal amounts) with a pinch of salt and baking powder and throw a rolled out circle straight into a hot pan with a splash of oil – and be ready to eat in no time!

I would very much recommend a cooking class if you are looking for ideas to surprise a loved one – it's fun to do and you might both learn new skills, a true gift that keeps on giving!