9 Online Courses To Learn A New Skill

If you want to learn culinary skills from one of the world-leading cookery schools in the comfort of your own kitchen at times to suit you, Leiths Online offers video courses taught by expert teachers, combining world-renowned culinary education with cutting-edge technology. Learn a wide range of skills and techniques by cooking along with small, guided, step-by-step sessions. You’ll develop your skills alongside a class of like-minded cooks and receive feedback on your progress from a dedicated Leith’s mentor – every course is led and mentored by a qualified Leiths teacher, who is approachable and accessible. 

At the end of the course, you’ll receive a digital certification of completion of each course and, if you want to take it further, you can earn full Leiths-accredited certificates at in-person assessments in London. 

Visit LeithsOnline.com 

For anyone with a passion for pastry and baking the Online Pastry School has a library of over 60 baking courses and lessons, including desserts, cakes, breads and confectionary. These are all taught by top chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants and top bakeries around the world. The lessons are available to watch at any time and, with certificates for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, there is something for everyone. There is also a theory base with everything you need to know about ingredients and techniques.

Beginner lessons cover fundamental culinary skills designed for novices looking to build a solid foundation in the kitchen. They are ideal for those new to baking and cooking or anyone wanting to refine their techniques in pastry and basic culinary preparation – for example, preparing vanilla pods and stone fruits, to yeast and flour theory. Intermediate lessons focus on the next level of recipes and techniques, while advanced is for show-stoppers (apple and caramel choux bun tower with gold leaf, anyone?).

Visit BecomeAPastryChef.co.uk 

Leading nutritional therapist and author Amelia Freer is one of the UK’s most respected healthy eating experts. If you want to learn how the food you eat has the power to transform your life positively, improving both the quality of your health and your cooking, this course covers both the theory and the practical. 

With over a decade’s worth of private practice experience, Amelia is celebrated among her clients as being a life-changing force – her teaching cuts through the confusion of contemporary nutrition and offers an array of usable tips to help you understand key nutritional theory, explain the role of supplements in your diet, guide you through the building blocks of a healthy plate, give you tips for meal planning and show you how to cook from scratch quickly and efficiently. Throughout the five-hour course (broken down into 10 to 15-minute lessons), Amelia unpacks her key principles to help you understand the foundations of healthy eating and how to apply them, from building a healthy plate to the role healthy fats play in our diet.

Visit CreateAcademy.com 

Fancy enhancing your understanding of wine? Best-selling author, journalist and broadcaster Jancis Robinson has been writing about wine for 45 years – she writes a weekly column for the Financial Times and has co-authored several internationally renowned books, including The World Atlas of Wine and The Oxford Companion to Wine. Now, via BBC Maestro, you can join Jancis on a journey through the world of wine – from its fascinating history to practical tips on wine tasting and choosing the perfect bottle for any occasion, there’s a range of topics to choose from.  

In 1984, Jancis was the first person outside the wine trade to pass the rigorous Master of Wine exams and from there her reputation has only grown. In 2018, she was voted the world’s most influential wine critic in the prestigious BWW competition, and she also advised the late Queen on her own wine cellar. 

Visit BBCMaestro.com

From her idyllic Cotswolds home studio, leading florist Willow Crossley will teach you the key principles used in floristry, from practical step-by-step guidance to creating a simple table arrangement or a show-stopping wedding centrepiece. Expect unique insight into how she works as she guides you through every step of the process, from sourcing flowers and plants to creating beautiful arrangements for every occasion. 

Over ten hours, broken down into 10 to 15-minute episodes, you will learn all the key techniques and tools needed to make everything from hand-tied bouquets and show stopping displays to buttonholes and bobeches, plus much, much more. A wide range of seasonal projects will show you the many ways you can bring nature into your home throughout the year, and Willow also shares her go-to suppliers, varieties and vessels, giving you the knowledge and confidence you need to create stunning floral arrangements of your own. 

Visit CreateAcademy.com 

The Academy offers a range of expert-led sewing courses. The online courses are designed to empower interior enthusiasts looking to create unique furnishings, such as frill cushions and Roman blinds. A variety of courses to suit all experience levels includes Frill Cushion; Beginners Roman Blinds; Beginners Curtains; Piped Cushion; and Box Cushion. 

Renowned soft furnishings instructor Louise Packwood leads the courses, guiding students through each step of the process. The video-based lessons are available on an online hub, meaning students can learn at their own pace from the comfort of their own homes. Alongside the course content, the Just Fabrics Academy provides a supportive community for interior design lovers to connect, share ideas and inspire each other on their sewing journey. 

Visit Academy.JustFabrics.co.uk 

Transform your furniture with sustainable designer and upholsterer Micaela Sharp. In this course, you will learn every step of the process from start to finish – understanding different upholstery styles, what to look out for when choosing furniture, how to select, measure and pattern cut fabric, and key upholstery techniques including stripping back, piping, webbing and box cushion sewing. Through three increasingly challenging projects – a bespoke make-your-own headboard, a loose cushioned chair and a mid-century armchair – you’ll gain the confidence and mastery needed to tackle your own projects.

The key upholstery techniques, fabrics and processes are all listed in a series of downloadable workbooks, so what you’ve learnt on the course stays with you; and there’s no fixed start or finish date, so everything you need is at our fingertips whenever you want to revisit it. 

Visit CreateAcademy.com 

Fancy making your own lampshade from scratch? The Lampshade School is based in Wiltshire and hosts in-person courses but, for students who can't attend these, founder Joanna Heptinstall has created lampshade lessons do to at home, so that you can learn all the skills and enjoy making your first lampshade in your own space at your own pace. It’s called Lesson In A Box and includes everything you need to make either a pleated or gathered style. Full comprehensive, printed instructions with hundreds of colour photos are included plus access to online video tutorials explaining every single detail of the making process. In the box you’ll find a 10-inch French drum lampshade frame; your choice of beautiful fabric from the current selection of block printed Indian cottons and Liberty tana lawns; quality ivory cotton lawn lining fabric; a length of pretty ribbon; all the essentials including strong smooth sewing thread, cotton binding tape, a little tube of glue, some long sharp needles and a pot of pins. 

Visit LampshadeSchool.co.uk