Eating out is all very well but, in my mind, no one can claim to be a true foodie if they don't have a few tricks up their sleeve when it comes to performing in their own kitchen. But don't despair if spag bol is about as good as it gets - there is help at hand.

A brilliant place called The Yard has recently opened in Battersea where you can go and learn how to create, and take home with you afterwards, up to nine of the kind of dishes you've always wanted to master - intelligently sourced ingredients all on site of course. In just moments you'll be a dab hand at things like smoked mackerel and caper fishcakes and beef and horseradish stew.

If you really want to show off, though, there's the newly launched Urban Caprice Canape Club. In the herb-scented kitchens of one of London's chicest caterers you'll be taught to do things with a grilled courgette, some burrata and a bunch of peashoots that you never thought possible - would you ever have thought about wrapping halibut sashimi, smeared with Gentleman's Relish and spiked with coriander, in celeriac?

To top off your dinner party skills why not knock up your own Cosmopolitans? Mixmeister Chris Sheldon has opened his own bartending school in the basement of Zebrano where he'll teach you and your friends how to mix cocktails like a pro.

P.S. In January you'll have another chance to attend this year's hottest class - butchery at the famed Allens on Mount Street. Get that bloodied apron ready!