A COOKERY school in York is all set to reopen with a new owner.

York Cookery School will reopen to the public on May 22 with a new owner, new courses and the launch of a new professional standard chocolate training centre.

The Clifton Moor based cookery school was set up nine years ago by Kate and Fraser Clarkson and will now be run by new owner, Andrew Thwaite, who officially took over on May 1.

The new chocolate teaching and production centre will offer professional chocolate courses, both on a one-to-one basis and group classes, covering a wide range of subjects from one day specialist courses to five-day business start-up courses, as well as bespoke courses developed with clients’ needs in mind. Andrew is working with the support of several partners and suppliers, to ensure the best possible experience for students, and will be using chocolate from Callebaut, the world leader in cocoa and chocolate production.

York Cookery School will also be available to existing businesses for product development, recipe/shelf life testing, production and machinery training.

Andrew said: “Buying York Cookery School has enabled me to fulfill a life-long dream and develop a first-class facility to be able to teach in a fantastic new environment equipped with everything a chocolatier could want.”

Andrew has worked for more than 20 years with some of the biggest names in the chocolate industry, including Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa. He got hooked on chocolate after training to be a chef at Scarborough Technical College, and has travelled the world in pursuit of this passion, meeting fellow chocolate professionals and visiting some of the best chocolatiers in the world, as well as cocoa plantations in Africa and Latin America and many chocolate factories around the world; he has even created his own signature milk chocolate.

An opening party is planned for late June.