Hey guys,
before i get shouted at, THIS IS NOT AN AD OR A SALES PITCH , just a request for an opinion
I used to teach cooking classes (mainly traditional Italian and British) when I was back in Guernsey. Not your usual classes that I've seen in a lot of places and definitely nothing like what you get on the telly. Groups of students used to come to my flat and, over 4 or 5 hrs, usually on a Saturday, I used to take them through basics and recipes, cooking everything "live" (i.e. nothing of the "this is one I made earlier" sort) and using that kind of equipment that you can usually get in your average house / flat. I found this to be a USP as a lot of people told me that stuff learned in other cooking courses run in professional kitchens / higher education premises is not always replicable in a home kitchen due to small ovens, not enough gas pressure / heat from the stove tops, not enough pots and pans or not the right size, plus they were finding the "this is one i made earlier" quite frustrating because if something goes wrong you don't really know when or where it went wrong... in addition to this, the flexibility afforded by my decision to have only small groups (max 5 people) allowed everybody to have a menu or a class tailored to their requests or necessities at the time and a more intimate (no sniggering, please), relaxed and social atmosphere, plus a flexible timetable to suit different lifestyles and engagement.
I used to run both these 4 to 5 hrs sessions or more comprehensive, 5 to 8 wks long courses for people who wants to get to grip with techniques, ingredients and different aspects of cooking that couldn't be possibly covered in one morning / afternoon.
Now, here's where I'd appreciate you input... does anybody knows is something like this in already in operation in the Zurich / Baden area? and if not, do you reckon it would work? the courses would be in English, which i think may make it work for the expats (like me) who still haven't got to grip with Swiss German (or any kind of German for that matter). I still haven't done the budgeting as I need to get my nose around to find out prices of ingredients, costs etc, but i think for the 4-5 hrs lessons it would be around 90 to 100 fr. per head (bit of guesswork though...), all included.
Please, bear in mind this is just a consultation and not a sales pitch. If I decide to go ahead with this it wouldn't be before December 2009 / January 2010 (I'm still surrounded by large cardboard boxes and I don't even know where my chopping boards are at the moment...), but I'll keep you posted. Of course, if it does go ahead there would be a discount for EF members who contribute (constructively) to this discussion.
Opinions welcome

There is a market for this type of thing as a number of people already do them including our own Jack. 100 chufs may be a bit steep though if you're hosting at home, I think Jacks events vary from 60 - 120 per head and they are at a professional kitchen.