Today I cooked, ate and ran! If you’re wondering why I’m writing about a mundane task that is necessary for basic human survival, then wonder not because today’s lunch wasn’t as dull as it usually is. It was in a snazzy kitchen, among city workers with a skillful chef named Andre who showed us how to expertly dice an onion.

Cook, Eat, Run is a cookery class at L’atelier des Chefs where you cook under the guidance of a master chef and enjoy your efforts with other members of the class – all within an hour. With over 15 schools in Europe, French brothers François and Nicolas Bergerault came up with the concept in the hope of breaking the habits of urban inhabitants who depend on frozen food and ready-made meals. Another city dwelling tradition is eating out, so with the locations in the heart of London, they have found the right balance between learning to prepare a healthy lunch in sociable surroundings.

I was catching up with a friend who will be joining the British Navy as a junior chef soon. I figured she would feel right at home and I could check out her culinary skills. The first L’atelier des Chefs, opened in London, near Oxford Street, but we decided to try out the intimate surroundings of their St Paul’s kitchen. On the menu was Paprika roasted chicken breast with a chorizo, butter bean, almond and tomato stew. Chef Andre who has cooked in Gordon Ramsey’s kitchen at Claridges was extremely composed and not as frightening as Mr Ramseys. He swiftly talked us through how to make our ingredients and cook our meal, while we starred at him in disbelief at how effortless cooking a complicated sounding meal actually was.

Cooking took no more than 25 minutes, which gave our group of around 12 enough time to sit around the welcoming dinner table and marvel at how delicious our own efforts looked and how tasty it turned out to be. Nervously giggling about the prospect of cooking, crying over chopped onions and cheering when our meal was finally finished with a bunch of complete strangers, was the most memorable thing about cooking at L’atelier des Chefs.

To try out this recipe see cooking instructions here