The TV food personalities of today are much more inspiring than the Delia Smith canapé days. Chefs now have exciting shows filmed all around the world and have spurred people to get back into the kitchen and have even made foodies out of the beans on toast-loving type.

We’ve stocked up on cookery books with various faces on because slaving away in the kitchen has suddenly become glamorous. Whether it’s the throw-it-all-in Jamie Oliver, potty-mouthed Gordon Ramsay, or the finger-licking Nigella Lawson – we’ve all attempted a TV chef dish at some point. They make it look so easy don’t they?

You may be famous for cooking up a recipe for disaster or be quite confident in the kitchen. Either way there’s no reason why you can’t brush up on your culinary skills.

Cookery classes are a perfect way to take up a hobby, which is both enjoyable and extremely useful. And it is likely you are not too far from a cookery class as they are dotted all around the country. There are master classes and even ones taught at your local school or community centre.

If you decided to be a bit more heath conscious in 2010 this is a perfect way to learn some new dishes and discover ingredients you haven’t used before, whilst spending money you would have otherwise used for takeaways and putting it towards something practical. Courses can even specialise in world cuisines such as Japanese, Indian or Italian.

You can choose to book yourself on a long course, or a short course for quite reasonable prices and whatever you cook you usually get to take home – that’s dinner sorted for the evening! You never know, you could make some foodie friends and organise your very own version of Come Dine with Me.

It doesn’t have to be you. Booking someone on the course is a perfect gift, which you get to benefit from once the lucky recipient discovers his or her newfound skills. It would be ideal for someone who has just come back from visiting an exciting country and been inspired or even one of the children about to set off for university – this will certainly help them fend for themselves.

Chocolate making classes are also gaining popularity and they even come in day workshops for you and some friends. They are a great opportunity to learn about how your chocolate gets from bean to bar.

Food and drink packages also make for great parties, such as birthdays or hen and stag dos. They make a great alternative to the usual city bar crawl. Ever fancied yourself as a wine connoisseur? You can take a party along to learn about grape varieties, and wines all over the world… most importantly you get to try them all so you can stumble home knowing you’ve learned something.

If your party is after an even more adventurous drinks package, then why not go for a cocktail making experience. No, this is not just about making Cosmopolitans and Bellinis. These packages also teach you about mixology, pouring techniques, and flair routines à la Tom Cruise in the film Cocktail. A brilliant way for your party to get merry in style and it certainly beats going to a bar and queuing up for half an hour to buy your round.