Cordon bleu cookery courses have become the latest trend for City workers.

A range of courses run by award-winning chefs has been set up to cater for demand from professionals.

CJ Jackson, director of the Billingsgate Seafood Training School, said: "People often take the day off to do a course here - it's a short amount of time to learn a vast amount."

Natalie Hadley, who organises classes at Tom Aikens in Chelsea, said: "Our guests want to learn from Tom himself. It's very much the work-hard playhard types who attend our classes."

Matt Kemp, who set up the Underground Cookery School in the heart of the City in 2003, said: "Basically City people have no time but they're very clever.

"They have that mentality of 'show me once and I can do it,' so they like the fact that they can bowl up here at 6pm and three hours later they know how to make a great three-course meal."

Chris Ansell, a senior equity analyst at Nomura Asset Management, attended a course. He told Square Meal magazine: "I had just got divorced and I wanted to cook my kids a proper Sunday roast."

MENU OF GOURMET COURSES...

Almeida, N1
Evening course, £95

Billingsgate Seafood Training School, E14
Evening courses, £95

La Cucina Caldesi, W1
Evening courses, £95 to £120

Divertimenti Cookery School, W1 and SW3
Evenings, £25 to £90

Leiths School of Food and Wine, W8
10-week evening course, £610. Half-day course, £100

Tasting Places, various locations
Two-hour course with Michelin-starred Angela Hartnett, £200

Tom Aikens, SW3
Evening courses, £120.

Underground Cookery School, EC2
Evening class including a three-course meal, £70