About us 

The Cookery School's mission is to transform the way people think and feel about food. It was set up in 1998 by Barny Haughton as Quartier Vert Cookery School and is now based at Bordeaux Quay on Bristol's harbourside.

It offers a host of cooking experiences for children and adults that promise to both challenge and inform.

Its purpose built school at Bordeaux Quay is the perfect environment to learn new skills, try new flavours and make new discoveries on your culinary journey.

Barny Haughton

In 1988, Barny set up Quartier Vert (then Rocinantes) - a restaurant, cafe, bar, bakery and cookery school at 85 Whiteladies Road, Bristol where he cooked, taught and baked for almost two decades, forging strong links with local farmers, artisan producers and growers and training some 100 young chefs in the process.

In 1995 Barny started working with local primary schools to train their cooks in the preparation of fresh, healthy food.

Quartier Vert became an institution in Bristol and was recognised throughout the UK as a pioneering organic restaurant and flagship of the organic and local food movement. By example, Quartier Vert also played a key part in changing the UK restaurant industry's attitude towards food provenance, animal welfare and sustainable food systems.

In May 2006, Barny opened Bordeaux Quay, the restaurant, brasserie, deli, bar, bakery and new home of the Cookery School. Bordeaux Quay.

Bordeaux Quay was the first restaurant and food initiative in Europe to apply the principles of sustainable gastronomy throughout every aspect of the business - developing policies on staff education, water, energy, recycling and waste.

Among other ongoing commitments, Barny is chair of the Soil Association's Organic Food Awards,  a member of the Academy of Culinary Arts, an Associate member of Slow Food International, Chef Ambassador for Slow Food UK, a teacher at the University of Gastronomy in Italy and gives regular talks and demonstrations at schools and community centres on food education. Barny hosts the Demonstration Kitchen at Bristol's Organic Food Festival and the Cookery School at London's Real Food Festival.

Barny, Quartier Vert and Bordeaux Quay have received countless awards at local and national level over the past 20 years.

In 2008 Barny cycled from Bristol to Turin for Terra Madre, the bi-annual event of the International Slow Food movement to raise money for the Cookery School.

Barny is committed to food education in schools, the community and the home. His latest project focuses on food, farming, art and therapy and is based at Budleigh Farm in Somerset. Although no longer on Bordeaux Quay's front line, Barny remains the Headmaster and Founder of the Cookery School and teaches his own programme of masterclasses.

"Barny Haughton is a great pioneer and one of the unsung heroes of the organic movement. He has been serving up food which is not only delicous, but local, organic and sustainable since 1988, long before these issues because fashionable." Patrick Holden, Soil Association 2006

"Barny is  local food hero in the truest possible sense." Rick Stein

"His approach hasn't deviated much over the years: he cooks with seasonal, local ingredients and works according to 'the beauty of first principles'. He is an advocate of all things organic, and one of the generals in the great organic army.' Matthew Fort, The Guardian May 15, 2004

Find out more about: 

Adult courses

Courses for children