Tucked away in a surprisingly rural pocket Haydon Wick, a Swindon chef runs all manner of cookery masterclasses from a bespoke kitchen, built in the grounds his family home.

Tutor John Bridgeman has nearly forty years’ experience as a chef, and now runs the Rusland Cookery School, in Pond Street – giving all comers a chance to hone their skills in the kitchen, whether you fancy learning the art of patisserie, French classic dining, Thai cuisine or – in my case – bread making.

I have enrolled for a morning session to learn how to make bread. Along with six other hopefuls, I will spend Saturday morning getting some inside information on techniques to bake basic bread, alehouse rolls and focaccia – which seems plenty to fit into two hours

It is a long time since I have made bread, and admittedly I have done so only rarely, so I am looking forward to this opportunity to learn some tips and find out how an experienced chef approaches the task. My fellow students are a friendly bunch, and John quickly puts us all at ease with some welcoming chat and a seasoning of bad jokes. The students are a mixed group with various motivations – from three friends enjoying the chance to take part in an educational social activity together, so another who wishes to add to her expertise and widen her employment options.

The session is meticulously prepared, with ingredients all weighed out for us and equipment at hand. Within minutes, we are all mixing flour, salt, sugar, yeast and oil in a bowl, and then kneading the dough for ten minutes or so, to make it smooth and elastic. John is an expert at explaining what to do, never makes his pupils feel foolish or inept (thank goodness) and has plenty of cookery tips to share along the way – ranging from a humorous warning not to trust a skinny chef, to advice on freezing chilli peppers and a knife-sharpening demonstration.

Soon the dough is left to prove while we move on to the mixture for our rustic alehouse rolls – which involves making a porridge of rolled oats and ale in a saucepan, mixing it with honey and butter, then flour and yeast, to make a tight, satisfying dough and a chance for some more surprisingly stress-relieving kneading.

Soon we are knocking back the first dough, shaping rolls, indenting our focaccia and sliding baking trays into the oven. It is a pleasing whirlwind of activity, with lots to learn along the way. Suffice to say, by the end of the session, we all have a white loaf, half a dozen alehouse rolls and a freshly cooked focaccia drizzled with oil and adorned with basil, tomatoes and olives. Perhaps it is no surprise that not all of our fragrant, freshly baked bread makes it out of the kitchen as we newly-fledged bakers have all worked up an appetite and want to taste our bread straight out of the oven. I was a little sceptical of the use of a whole can of ale in the bread rolls, but they turn out to be delicious.

A few minutes after mid-day, John sends us away not only with our bread, but also his own recipe booklet so we can put our new skills into practice. Better still, we do not have to wash up or tidy the kitchen – he takes care of everything. That is certainly the kind of cookery I like.

John, whose wide knowledge was gained in restaurant kitchens in the UK, Europe and Scandinavia, says he offers a fresh approach to culinary skills and he has drawn up a programme with a wide variety of classes. He has also taught a summer schools at Marlborough College and he was a partner and general manager at a country hotel near Swindon. As well as half days, like my bread baking session, he does taster sessions, full-day and evening classes.

This year John will also be heading to the Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival, which takes place June 15 to 17 in Montpellier Gardens. He is running a workshop called Simple and Flavoursome Cookery on Friday June 15 at 3.30pm, part of a varied programme of masterclasses that also includes Litu Mohiuddin’s class from the Kitchen of Indian Railway and James Wood on the Art of Foraging. Amongst the other headliners at this year's festival will be Oz Clarke, one of the world's leading wine experts, who will hold masterclasses in the Beronia Txoko International Wine Theatre. Other festival wine experts will include Amelia Singer, wine expert and presenter on Channel 5's The Wine Show. During her talk she will be guiding visitors through a tutored tasting of the exciting changes in wine. Look out for Susan Hulme, who specialises in Italian wines, and Brandon Barnham from Ridgeview Estate Winery, who will share the great taste of English wine.

During the three-day festival, the Jamie Williams Design Chef's Kitchen Theatre will play host to several inspiring chefs who will demonstrate their creative cooking. The programme also includes Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, who started their plant-based Facebook food channel BOSH! to inspire people to eat a healthier, more ethical and sustainable lifestyle, and head chef Matthew Aldred from Cheltenham's new Ivy Montpellier Brasserie, who will showcase some of this restaurant's favourite dishes.

Food and drink talks will cover a wide range of subjects. Whisky lovers should look out for Phil Huckle's two masterclasses, the first of which is about the famous Single Malt Distillery Glenlivet, while the second is about the blended Scotch whisky Chivas Regal. Gardeners will be treated to Terry Walton's talk Gardening from Plot to Pot. Terry has appeared regularly on television and radio. Festival goers will also have live music throughout the weekend and the opportunity to buy a range of foods, pickles, sweets and alcoholic drinks from more than 220 exhibitors.

Festival tickets are available on pre-order from just £4 to £6 for adults and £10 for a two-day ticket. Children under the age of 16 go free provided they are accompanied by a ticket purchasing adult. Pre-booking for the Oz Clarke and Whisky Masterclasses is essential. For further information visit garden-events.com. For more information about John Ridgeman’s Swindon classes, visit ruslandcookeryschool.co.uk.