There can never be too many cooks in my kitchen

We meet people from all walks of life and people who are interested in different types of cooking and baking.

From butchery and curing to gluten-free cooking, from veggie to canapés and petit fours, from a taste of game to seasonal suppers: we meet everybody here.

Earlier this week we had a terrific course called 'back to basics'. It was designed for people who need to start from scratch. It's good for those who feel they've forgotten some skills and would like to relearn elements of their repertoire. By the end of the session, the people on the course are confident masters of the building blocks required in the kitchen.

It's great fun. We get our students to create delicious dishes while learning practical methods that will be endlessly useful in their own kitchen – knife skills, stock preparations, soups and sauces, understanding cuts of meat, filleting fish – all the way through to perfect pastry.

This weekend's courses could not be more different. This afternoon, I'll be working with a group of bakers who want to improve their skills. They'll be mastering the art of the sponge, creating pastries and baking muffins to die for.

They'll also be learning new recipes for tea time treats and trying their hand at delicate patisserie too. By the end of the day, they'll have baked almond and orange florentines, muffins, lemon curd, millefeuilles using rough puff pastry, rosemary cake and sweet potato galettes.

Tomorrow we've got something completely different. We'll be focusing on meat with a course for people who want to learn about butchery and curing.

Attendees will learn about knife skills, boning, smoking and curing using locally-sourced meats. They'll be shown how to prepare and marinade a piece of beef for their own home cured Bresaola, that they can finish off at home. We'll also be showing people how to make their own pancetta from a piece of belly pork. Finally, they'll be able to use their new-found skills to bone and prepare a rabbit for a delicious dinner.

If variety is the spice of life, then we're like .

The diversity on offer is one of the things that I love most about being here. When I started cooking, my ambition was to learn everything there was to learn – and I still want to know more. I wanted to be able to cook just about every dish there is to a reasonable standard. I wasn't worried about winning Michelin stars. I just wanted to cook great risottos, steaks, sauces, stocks, desserts, pastry, French, Italian, Asian and much more.

The cookery school isn't just about providing tuition, of course. We also try to do our bit for the local community.

In a couple of weeks we'll be opening the doors to a charity event that will help raise money for the Shropshire Rural Community Council's Carers Appeal when we stage the Great Shropshire Bake Off.

Home bakers from all over Shropshire can apply to take part in formal baking heats at Brompton Cookery School on September 28.

We'll have a marquee on the grounds – just like on BBC's Great British Bake Off – and everyone is welcome to bring along their own homemade cakes for judging.

The organisers and I are all really excited about the event. It won't just be about cooking, there'll also be fun for kids and a number of demonstrations from Shropshire's best chefs.

Everyone is welcome – why not make a date in your diary and come along.

Marcus Bean is a regular on ITV This Morning. He owns the Brompton Cookery School, at Atcham, near Shrewsbury, on a National Trust Estate.