More About the Course
Hours of tuition are from Monday morning to Friday afternoon, in addition to which pairs of students alternately take responsibility for preparing the evening meal under my supervision. The days are long, but rewarding and there’s always time to relax too.
My Approach
I believe in teaching cooking by teaching methods and techniques, not just recipes. Learning to cook this way equips you with the tools to adapt and prepare any recipe you choose. We start with essential skills such as basic techniques for recipes and preparing soups and sauces, meat and fish, vegetables and vegetarian dishes, desserts and canapés
From Field to Plate
As your knowledge and confidence grow, we introduce more techniques: jointing, filleting and boning, as well as yeast cookery, advanced pastries and sauces. You’ll cover all aspects of cooking from field to plate. In addition to preparation and presentation, we make visits to the markets to shop for fresh meat, fish and vegetables, and look at precautions for food hygiene and storage.
Tips & Tricks of the Trade
We’ll also work together to solve some of the common problems you’ll come across while producing top-class food under pressure, often coping in cramped and under-equipped conditions and away from your home base. You’ll learn how to adapt recipes for special dietary requirements to use locally available produce .
Other Things to know
Among the things we’ll talk about are:
- Menu planning
- Canapé and hors d’ouvres
- Mediterranean and Eastern influences
- Purchasing and provisioning
- How to buy and store fresh food
- Adapting recipes to available ingredients
- Presentation and garnishing
- Catering for special diets
- Selecting and caring for your equipment
Also Included in Your Course Fee:
- Weekly informal wine tastings
- Regular market visits with advice on what to look for when selecting produce
- Tuition and Examination for the Basic Food Hygiene Certificate
- My comprehensive course file with recipes, notes, conversion tables, and glossary of cookery terms
- All meals and accommodation for the duration of the course, including weekend accommodation if required