Lucky Winners Learn To Cook Sustainably
A special cookery course held in the kitchen garden of Lainston House, Sparsholt, near Winchester, was as much an education as a prize for the 10 lucky winners of a Secrets of the Solent competition.
Run by Hampshire Fare and the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, this competition gave 10 lucky winners the opportunity to attend a very special cookery course held at SEASON, Lainston House’s cookery school, on Friday 16th September. The competition was part of the Great Solent Seafood project, a partnership between Hampshire Fare and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, to promote choosing to buy, cook and eat sustainable seafood.
This special cookery session was held in Lainston House’s Kitchen Garden with top chefs Phil Yeomans, Executive Head Chef, Lainston House, and Andy Mackenzie, Executive Chef, Chef’s Academy, Exclusive Hotels, showing the winners how to prepare and cook Baked Crab, Cedar Plank Cooked Lemon Sole, and Palourde Clams, cooked in a wok with scorched red pepper, shallots, cider and lemon balm picked from the Kitchen Garden. All the dishes were cooked outside on a BBQ.
A talk was given by Tim Ferrero, Senior Specialist Marine Conservation, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, about the Solent’s sustainable seafood. Tim Ferrero commented: "This event was a fantastic opportunity to visit a wonderful location and see professional chefs working close up. Just as important was meeting our competition winners to pass on information about local seafood and our local fisheries to help them to make the most sustainable seafood choices.”
Tracy Nash, Commercial Manager, Hampshire Fare, said: “The course was truly amazing and a brilliant way of introducing people to sustainable seafood and how to prepare and cook it. I think Tim Ferrero’s talk about sustainable seafood may well have changed a few minds about where to buy seafood, with more consideration about traceability, as well as freshness and flavour!”
Mother and daughter duo Sarah and Hannah Taylor, from Emsworth, added: “It was such a happy day and a wonderful connection between nature, learning more about the sources of sustainable seafood, and learning to cook it. The chefs put us at ease and the course has given us a lot more confidence about cooking seafood. we felt really connected to the local roots of where our food comes from.”
Chris and Richard Auburn, from Wareham, agreed: “‘What a superb and fun experience! We’ve learnt loads about sustainably caught fish from Tim Ferrero and how to cook it from the chefs. We cannot thank you enough for the fantastic day you guys put on for us! The recipes you taught us to cook were amazing and not only convinced us about sustainable seafood, but also opened our eyes to what can be cooked on a BBQ. All of the recipes have now found a place within our home cookbook, and we can’t wait to try them again with friends and family.”
Phil Yeomans, Executive Head Chef, Lainston House Hotel, concluded: “Our philosophy here at Lainston House is very much about sustainability. Lainston House is part of The Exclusive Collection, the first hotel group in the UK to achieve B-Corp certification. As part of this we have a focus on growing our own produce and using local suppliers. Therefore, we were delighted to host this event and explain to people about local sustainable seafood and how to prepare and cook it.”
Pictures thanks to The Electric Eye Photography
