Aprons on at Season Cookery School
Whether it’s the glossy new kitchen, the exceptional tutoring or the jaw-dropping kitchen gardens taking part in one of the new cookery classes at Season Cookery School feels like a treat from start to finish.
Lainston House has turned a beautiful disused outbuilding into a high quality cookery school. Pizza making, seasonal dinner parties, baking, knife skills, Christmas cooking are just a handful of the topics covered. Classes can take up to 24 people and can be booked as individuals, groups or for corporate events.
Hampshire Fare experienced the Seasonal Dinner Party which was tutored by the Head Chef of Lainston House Hotel, Olly Rouse. The day began with a coffee and a pastry in the dining area before the participants aproned up and moved into the stunning kitchen area. Olly was positioned at the front of the room where the lesson began with an introduction to the day and a demonstration of how to prepare the dessert.
Over the day Olly guided the class through the process of making a three course meal which could be recreated at home. He explained that the key to serving freshly cooked food without having to spend the entirety of the dinner party in the kitchen is preparation. Using his knowledge and experience from working in top kitchens he shared professional catering tips which allow the food to require only minimal cooking once your guests have arrived.
Participants prepared a starter of scallops and pancetta before sitting down at the long dining table to eat together. Everyone was in agreement that it tasted delicious and with our newly acquired knowledge of how we taste it was agreed that the dish offered the perfect balance of flavours.
It was then back in the kitchen to learn the tricks behind serving the most perfect fillet of beef. After a few lessons in presentation skills and we were all feeling like we might just enter the next series of MasterChef. Proudly we returned to the dining table to tuck into our beautiful and delicious plates of food accompanied by a glass of wine.
The class moved outside to the stunning kitchen gardens where we filled tubs with raspberries, blueberries, cherries, loganberries and currants to accompany our cheesecake. Back inside we experimented with blow torches and caramelised bananas before tucking into decadent desserts.
We left with full stomachs, heads brimming with ideas, a newfound confidence and phones full of photos of our restaurant style dishes to show friends and family.
Season Cookery School opens this week. Olly Rouse will be running the Seasonal Dinner Party Course on Saturday 26th September, it costs £185 and if you book before the end of July you can receive 25% when you quote ‘Hampshire Fare’. For a full list of all courses visit the Season Cookery School website.
