New Cookery Course Makes Cooking Fun For Students
SEASON, Lainston House’s prestigious cookery school, in conjunction with Hampshire Fare and Harvest Fine Foods, have run a pilot cookery course aimed at students from Sparsholt College, to encourage them to cook from scratch.
Neil Rippington, Assistant Principal for Higher Education, Sparsholt College, devised the course with Andy MacKenzie, Executive Head Chef, Chef’s Academy, Exclusive Hotels, after Neil noticed the regularity of takeaway pizza deliveries to the College’s student lodgings!
Andy MacKenzie and Tom Lampitt, Chef Tutor, SEASON, both gave up their time to run the course, working with Phil Clark, Development Chef, Harvest Fine Foods, who sponsored the course and supplied ingredients.
Neil Rippington wanted to encourage the students to eat more healthily. Andy MacKenzie was keen to show the students that cooking was an enjoyable social activity, inspiring them to create impressive yet easy-to-prepare dishes that could be shared. Phil Clark wanted to educate the students about local produce.
Phil Clark said: “We have some lovely produce here in Hampshire and Harvest Fine Foods work with over 40 local suppliers. I visit all the catering colleges locally, and educate students about local. With Sparsholt College this is different as the students are studying subjects such as agriculture, animal science, ecology and conservation, marine and fishery studies, and wildlife. It is about taking a whole approach, from field to fork, linking up farming to wholesalers, chefs and consumers.”
The pilot cookery course was aimed at those who had never poached an egg, but also appealed to students who wanted to improve their skills. Altogether 16 students worked in pairs, learning to cook three dishes in three hours. The dishes were: Spicy Onion Fritter with Poached Eggs using rapeseed oil from the Coldpressed Oil Company; One Pot Butternut Squash, Chicken and Couscous with tomatoes supplied by The Tomato Stall; and Berry Meringue Roulade with local eggs from Vale Farm. Andy MacKenzie demonstrated knife skills, advised on the use of local ingredients, such as rapeseed oil which can be cooked at higher temperatures without making ingredients bitter, and gave tips, for example how to separate eggs.
Andy Mackenzie said: “Being able to cook is an important life skill. However, the aim of the course was also to have fun and make friends. I wanted this course to show students that cooking is a sociable activity: cooking for others and eating together is a way of widening your social circle. This is why the dishes chosen for the course were inspiring rather than simply to sustain them day to day.”
Tracy Nash, Commercial Manager, Hampshire Fare, agreed: “We are helping to educate the next generation about local produce and seasonality, and this pilot course at SEASON is one example of how to encourage and inspire students. Just look at what these students achieved as part of a collaboration between SEASON, Sparsholt College, Harvest Fine Foods and Hampshire Fare!
“There was such energy and excitement in the room on the day. The course opened the students’ eyes. It showed them you can have fun cooking and eating together, plus if you can cook from scratch, you can eat better, more healthily, save money, and it is a fun activity to do with friends.”
Henry Guy, FdSc Marine Ecology and Conservation, said: “I had an amazing time! You only have to ask the hundred people I sent pictures of my food to!”
Neil Rippington added: “The objective was to produce simple dishes that are nutritious, sustainable, affordable, delicious, and inspiring, using and celebrating local and seasonal produce. The students were fully engaged in the event and produced some fantastic results. This pilot was so successful we are turning this into a seasonal course. The next one will be held in spring followed by an outdoor ‘al fresco’ event on the barbecues in the summer.”
Neil Rippington, Andy Mackenzie and Phil Clark each contributed a recipe for students to make on the course - all available online. Andy's is Spicy Onion Fritters with Poached Eggs (link HERE); Phil's is One Pot Butternut Squash, Chicken and Couscous (link HERE); Neil's is Berry Meringue Roulade (link HERE).
Photography Credit: The Electric Eye
