FOOD + DRINK in THE KITCHEN WITH
JAMES & AUTUMN
OWNERS, KENT COOKERY SCHOOL, MERSHAM, ASHFORD
Tell us about your culinary journey so far. What a journey it’ s been. This year we’ re celebrating the school’ s 10th anniversary, which feels both impossible and entirely right- a decade of flour-dusted worktops, lightbulb moments and people leaving a class standing a little taller than when they arrived.
We’ ve both always loved food, but it’ s a passion that has genuinely grown with the school. Travel is our great weakness; we can’ t seem to go anywhere without coming home with a new technique, a new ingredient obsession or a slightly overweight suitcase- and all of it gets woven back into what we teach. We couldn’ t have planned it better if we’ d tried.
James has been a chef for over 25 years, classically French trained, but it’ s teaching where his real talent lies- giving people the confidence to trust themselves at the stove. Over the years he’ s picked up and perfected so many cuisines that we’ ve taken to calling him the Swiss army knife of the kitchen. He pretends to mind. He doesn’ t.
What’ s the culinary concept at Kent Cookery School? The concept is simple, really: come and have a wonderful time, learn something properly and eat very well while you’ re at it. We run over 60 different courses, but they all rest on the same few pillars- having fun, learning something new and enjoying the process. There are no formalities in our kitchen; it’ s your home kitchen away from home. Nobody’ s judging, nobody’ s barking orders and mistakes are positively encouraged- that’ s usually where the learning happens( and occasionally the best stories).
Our love of food refuses to be pinned to any one cuisine, so the range is gloriously broad: street food classes that hop from Thailand to Vietnam, Mexico to Morocco and on to Japan, alongside the foundations that make everything else possible- knife skills, breadmaking, stocks and sauces, and seasonal cookery. Build the fundamentals, then take them anywhere in the world you fancy. Ideally without leaving Ashford.
What is your signature / favourite dish? Honestly? James doesn’ t really have one- his cooking is too versatile to be pinned down and he simply loves to cook, full stop. But, the man does know his way around the French classics and a glossy braised beef shin with pomme mousseline and glazed sand carrots is a firm favourite in our house. It recently received the ultimate accolade: sign-off from our toddler, a notoriously exacting critic. If anything, his real signature isn’ t a dish at all- it’ s the teaching. Making cooking feel accessible, friendly and entirely unintimidating; that’ s the thing he plates up better than anyone.
Tell us about the recipe we’ re showcasing. Our raviolone spinaci e ricotta alla Fiorentina with basil pesto- straight from our pasta workshop and proof that simple dishes can absolutely deliver. It works beautifully as a starter or a main, ideally alongside a nice crisp pinot gris- because you’ ve earned it.
Pasta made from scratch is completely worth the effort. Once you’ ve done it a few times you develop a feel for the dough, it becomes second nature, and that’ s when you can start getting adventurous. A few things matter here: good pasta flour, lovely rich yolks and properly salty water for the boil; I’ m talking cardiac-arrest levels of salt. And, don’ t be shy with the nutmeg; spinach adores it. Serve with a fresh basil pesto, or if basil’ s eluding you, a sage beurre noisette does the job magnificently.
What ingredient could you not live without? You can’ t cook good food without salt, acid and fat, so proper versions of all three are always in the cupboard. Salt is Maldon Sea Salt; simply unmatched and reasonably priced too. For acid it’ s usually lemon- I probably season more with salt and lemon than salt and pepper. Controversial opinion: pepper is a spice, not a seasoning. It adds warmth to a dish; it doesn’ t elevate flavour the way salt and acid do. I’ ll die on that hill.
As for fat, we use Pure Kent cold-pressed rapeseed oil from Eckley Farm, which always surprises people at the school- rapeseed gets such a bad rap online, but a quality cold-pressed oil is delicious, healthy and has a high smoke point, so it’ s a dream to cook with. Good olive oil is for finishing, not frying. We also keep tallow and ghee on hand at all times. In fact, there’ s an entire shelf in our kitchen devoted solely to fat. We’ re not ashamed.
What’ s your favourite Kentish ingredient, product or producer? Kent Crisps- specifically the oyster and vinegar ones. Best crisps we’ ve ever had and we genuinely can’ t eat enough of them. They sit beside every sandwich in our house and get served with nibbles at every barbecue. We’ d like to say our favourite Kentish product was something more cheffy- but no, it’ s crisps.
Which present chef would you love to work in the kitchen with? There are so many brilliant chefs I follow, but Niklas Ekstedt is doing extraordinary things with open fire. That style of cooking has really taken off in recent years and it’ s something I’ ve always been drawn to- I’ ve been playing around with it at home for ages, and these days our Somerset Grill does most of the heavy lifting when it comes to outdoor dining. But, Ekstedt has refined fire cookery and elevated it to a genuinely inspiring level. A whole restaurant with no gas and no electricity at the stove- just flame, smoke and birch wood.
Where’ s your go-to place to dine in Kent? We’ re rather spoiled in Kent, aren’ t we? Our favourite bakery is Gilda near Canterbury- they’ re delivering the most delicious pastries and baked goods, and their sourdough is fantastic. For restaurants, a firm favourite is Tallow in Southborough; we don’ t get there as often as we’ d like, but Rob and Donna have created something really special. And we’ re in Margate a lot, where you’ re spoilt for choice all over again- but we love fish, so Angela’ s is where we always seem to go.
What’ s your guilty pleasure? Our guilty pleasure( though we’ d go light on the word guilty) is the roughly 15 litres of Italian gelato sitting in our freezer at home. We import it from the same place we buy our pizza flour. No shame. And no, it doesn’ t last us all summer. It beats any ice lolly hands down, it’ s a huge hit with everyone at a barbecue and it saves on making dessert. Less a guilty pleasure, more a sound catering strategy.
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