A COMPETITIVE, CULINARY DAY AT
FOOD + DRINK
A COMPETITIVE, CULINARY DAY AT
Kent Cookery School
AS REGULAR READERS WILL KNOW, FOOD IS UNDOUBTEDLY OUR FAVOURITE THING HERE AT insideKENT HQ; THROW IN THE FACT THE WE ARE A COMPETITIVE BUNCH WHO ALSO RELISH A CHALLENGE AND IT BECAME A MATCH MADE IN KITCHEN HEAVEN AS WE EMBARKED ON OUR LATEST TEAM DAY AT THE KENT COOKERY SCHOOL. BY SAMANTHA READY
Despite the somewhat miserable Kentish drizzle that seems to have taken hold of late, the team were in rousing spirits as we arrived bright and early to the pretty Mersham-le-Hatch location of The Kent Cookery School. Buzzing with nervous excitement and the allure of lunch to follow, we were soon put at ease by the playful easygoing nature of head chef turned teacher, James, and partnerin-cooking, Autumn.
Coats were taken, coffees enjoyed and suddenly it was aprons at the ready as, split into teams of two, we were tasked with making a twocourse Italian feast of spinach and ricotta ravioli and tiramisu... on our own, all from scratch … eek!
Now to sum up our team culinary skills: we range from a homegrown veg producer who loves to cook, to a baker who never experiments with savoury dishes, a photographer who can master the best food picture but claims to have never lifted a whisk to our very own lovely west Kent account manager Greg, who asked just how long it would take to cook the pasta... in the oven … I kid you not!
This is of course a cookery school and not The Great British Bake Off, however and we( thank goodness) were not totally alone in our kitchen endeavours. The design of the school means that in small teams you can work with uninterrupted views of James, at your own workstations equipped with hobs, sinks and worktops. James demonstrates every element of making a dish with confidence and enabled us to feel competent enough to make pasta without following set measurements, shared hints and tips, and generally maintained order albeit with a heavy pinch of encouragement.
And so, whisks at the ready, workstations prepped, ingredients measured, began the best day of cookery any of us had ever undertaken. We laughed, we learned, we tried to sabotage our neighbouring teammates, we mastered rolling pasta, we made delicate( and some not-sodelicate) ravioli, we dropped eggs, we washed up more times than we care to remember and, after what seemed like the quickest three hours in history, with rumbling tums we sat down to savour the fruits of our labour.
Surprising even ourselves, we had managed to produce six heaving plates of delicious melt-in-themouth pasta goodness followed by the naughtiest, creamiest tiramisu – and we all declared that we would attempt the recipes again; well done team iK!
With a host of evening courses, big chef-little chef family events and bespoke team and party cookery days on offer, Kent Cookery School, under the expert tuition of James and unwavering support of Autumn, have the recipe for success – go, learn, cook and eat – you won’ t be disappointed!
Kent Cookery School The Courtyard, Mersham Le Hatch, Hythe Rd, Ashford TN25 6NH info @ kentcookeryschool. co. uk 01233 501771 www. kentcookeryschool. co. uk
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