During our stay at Swinton Park, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity of attending a one-day course at the Swinton Park Cookery School.
Situated on the ground floor of their beautifully converted Georgian stables and overlooking the castle turret and parkland, this rustic country setting really set the scene for preparing hearty, fresh and locally produced food.
The interior design of the Cookery School is the perfect combination of style and comfort. It’s very light and airy inside. No expense has been spared, either. Certainly not out of place in the demonstration kitchen are big names such as Neff, LaCanche, Le Cruset and Kenwood amongst many more. And what country kitchen would be complete without an AGA? It’s a great feature.
"Stephen was fantastic throughout and we learnt a lot of interesting tips and techniques..."
Courses at The Cookery School are available for both residents and non-residents, which is great news if you just want to go for a day course. They also offer cookery classes for all skill levels, as well cookery lessons for children. There really is something for everyone.
The team of Chefs at the Swinton Park Cookery School includes big names such as Stephen Bulmer and Rosemary Shrager. Stephen Bulmer was the chef who lead our day course.
Stephen joined Swinton Park Cookery School this year as Chef Director. He has a wealth of experience, working for twenty years at Michelin level restaurants across Europe. Stephen was also Chef Director of the Raymond Blanc Cookery School for ten years.
Being taught to cook by such a renowned chef was a really memorable experience.
During our time we prepared three dishes. Our recipes included Char-Grilled, Stuffed Calamari with Basil and Tomato, Prawn Chermoula with Spiced Cous Cous and Zaatar Trout Filets with Fennel Tsatziki Toasts. We also learnt to make Focaccia with estate grown thyme and sage.
It was excellent to learn that almost all the vegetables and herbs are estate grown and local suppliers have been sourced for other ingredients such as butter and cheese.
Stephen was fantastic throughout and we learnt a lot of interesting tips and techniques. The only negative was that, currently, the demonstration kitchen only has one cooking station and subsequently, our input to the cooking itself was somewhat limited to chopping vegetables. Although this didn’t detract from the overall experience extensively, they will be installing more cooking stations in the next few weeks in order for everyone to be more hands-on.
I suppose this gives us an excellent excuse to return once all the individual stations are in place. The Swinton Park Cookery School is certainly something to keep your eye on, as they have a fantastic calendar of events coming up this year.
