While we were in Devon/Dorset last weekend, I was incredibly lucky to get to take a cooking course at River Cottage! It has been a dream of mine for so long, I am a massive River Cottage fan, it's something I've always wanted to do. Adam came with me too, and we had near enough a perfect day. Our chef, Joe, is the sous chef there and he was so knowledgeable and helpful and answered all our questions.
(Apologies in advance for the grainy phone pics - didn't want to seem too much like a fan girl with my big camera ;)
I was so excited in the car when I saw this sign! Finally there. And even more so when, on the tractor ride down the hill to the farm, we saw River Cottage appear! It looks just like it does on the tele.
First things first, we made a simple white bread dough. Joe demonstrated it for us first, and let us all feel his dough so we knew what consistency we should have, and what it should feel like when it was kneaded. This helped me loads, I feel like whenever I've tried baking bread in the past I always struggle with the kneading of it and knowing how long to do it for. Plus, Joe showed us how to kind of bang the bread down which although it was still a workout, was much easier than physically putting your energy into kneading the dough. I really need to get myself a dough scraper now, too!
Next up was orange panna cotta for dessert. I don't think I've had panna cotta before, but it was so simple to make and so delicious.
One side of the classroom is floor to ceiling windows, with this beautiful view. I could live in that room, honestly. It was so pretty.
Our bread! Mine is the one at the top. I can't get over the fact that I made a loaf which was not only edible, but actually tasted really nice. I'm brimming over with ideas now for new variations (caramelised onion and cheddar maybe?); I can't wait to make it again.
We made guinea fowl kievs for our supper. Again, this was something I'd never had before but it was so good that I'll definitely be having it again
Me at the end of the day, tired but very happy!
We also learnt how to fillet a fish, made a fish parcel for lunch, an amazing slaw to go with our supper and watched a butchering demonstration too. It was so much fun, and if you're a River Cottage fan or just love cooking I would definitely recommend the one day River Cottage cooking course!
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