Braxted Park Cookery School Blog

Afternoon Summer Barbecue cookery class returns!

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:27:53 GMT

‘The King of the Barbecue’ Chef Mark David returns this Summer with his popular ‘Afternoon Summer Barbecue’ cookery class.

This class debuted last year on 4th July with a unique and alternative American themed barbecue menu to celebrated American Independence Day.

This year, the class will run on Monday 8th July with a brand new set of dishes offering a fantastic variety of mains, sides, starters and desserts from all over the world. You will learn how to create marinades packed full of flavour to accompany your perfectly barbecued (and locally sourced) chicken, beef and fish mains.

The ‘Afternoon Summer Barbecue’ cookery class will run from 1.30pm to 7.30pm. Beginning in the cookery school, our delegates will prepare all the dishes to then be barbecued and enjoyed in the stunning Walled Garden on the Estate, with a class or wine or bottle of beer in hand.

The prefect gift idea to treat your friends, family or yourself this Summer!

For more information about this class and to book, click here or call us on 01621 890300

Spring has Sprung!

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:15:16 GMT

I think we all must be fed up of hearing about the temperamental English weather by now, so let’s step away from our barometers and look forward to what exciting events the Spring months have to offer…

From April through to June, we have got the whole spectrum of world cuisine cookery classes (savoury and sweet) pretty much covered. From Eastern Mediterranean Delights on Thursday 2nd May through to Authentic Italian on Monday 3rd June, there is something to tickle everyone’s taste buds.

So treat a friend or yourself this Spring to a fun and informative cookery day with one of our fabulous professional Chefs on the stunning Braxted Park estate.

Below is a list of upcoming classes, click on the links below or call us on 01621 890300 for more informational about our cookery classes.

April

May

June

Suttons Seeds kickstarts our herb garden

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:25:31 GMT

We are delighted to announce that we have partnered up with Suttons Seeds to create a flourishing cookery school herb garden on the beautiful Braxted Park estate.

Suttons Seeds has very kindly donated 50 packs of assorted herbs for us to sow in an attempt to create a fabulous garden boasting a variety of herbs. Our students will be able to take a stroll through the beautiful Walled Garden to come pick their own to use in their cooking- a solution that would be great in the long term.

When the herb seeds are sown, who knows what will be next, perhaps we'll try our hand at vegetables or fruit...Let’s just hope we don't see any more snow and the temperature warms up!

For more updates on our gardening and cookery class activities, click here to sign up to our monthly newsletter.

Get baking this Easter!

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:45:27 GMT

It's that time of year again, Easter egg hunts, two bank holidays, fresh Spring weather (perhaps too fresh for some!!) and of course a time to enjoy lots of delicious food.

Easter wouldn't be right without some mouth-watering warm hot cross buns with oozing butter! The best are of course homemade and so what better way to spend your Easter break than cooking up a batch of tasty hot cross buns to share with your loved ones.

Paul Hollywood provides the perfect recipe....CLICK HERE

If you want to brush up on your baking skills, or learn some new ones, we have some fantastic cookery classes coming up. Click on the links below for more information.

Happy Easter and happy baking from The Cookery School at Braxted Park!

Hulya Erdal's culinary tour of the Eastern Mediterranean debuts!

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:13:02 GMT

On Tuesday 12th March, Turkish-born Chef Hulya Erdal ran her highly anticipated debut cookery class at Braxted Park; Eastern Mediterranean Delights.

This class proved to be a successful whistle-stop culinary tour of the Eastern Mediterranean, covering dishes including traditional breads, hummus, stuffed peppers, lamb stew with aubergine sauce ‘Hunkar Begendi’, chicken pie with onions and sumac ‘Musakhan’ and the delicious all-time Turkish favourite, Baklava.

Hulya’s energy and passion for Mediterranean food inspired all and customers left with the confidence to continue cooking the dishes and develop their new found culinary skills in this unique cuisine.

We can’t wait to have Hulya back for another cookery class and luckily we don’t have to wait too long as the next Eastern Mediterranean Delights cookery class is on Thursday 2nd May.

Click here or call us on 01621 890300 for more information about Hulya’s Eastern Mediterranean Delights cookery class.

Check out our customer feedback, click here to view our Testimonials page.

The perfect recipe for Mothers Day

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:32:01 GMT

Mothering Sunday on 10th March is just around the corner so our fabulous resident Chef Mark David has provided us with the delicious mouth-watering lemon tart recipe from his Quick, Easy & Impressive Entertaining class– a perfect gift idea to make all Mother’s feel extra special, especially as your hard work has gone into making it! (Of course you could just make it all for yourself!

To view our current selection of one-day cookery classes click here.

Sharp Lemon Tart

Ingredients (serves approx 10)
6 egg yolks
5 eggs
270g caster sugar
½ teasp vanilla extract
250ml lemon juice, plus the grated zest from the lemons
250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp caster sugar

Pastry

500g plain flour, plus extra
100g icing sugar 250g cold unsalted butter, cubed
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs, beaten with a splash of milk

Method

1. For the pastry, sieve the flour and icing sugar onto a surface, then use your fingers to gently work in the butter till you have ‘crumbs’. Sprinkle in the zest, then gradually add the egg mixture till you get a ball of dough. Dust this with flour, flatten slightly, then wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes.

2. Grease a loose-bottomed 28cm tart tin. Dust a clean surface and a rolling pin with flour and roll the pastry into a circle that’s 5mm thick and big enough to line the tart tin. Lightly press the pastry into the tin, trim off any excess, then cover with clingfilm and put in the freezer for at least an hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Unwrap the tart case, line it with greaseproof paper, then fill with rice or dried beans. Bake the pastry in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes, then remove the paper and baking beans and return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until light brown.

4. For the filling, put the yolks, eggs, sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon juice and zest into a heavy-bottomed pan; whisk over a very low heat until the mixture starts to thicken. Stir in the butter, making sure you get all the bits of curd from the bottom of the pan. When it looks like really thick custard and coats the back of a spoon, take it off the heat and let it cool a little. Give it a whisk then strain through a sieve.

5. Spoon the lukewarm lemon curd into the tart case, cool and refrigerate for an hour. Sprinkle with icing sugar.

Cooking Classes are proven to boost a healthy diet!

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:03:29 GMT

A recent BBC report states that cookery classes have been proven to have a positive long-term impact on healthy eating and boost people’s confidence in the kitchen!

A study carried out in Scotland aimed to investigate if the participant’s diets were improved as a result of learning recipes and skills in cookery classes. Participants took part in the cookery classes were asked to fill out a questionnaire immediately after the class which showed that their confidence had boosted in cooking, preparing and trying new foods.

The study also found that these effects remained months down the line. Participants were eating more fruit and vegetables and fewer ready meals. Their confidence in cooking had also grown; benefiting their selves and their family!

See the results for yourself and book on to one of our one-day cookery classes and make the first steps to improve your diet and learn how to have fun cooking delicious dishes!

The Cookery School at Braxted Park run over 30 different one-day cookery classes. Click here or call us on 01621 890300 for more information about our classes.

Click here to view the BBC article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21478156

Ooh La Laa! Fabulous French Provincial Returns!

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:39:14 GMT

BBC MasterChef winner Peter Bayless returns on Friday 1st March with his popular Fabulous French Provincial cookery class but this time with a fresh new set of dishes.

This Fabulous French Provincial class will help you to mix skills and techniques with a little bit of love, just as the French do, to create an impressive set of authentic dishes, using the finest ingredients from this delicious cuisine.

Dishes include:

Vanilla Sablés
Gougère de Bourgogne
(Little cheesy choux buns)
Coquilles Saint-Jacques à la sauce hollandaise
(Seared scallops with hollandaise sauce)
Pithivier de lièvre, la perdrix et le faisan - Chou braisé, sauce au vin rouge
(Game pithivier with braised cabbage and red wine sauce)
Freshly baked pain de compagne
Rhubarbe clafoutis

Book you place today to learn the tricks of the trade in cooking Fabulous French cuisine, taught by a true MasterChef!

For more information and to book, click here or call us on 01621 890300.

Kung Hei Fat Choi! - Happy New Year!

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:56:29 GMT

This weekend, the extravagant celebrations begin as Sunday 10th February marks the start of the Chinese New Year; the longest and most important festival in the Chinese calendar, with 2013 being the year of the snake.

As with any big celebration, food plays a key role in the festivities and the Chinese New Year is no exception. On the Eve of the Chinese New Year, a 'reunion dinner' takes place, bringing families together to enjoy a great feast with traditional dishes. On New Year's Day, restaurants are heaving as people go out to celebrate in style and enjoy the best food that the Chinese cuisine has to offer.

Why not get into the spirit and book a place on our very own Chinese cookery class at Braxted Park on Tuesday 23rd April? Chef William Grinsted will teach you the tricks of the trade to be able to master the Chinese cuisine so you can bin the take-away menu and cook your own traditional Chinese dishes at home!

Click here or call us on 01621 890300 for more information about our Chinese Chopping class.

Padmaja turns the heat up!

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:20:24 GMT

We rounded off a rather chilly January with Padmaja Kochera's Indian for Beginners cookery course, which certainly warmed us all up!

Padmaja taught an introductory master class on how to cook traditional Indian cuisine, equipped with her own box of exotic spices. From chicken curry to spinach and onion bhajjis, the class cooked up a feast which filled the air with delicious smells, attracting people from the surrounding area to come over and investigate!

We received excellent feedback from our delegates and returning home with the recipes and an apron, they promised to re-create the recipes at home with their new found skills and confidence in Indian cookery!

Click here to check out our photo gallery with images from the class.

Padmaja runs three Indian cookery classes at Braxted Park, the next dates are: