Cookery School Courses

Our one and two-day courses are wide-ranging: learn how to prepare and cook meat and game; discover the benefits of cooking with raw food; learn how to prepare a special dinner party without neglecting your guests; or how to cook fish and shellfish, and prepare simple, healthy suppers. We use fresh produce from our market garden, and the meat of the organic animals from our farm. All ingredients are natural and at their very best: in season.

For bookings and more information call 01608 731 700 or email thecookeryschool@daylesfordorganic.com

Quick & Simple: Seasonal Suppers

This new course is in response to what our 'friends of the cookery school' have asked for. If you are short on time, but don't want to compromise on great food, this is the course for you. We will be using the best seasonal produce from our organic farm to create wonderful dishes that you will look forward to preparing - no matter how busy your day has been.

Focusing on main courses, finger food, tapas and desserts, this course will give you a repertoire that is simple, nutritious and satisfying. Each 30 minute dish will be taught through a combination of demonstration and practical. Our head chef Vladimir Niza, who is a trained nutritionist, will share insights into his expert knowledge and thinking behind the carefully chosen dishes for the course.

During the day, Vladimir will also impart his knowledge and discuss the importance of organisation and planning ahead of time - a tip that chefs use to ensure that great tasting dishes can be produced quickly.

£175 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron and all course material. One day course 9.30am - 3.30pm.

Wild Food & Cooking: Foraging on our Farm

At Daylesford, we are proud that our food really does come from ‘farm to fork’ and to celebrate this we have devised this new, 2 day course. 'Wild Food and Cooking: Foraging from our Farm’, is a partnership with our Organic Farm School combining the expert knowledge of our Environmental Scientist and foraging enthusiast, Tim Field, and the expertise of our Cookery School chef, Vladimir Niza, to create some wonderful, foraging dishes.

Day one: Tim will guide you round our farm, hunting and gathering seasonal produce. Following an organic lunch in our Farmshop café, the afternoon involves demonstrations on recognising wild food, setting traps and skinning and plucking in preparation for cooking. You will then return to the Cookery School to discuss what exciting, delicious dishes you can create the following day.

Day two: you will cook the produce you have caught and foraged, exploring ingredients that compliment as well as exploring a range of ‘wild food’ preparation and cooking techniques: from stuffing birds, to crayfish blanching to making wild garlic pesto. You will leave equipped with the confidence and knowledge to create delicious gourmet dishes to delight your family and friends.

This course is perfect for company team building days and for rewarding your staff with culinary skills to share with their family and friends – a gift for a lifetime.

£285 per person; includes practical and demonstration sessions, lunches, refreshments, apron and all course material. two day course 9.30am - 3.30pm.

Meals from our Market Garden: the Art of Cooking with Fruit and Vegetables

Whether you are a vegetarian of not, this course widens your knowledge of why and how to use vegetables in our cooking. We will teach you how to make the most out of the seasons produce from our Organic Market Garden- cooking individual vegetables in a variety of ways to show off their diversity and retain their nutritional value.

The day will start in our Market Garden with Head Gardener Jez Taylor, harvesting your produce for the day, whilst picking his brain about seasonality and growing techniques. On return to the Cookery School, our Cookery School head chef and resident nutritionist, Vladimir Niza, will impart his passion for food and the importance of a diet that is rich in fruit and vegetables. We promise to surprise you with the diversity of simple produce and teach you techniques, such as preserving, pickling and smoking that you can use every day to make the most of the season’s best.

£175 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron and all course material. One day course 9.30am - 3.30pm.

Seasonal Dinner Party: Farm in Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter

Prepare seasonal recipes for dinner parties that will impress guests with presentation, taste and timing! Our Seasonal Dinner Party recipes focus on ingredients and preparation techniques that allow you to entertain your guests rather than spend your evening in the kitchen. The Seasonal Dinner Party Course provides students with a delicious cooking repertoire that includes several recipes for canapés, hot and cold starters, main courses, and deserts. Courses contain fish dishes, meat dishes, vegetarian options and desserts with a focus on maximizing seasonal, organic ingredients.

In addition to teaching cooking techniques, knife skills, and presentation tips, our courses also include menu planning, a component of nutritional benefits, and details on growing and harvesting your own produce for home.

£175 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron and all course material. One day course 9.30am – 3.30pm

Artisan Bread Making: Beginners

Learn how to make delicious bread using traditional artisan methods with purely organic ingredients. Special attention to ingredients, process, and a return to the fundamentals of the age-old bread-making tradition set artisan bread apart from preservative-laden commercial breads.

Concentrating on what is home-grown and seasonal, our Cookery School Master Bakers have created inspired new breads for this course. Students learn how make a variety of breads including sourdough, multi-grains, baguettes, ciabattas, and traditional tin loaves, while incorporating organic herbs, fruits and vegetables into the recipes. The Artisan Bread Making course also includes recipes for creating gluten-free and wheat-free bread.

£175 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron, course material, and a selection of breads created during the course. One day course 9.30am – 3.30pm

Butchery & Cooking: Head to Tail

Our Butchery & Cooking: Head to Tail course demonstrates how to create delicious meat dishes from all cuts of meat, including cheap cuts and offal. With a strong focus on knife skills and butchery, our Butchery & Cooking: Head to Tail course includes Michelin-starred techniques for creating stocks, sauces, sausages, black pudding, terrines, and ballotines. Daylesford Organic farmed meat, game and wild meat will be used for this course depending when in season. Students will harvest fruit, vegetables and herbs from the Kitchen Garden, and eggs and milk will be collected from the farm to accompany the meat dishes.

The Butchery & Cookery: Head to Tail course includes menu planning, nutritional information, knife skills, creative cooking techniques, and organization tips for the home kitchen.

£195 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron and all course material. One day course 9.30am – 3.30pm

Cooking with Sustainable & Local Fish & Shellfish

Learn how to select, prepare and cook the best and most seasonally desirable fish and shellfish with this exciting course.
The Cooking with Sustainable & Local Fish & Shellfish course focusses on knife skills, fish and shellfish anatomy, sustainability and seasonality, Students learn about different types of fish (from flat to round) and shellfish (from Crustaceans to Mollusks) and the best cooking method for each – whether grilling, slow cooking, pan frying or curing. Recipes incorporate Michelin-starred culinary techniques for creating stocks and sauces, terrines, ballotines and marinades. Sessions also include nutritional information, menu planning, culinary creativity, knife skills and presentation tips.

Produce used in the Cooking with Sustainable & Local Fish & Shellfish course is provided from local sustainable sources and tips will be provided for sourcing locally in your area. Students harvest fruit, vegetables and herbs from the Kitchen Garden and eggs and milk are collected directly from our farm.

£195 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron, course material and a selection of dishes created during the course. One day course. 9.30am – 3.30pm

Holistic Seasonal Cooking & Hay Barn Spa Day

Discover the healing power of food and its effect on your health with our Holistic Cookery class. The cookery class is complemented by a yoga session and a deep-tissue massage to restore your well-being at our award-winning Hay Barn Spa. Our professional nutritionist chef teaches how to make dishes that are based on incorporating key principles from Ayurveda. According to Ayurveda everything, including our bodies, are made out of the five elements of air, space, fire, water and earth. Students will learn how to re-vitalize their body and soul through a healthy approach to diet and lifestyle.

£175 per person; includes yoga, massage, cookery class, lunch, refreshments and all course material. One day course 10.00am – 5.00pm

Seasonal Cooking & Good Nutrition

This course provides a thorough understanding of basic nutrition and the holistic power of food on health and well-being.

Hands-on class sessions include food preparation and cooking techniques that preserve all the vitamins, minerals and flavour in your food. Our qualified nutritionist shows you how to adopt a healthy use of salt, sugar and fat in cooking while maximising the flavour and nutritional benefit of the ingredients used. The theory sessions include basics of nutrition, energy needs, the diet and ageing process, carcinogens, body weight, and nutrition and life cycle. Students harvest fruit and vegetables from the Kitchen Garden, collect milk and eggs direct from the source and make direct comparisons of organic versus intensively farmed produce during the course.

The Cooking & Good Nutrition course includes demonstration and practical cookery sessions on creative cooking techniques, knife skills, and menu planning.

£175 per person; includes lunch, refreshments, apron, course material and a selection of the day’s creations. One day course 9.30am – 3.30pm

Classic British Cooking

Learn delicious and nutritious recipes which can be prepared quickly and simply with maximum taste.
The Classic British Cooking course focusses on simple and healthy breakfasts, quick and nourishing lunches, family dinners, delicious puddings and light suppers - the perfect course for those who love to cook but are short on time. Students select produce from the Kitchen Garden while learning tips on growing and harvesting fruit and vegetables. Featured recipes teach how to maximize use of seasonal ingredients including great ideas for leftovers, preserving and pickling. This hands-on cookery course also teaches knife skills, menu planning and culinary creativity.

£175 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron and all course material. One day course 9.30am – 3.30pm

Farmhouse Tea Delights: Traditional British Pastries

Baking at Daylesford is something very special. Our course is essential for those who wish to master good pastry making to produce their own traditional, British tea time delights such as pastries, tarts, cakes and biscuits. Our master patissiers will teach you how to produce truly astonishing home made apple crumble, flapjacks, scones, muffins, carrot and Maderia cake, to festive specialities; Christmas cake, Simnel cakes and hot cross buns. A selection of the finest teas will be matched and served to compliment the different pastries produced throughout the day. All recipes are produced using the finest organic ingredients from the farm; organic milk from our herd of British Friesians, deliciously rich, freshly laid eggs from our Cotswold Blue Legbar hens and our own organic grain.

The Farmhouse Tea Delights course also covers dough’s and sponges, chocolate work and petit fours, custards, creams, ice-cream, sorbets, jams, compotes and decoration.

£175 per person; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, lunch, refreshments, apron and all course material. One day course 9.30am – 3.30pm

Children's Cookery Class

Guaranteed to educate and inspire children, this course focusses on teaching the connection between the farm and food. After harvesting their own vegetables and fruit and collecting eggs and milk from the farm, children will learn how to make their own nutritious and delicious pizzas, salads, fruit juices, breads and pastas.

£50 per child; includes practical and demonstration cookery sessions, gardening class, refreshments, all course materials. 2 sessions available: 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm

Read a review by the Telegraph, July 2011... click h ere ...

For bookings and more information call 01608 731 700 or email thecookeryschool@daylesfordorganic.com

For corporate and team buidling bookings contact Hannah Greensmith at hannah.greensmith@daylesfordorganic.com or call 01608 731 620

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