FOUR-WEEK INTENSIVE SKILLS COURSE – ESSENTIAL COOKING Register Now
NEXT COURSE 2nd to 27th SEPTEMBER 2013
Our acclaimed four-week course is designed for anyone who is thinking of a culinary career or simply passionate about cooking. Students enhance their repertoire and are encouraged to develop their own personal style, and graduates are introduced to companies that are looking to recruit. Accommodation is provided in Belle Isle’s Courtyard Apartments. Early booking is strongly advised as the course is limited to 14 students.
FOUR-WEEK INTENSIVE COOKERY COURSE
This is an essential course for anyone with strong culinary ambitions. Students will:
- Gain a thorough knowledge of cookery using master recipes that are applicable in all situations
- Learn to be organised and efficient in the kitchen
- Become familiar with kitchen safety
- Learn to budget successfully
The course explores many culinary styles and emphasises fresh and simple ingredients. Students are immersed in European and Asian cuisine. The fare generally reflects the trend towards healthier, lighter food with real taste.
Daily demonstrations are followed by hands-on sessions in which students prepare the recipe that was presented. Students cook as much as possible in order to understand the techniques. Every dish is made from scratch, so stocks, infusions, sauces, and the use of gelatine and yeast are central parts of the curriculum. The program includes lectures and trips to suppliers such as butchers, cheese makers, and farmers.
Classes are held Monday to Friday, 9:30am–4:30pm. Students work in pairs, making bread, then preparing lunch and an evening meal. Students stay in Belle Isle’s self-catering Courtyard Apartments. Lunch is served at the school, and students take their bread and evening meal to their apartments.
On the third week, food safety consultant Malcolm McCauley, will spend a day guiding students through “Level 2- Health & Safety”. Students will then sit a short exam to receive their health & safely certificate. (This particular certificate will be delivered to Belle Isle four weeks after the exam date and will be then posted directly to the students.)
The course is divided into four modules, each of which builds on skills learned in the previous weeks.
WEEK ONE
- Basic techniques, hygiene, bread making, and knife work
- Bases for master recipes such as emulsion sauces, roux bases, and oil infusions
- Sample recipes: tomato and fennel bread; roast tomato and charred pepper soup; grilled butterflied leg of lamb with saffron potatoes; autumn fruit jelly with lemon syrup
WEEK TWO
- More master recipes and building on those from week one
- Sourcing and storing ingredients
- New techniques such as pastry and sugar work
- Evening outing to our butcher and hands-on sausage-making session
- Sample recipes: traditional soda bread; homemade ravioli with squash and sage butter; chicken and black pudding terrine en croute; crêpes suzette
WEEK THREE
- Additional techniques including basic cheese making and preserving fruits and vegetables
- Nutrition and the importance of balanced diets even whilst entertaining
- Low-fat menus and versatile vegetarian options
- Sample recipes: whole-grain bread with seaweed; pear and winter root soup; roast pheasant with parsnip crisps; mixed berries with yoghurt cheese
WEEK FOUR
- Development of creativity and appropriate budgeting
- Menu planning and budgeting for events
- Sample recipes: bread with caramelised leeks and pepper; game terrine with juniper berries; pan-fried fillets of turbot with vanilla; Valrhona chocolate mousse with whiskey-infused amaretti biscuits Please refer to Dates & Prices for course dates, prices, and booking.
