THE COOKERY SCHOOL
WHERE The School of Artisan Food, Retford, Nottinghamshire (schoolofartisanfood.org)
THE COURSE Introduction to Ice Cream Making, £165 for one day, including breakfast and lunch with wine
TESTER Madhushri Nadgir
RECIPE: THE SCHOOL OF ARTISAN FOOD. PHOTOGRAPH: MAJA SMEND. FOOD STYLING: OLIVIA SPURRELL. STYLING: VICTORIA ELDRIDGE
THE SETTING
Housed in refurbished stables on the beautiful Welbeck Estate in Sherwood Forest, the School of Artisan Food has gorgeous views. The buildings have been kitted out with top-of-the-range equipment for teaching charcuteriemaking, brewing, breadmaking and butchery, among other skills. We were welcomed by the teaching team, shown to the dining room for breakfast and given the day’s recipe book to look over.
GROUP SIZE AND WORKSPACE
The training room is well set out, with enough room for each student to move about – and make a bit of a mess! This class takes up to 10: enough to create a buzz but intimate enough for everyone to make their questions heard.
DO YOU NEED TO BE A GOOD COOK?
No. Our American tutor, Kitty Travers, trained at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, and she has proper ice cream creds – she launched La Grotta Ices in 2008. Before that she worked as a pastry chef in London. She has a passion for her subject and explains the technical stuff behind the craft of ice cream making. We were clearly in expert hands.