On a crisp September morning, a group of kitchen and garden staff and volunteers arrived at the grounds of Welbeck Abbey, at the end of a beautiful avenue of trees dappled in bright sunshine. We were greeted in a picturesque courtyard with a luxurious breakfast of fresh coffee, orange juice, freshly baked croissants, and homemade granola – this was the School of Artisan Food after all.
Our guide for the day was master baker Kevan Roberts. This man knew his stuff and his enthusiasm was infectious.
We started the morning by prepping our dough. Each member of the group had their own workstation, with everything we would need – scales, flour, water, salt, sugar, and importantly, fresh yeast. Kev talked us through each step and provided fascinating insight, so we knew exactly why we were working or handling our materials in a certain way – yeast behaves like this, so that’s why we treat it like this; we want to see a specific quality of gluten protein in our final product, so we encourage it in this way. We each prepared two doughs – an Italian focaccia and a Turkish pide (pronounced pee-deh, a kind of pizza-esque speciality).
We also had a crash course in knife skills, delivered by another excellent tutor Emily, which honed our knowledge on how to use our tools safely and efficiently in the professional environment.
We broke for a fantastic buffet of homemade quiches, cheeses, salads, harissa roast veggies, roasted meats, cheeses, pickles, and of course, freshly baked bread. Our plates popped with vibrant colours, smells and flavours and the table was full of lively conversation. We then explored the kitchen garden in the sun, naming the vegetables in different languages, smelling and tasting the produce, and sharing stories and anecdotes that connect us all in some way to the soil, its produce and to each other.
Over the course of the afternoon we revisited our doughs. The focaccias were pressed into trays oiled with fine olive oil and topped with cracked sea salt, tomatoes, rosemary, and thyme freshly picked from the garden. With these in the oven we worked on our pides, creating finely crafted boats within which to hold succulent minced lamb, butternut squash, spinach, and mushroom, all topped with generous handfuls of cheese. The results were nothing short of spectacular. Everyone came away with their own high quality artisan food, which we could all take pride in having made ourselves.
A huge thankyou to the School of Artisan Food for providing such an unforgettable experience. Thankyou also to all who attended – everyone made an invaluable contribution to the group dynamic, bringing smiles, laughter, and a world of experience.