Day Courses
Day Courses
The programme for day courses at Swinton Park covers a wide range of techniques
and styles of cooking. The recipes for each day have a theme, and a wide
range of complementary dishes are prepared.
Each course suits all interests and levels of experience and ability. Guests of all ages are welcome, but please bear in mind that much of the day is spent standing and comfortable footwear and clothing are strongly recommended.
All of the day courses are available to both non-residents and hotel guests. There are special accommodation packages available to guests attending a day course and also the Curry Club, details of which are given at the rates page. .
The 2009 course programmes set out details of the dates of each course, and please also go to rates for details of the course charges.
Robert Taylor's courses
The Dinner Party courses (consisting of three modules allowing for returning guests to expand their skills and recipes) are run by the cookery school chef, Robert Taylor, who was awarded UK Chef of the Year in 2008 by the Chaine de Rotisseurs. He trained under Simon Crannage in our award winning restaurant, and is Rosemary's assistant chef during all of her courses. Robert is also joined by experts in their field - Richard Townsend from Yorkshire Game for the Game courses; and Susan Cunliffe-Lister, the "hands on" mastermind behind the restoration and design of the walled garden and parkland at Swinton Park, for the Garden Food courses. Susan's gardens at Burton Agnes are also very highly regarded, and she was awarded "Gardener of the Year" by Country Life in 2001.
The Game masterclass courses offer an insight from Richard into game, countryside practices and the different breeds of bird, followed by an introduction to the seasonality of meat, and the different cuts and various ways in which each cut needs to be hung, prepared and cooked. This is interspersed by Robert with masterclasses on sauces and vegetables to accompany a dish, hands on boning and preparation of a dish along with a pate or terrine, along with a tasting of complementary wines.
Susan Cunliffe-Lister starts the Provenance Food: Grow and Eat Your Own masterclass course with a tour of the walled garden, explaining her principles of design and her recommended planting programme for a fruit and vegetable garden. Guests will enjoy the hands on experience of collecting the fruit, herbs and vegetables for the day's course and then joining Robert in the cookery school kitchen where he will combine demonstration and hands on cooking for a fresh and innovative introduction to cooking in harmony with the seasons.
Robert is also running the Food of Love courses in February, with a tasty concoction of indulgent and exotic food, and the Festive Fare courses in November and December for those wanting some inspiration and some fresh interpretations of the more traditional dishes.
Gilly Robinson's courses
Gilly runs two courses at the Cookery School.
Firstly, her Children's Cooking courses are aimed at encouraging
children to master the basics and encourage them to enjoy and experiment
with food, in a friendly and fun environment. Two age groups are catered
for, 6-11 yr olds and 12+ yr olds. Each group will spend the morning cooking
and then enjoy the lunch that they have prepared in the demonstration
kitchen, the children will take home with them an apron and recipe card
to try out at home The maximum number of children on a course is 10.
Alternatively, if the scheduled dates don't suit you or if you would like
Gilly all to yourself, Gilly can run a private children's cookery course
for up to four at a time. This can include adults if they would like the
opportunity to cook alongside their children.
Hands on cooking during the Family Food course
Secondly, her Christmas in a Box course - be one step ahead of the crowd this year with this novel and stress free approach to Christmas Dinner. Join Gilly for an evening of cooking and prepare the entire meal, all of which can be taken away and frozen to be served at a later stage at your convenience. Be the one to enjoy Christmas this year to the full! The menu will be along these lines :
Starter
Salmon Terrine
Main
Roast Turkey, stuffing and lemon butter, bread sauce, cranberry sauce,
turkey stock
Sausages in honey and bacon, stuffed onions, root vegetable bundles, potatoes
ready to roast, spicy topping for brussel sprouts
Dessert
Mince Pies and Brandy Butter
Chocolate Roulade
The Curry Club
This is a new Friday night event at Swinton Park, and one which offers
a truly unique way to unwind and relax at the end of the week. Join Prett
Tejura from Curry Cuisine for an informative and entertaining series of
Curry Club nights running throughout the year.
Each evening will start with an introduction from Prett on that evening's style of cooking, focussing on the region, culture, climate and traditions, along with the principal ingredients most commonly used. This is an opportunity to really immerse yourself in the exotic culture of food, as you explore Punjab and Rajasthan with its succulent and hearty meat curries, Gujarat (lentils and vegetables) and Goa (fish and pork), the seafood and coconut flavours of Southern India, Thai, Bengali and Sri Lankan food amongst others.
This is followed by a relaxed and informal demonstration from Prett, with an opportunity for some hands on cooking. The evening ends with the group enjoying a delicious and authentic Indian meal served in the demonstration kitchen. The maximum number in a group is 10.
Guests staying at the hotel on a DB&B basis can attend the Curry Club as an alternative to dinner in the restaurant at the same price.
Wild About Food
Join Chris Bax (as seen in BBC's Countryfile), who has combined his love
of the great outdoors and natural food with his skills as a chef, to create
a day course that will inspire you to take wild food seriously as a staple
ingredient of your diet.
Join him on a ramble in the parkland and surrounding countryside, learning about the shoots, roots, berries and leaves that are safe to eat, nutritious and, above all, tasty. You will spend about three hours walking with him as he shows you where to look and how to harvest the wild food growing in abundance on the estate.
This will culminate in a meal cooked for you at the cookery school around the demonstration table, where you will see the ingredients you have harvested being prepared by our cookery school chef.
The Day's Schedule
All the day courses (apart from Wild About Food) start at 9.30am and end mid afternoon after a late lunch, which is usually served at 2.00pm. The courses offer a mostly hands on experience (the only way to learn!), which is not only great fun but also very rewarding, but there are also short demonstrations during the course of the morning.
The Wild About Food day courses start at 9.30am and finish after lunch (which is served at the demonstration table in the cookery school) at about 2.30pm. Robust outdoor clothing and footwear essential, and please bear in mind that the first three hours of the course is spent outside walking in the parkland which is uneven terrain, and at times heavy going.
Partners are welcome to join guests for lunch on the day courses , but due to high levels of demand, we recommend that lunch guests are booked for lunch at the same time as the course is booked. The charge for lunch is currently £20 per partner (2009 courses). Unfortunately, partners are not able to join the lunch served at the end of the Wild About Food course, nor the dinner served at the Curry Club.
The Children's Cooking courses start at 10.00am, finishing for lunch in the demonstration kitchen at 12.00pm for the 6 - 11yr old group (with the course finishing at about 1.00pm) and finishing for lunch in the demonstration kitchen at 1.00pm for the 12+ yr old group (with the course finishing at about 2.00pm).
The Christmas in a Box course runs from 2.30 - 6.30pm, during which light refreshments will be served.
The Curry Club nights start at 7.30pm, finishing after the meal which will be at about 10.00pm
Group Sizes
The maximum number on a Dinner Parties, Food of Love, Festive Fare, Game and Provenance Food course is 14.
The maxiumum number on the Children's Cookery Course, Curry Club, Christmas in a Box and Wild About Food is 10.
Hotel of the
Year 2004. White Rose Outstanding Customer Service Award 2006.
With 4 AA Red Stars and 3 AA Rosettes, Swinton Park is one of the highest rated hotels in Yorkshire and Cumbria