Press Reviews
Press Reviews
Rosemary Shrager's cookery school at Swinton Park has received recognition
for excellence at a national level :
"Shrager's Cookery School has
recently moved to Swinton Park, a castle set in 200 acres at Masham in North Yorkshire,
owned by the Cunliffe-Lister family. With deer in the park, acres of walled vegetable
garden and a Gothic orangery, the English country house does not come much grander....
Shrager is so excited that she scarcely draws breath. Once memorably described
as 'The cook from central casting' because she is large in both physique and personality,
she does not dwell on the island she has lost but the great estate she has gained.....
Here in Yorkshire, the natural beauty is of a different, more homely kind, complementing
the fantastic spectacle that is Shrager at work."
Telegraph Weekend
Saturday 3rd May 2003
"Her cookery courses are, as she puts it,
'full on' - so if you are not prepared to try don't even think about signing up.
When I arrived, the class had already made some olive oil bread and Rosemary was
kneading the dough for a brioche loaf. 'Cooking is so tactile, that's why I love
it. This is really light, it's really soft and it's gorgeous....' She gives one
of the two men in the group a chunk of dough to toss around and then her voice
booms out : 'No, no, you're just tickling it.' ...Finally, in the evening, we
sat down to a delicious meal that was all our own work."
Yorkshire
Post Saturday 19th July 2003
"The stunning yellow kitchen with
its five ovens, flat and ridges hotplates, Aga, huge granite surface and bewildering
equipment is alien territory. [....] Yet we students, although deeply in awe of
Rosemary's skill, passion and enthusiasm, find ourselves filling up with confidence
rather than alarm. Rosemary's professional standards and integrity are second
to none, but the real secret of her success as a teacher is her unselfishness.
In four days and five nights, she manages to teach even a dolt like me not just
her recipes and way of doing things, but the basic sciences of food, so that,
while I may never make chocolates, I understand how to make scrumptious fish,
tasty sauces, stuffed roasts, decent soup, beautiful vegetables, successful terrines
and exotic souffles."
Scotland on Sunday 6th July 2003
"She
has the manner of a benevolent diva, intensely self-conscious, but passionate
about sharing her enthusiasm. [...] With a couple of TV series behind her, Rosemary
has the credibility of a celebrity chef. She's a natural communicator. What's
so attractive about her course is that she keeps us all too involved to feel in
awe of her. It's only when we sit down to a late lunch, when the different elements
have come together, that we realise what a good cook and teacher she is."
BBC Good Food November 2003
"I had a fantastic time on the Rosemary
Shrager's Cookery School trip and wouldn't hesitate to book another course in
the future. The hands-on approach worked really well and left everyone feeling
confident about what they had learned. It was an added bonus that the other guests
were all fun to be with and were willing to get stuck in, while Rosemary's enthusiasm
is certainly infectious. The beautiful setting also helps to inspire and the hotel
itself makes the perfect place to rest your head after an exhausting day"
ABTA
Travelspirit Feb/March 2005
Whilst at Amhuinnsuidhe Castle in the
Hebrides (where Rosemary ran her courses until 2002), the cookery school was widely
acclaimed :
"She is roly-poly, noisy, cheerful and roaringly enthusiastic.
She dominates her kitchen, with nothing to learn from Gordon Ramsay about exacting
the highest standards from her staff, albeit in rather more lady like language....
By the end of the week, Rosemary's pupils had flourished under her tutalage. You
could hear them talking excitedly about future dinner party menus, though wondering
how on earth they could recapture the freshness of her ingredients."
The Spectator August 21st 1999
"Rosemary is the catalyst
for great inspiration for those of us who love to cook - and eat - well. She is
the most extraodinary person, with such a warm character, and she is so keen to
impart her vast and extensive knowledge on the most absorbing subject there is
- food."
The Field October 2002
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