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DADS HEAD TO THE COOKING SCHOOL
Thursday 31st May 2012 4:30 PM
Chefs at The Cooking School at Dean Clough in West Yorkshire are noticing a boom in the number of men taking up cooking courses.At a recent fish course at the School in Halifax, 50% of the students were men, a rise on the usual gender split which is typically at around 20% The rise is partly explained by the growing number of women buying places on cooking courses for their other halves so that they don't have to cook!
Other popular courses for men have been the Prashad Indian cookery courses and also the Taste Of…courses which run over a series of Monday evenings.
Executive Chef Manager Matthew Benson-Smith welcomes the soaring interest in cooking from men and from women and he thinks TV has a role to play. "Our curry course with Prashad always sells out - the restaurant from Bradford is Gordon Ramsay's favourite and was a finalist in his Channel 4 TV series. We find that women are buying cooking school vouchers for their men so that they can choose the course they attend themselves. We are now finding that Curry is top choice for them as well as bread baking and knife skills - maybe that is the hunter-gatherer thing! But it's great that men feel more at ease than ever before coming to a cooking school and building on their cooking prowess. I'm betting it's a great recipe for a happy relationship especially when a perfectly cooked meal arrives at home afterwards in one of our generous takeaway packages. We are bracing ourselves for Fathers' Day!"
Customers can choose from an array of courses for Father's Day including Preparing Meat and Poultry, Pasta Masters with Salvo's of Leeds, and Secrets of Prashad. Alternatively, buy Dad a voucher and he can pick a course himself. All vouchers can be gift wrapped. More details at www.thecookingschool.co.uk
Posted 4:30 PM | Permalink
DIAMOND JUBILEE ELIZABETH SPONGE COOKED UP IN CALDERDALE
Thursday 24th May 2012 4:24 PM
A Business for Calderdale networking event in Calderdale will see the launch of a specially commissioned 'Elizabeth Sponge'. Focus on Food and The Cooking School at Dean Clough held a competition amongst its team of specialised food teachers and chefs to come up with a unique and delicious cake recipe to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.
Event organiser Steve Duncan DL, Chief Executive of Community Foundation for Calderdale was the brains behind the original idea and he is thrilled with the result. "I thought that this was a perfect opportunity to put Calderdale and The Cooking School on the map. The Victoria Sponge is synonymous with British baking and has been enjoyed for years, but why not have something special for our current monarch in this very exciting year of 2012."
Entries came in from The Cooking School and Focus on Food staff and the team baked and taste-tested them all. The winner came from Dorothy-Anne Ardrey, the Senior Advisory Teacher for Focus on Food's Scottish programme. Dorothy-Anne's sponge is a light cake flavoured with lavender and lemon.
The cake will be launched on 12 June at a Business for Calderdale Event at which Tourism Head Gary Verity will be speaking and Deputy Lieutenant Chris Harris will be in attendance representing the Queen through the West Yorkshire Lieutenancy. Steve comments "We are thrilled to be welcoming Deputy Lieutenant Chris Harris to The Cooking School as it would be great to receive Her Majesty's Royal stamp of approval."
A large version of the cake will be available for all event attendees and they will also have the chance to decorate some jubilee cupcakes. Business for Calderdale events offer the opportunity for informal networking, and also to visit some of the best businesses in Calderdale, and hear from local business people.
Posted 4:24 PM | Permalink
BBQ CRACKERJACK ANDY ANNAT COMES TO THE COOKING SCHOOL
Tuesday 22nd May 2012 12:18 PM
The Cooking School at Dean Clough is bringing international "BBQ Crackerjack" Andy Annat to its state of the art facilities, to show how BBQ-ing should really be done.
Andy is 3 times world BBQ champion in the UK and can usually be found with tongs in hand preparing for his next big competition. During the July course, Andy will be demonstrating some of his signature recipes including Andy's Original Chicken Rub, Stuffed Field Mushroom and Pesto Bread - all done on the BBQ. He will also be giving his top 10 tips for juicy BBQ meat.
The Cooking School's team will also be providing expert chef tuition in how to prepare marinades, rubs and glazes for meat and fish, along with perfect accompanying side dishes and fresh salad dressings.
Executive Head Chef Matthew Benson-Smith says of the new course "We can't wait to welcome Andy into The Cooking School for something really different. All our course are delivered in our fantastic modern facilities - we have never stepped outdoors to look at cooking before."
The course is running on Saturday 14 July a the day will include refreshments and lunch and a BBQ outside the fantastic Dean Clough Mills (weather permitting of course!).
Book your place at www.thecookingschool.co.uk
Posted 12:18 PM | Permalink