Into the frying pan....

I departed at the crack of dawn - actually by the time dawn had broken I was drinking a cafe latte in Exeter Services!  No sign of the promised snow so it was an uneventful journey down through the white wastelands of Somerset and Devon.  I arrived at the Asburton Cookery school early - very early.  Having driven up and down Ashburton's High St twice and given up with my Tom Tom's advice, I asked for directions in a garage, to be told that I had passed the building and I needed so I had to head back up the A38 to the junction that I had originally come off at!

I felt like the new boy going to school - the Cookery school  is a wonderfully designed, purpose built building on the edge of the town.  It is magnificently equipped and very, very busy with different courses all running at the same time.  After introductions had been completed it was straight down to business,  no messing about here!  Stocks and soups were the order of the day - and of course prepartion of the food that we were going to eat for the day.  Knife sharpening was our first practical task - my corner of the kitchen resembled a scene from the  film Zoro - it was good job nobody was standing too close to me!  We had to make our own cheese and  tomato omelettes for lunch with a healthy mixed leaf salad - mine resembled scambled egg with the tomato sticking out from the side. It tasted surprisingly good despite my mistaken addition of sugar to the eggs instead of sea salt.  Must make a note to increase the strength of my glasses when I get home.

There are 13 of us on the 20 day Diploma Course - an eclectic mix of people, 8 females and 5 males and by coincidence, one South African guy, Craig,  who had sailed on a yacht with none other than Mac Auwers(ex Atlantic College student and one time EMC Instructor!) - small world.  The cooking and preparation was done in pairs or individually - fortuneately for me Laura, a PR officer for the Royal Horticultural Society,  drew the short straw, so she had the dubious honour of sharing my cooking station.

The afternoon saw us chopping vegetables - you name it, we chopped it!  Celery, leeks, carrots, fennel, onions, green beans - the list goes on.  And not content with just a rough chop, our tutors demonstrated julienne, brunoise, macedoine chopping to name but a few - then came our turn.  I had difficulty remembering whether to cut length ways, sideways, backwards or forwards and everyone else made it look so easy!  I'm sure all I need is a bit more practice and now I know how to sharpen my knives - those potatos had better look out!

Supper was also prepared, a vegetable broth with pearl barley in it - delicious!  My particular favourite activity was the dark chocalte run outs that I attempted.  These were to go with the Chocolate and Cointreau Mousse that we ate after the broth.  Melted chocolate was spooned into a paper cone/pipe and then squeezed out onto paper in intricate patterns, criss crossing, so that when they cooled they could be lifted off and used to decorate the mousse. I think the photograph says it all - could do better!

A final word in praise of the staff - the tutors Stuart and Phil, admin staff and kitchen assistants could not have been more helpful and Joel, whose job it is to wash all our dirty things up deserves special mention.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring.....but I know it involves doing something unspeakable to chickens, so early to bed with my cocoa, I think!