It’s been a while since our last Ice cream parlour visit. This week I stepped up the competition a little when I attended a course to learn how to make my own ice cream at the School of Artisan Food.
The School Of Artisan Food
The School Of Artisan Food is based in the heart of Sherwood Forest. The Forest provides such a beautiful backdrop to the stunning victorian buildings. Inside, although set up in a modern kitchen classroom style the stunning architecture has not been lost.
I head into The Refectory and there is complimentary refreshments in the form of tea and coffee along with pastries made on site by the students of the school and local fruit and cereal.
While eating my pan au chocolate and drink my cuppa I read the course guide and chat with other students .
I now have a list of courses that I’d like to attend. Well my birthday is coming up!
An Introduction Into Ice Cream Making At The School
Kitty Travers an artisan Ice Cream producer is our tutor for the day. Kitty makes a small amount of the frozen dessert and sells through shops local to her home in London. She starts by giving us an icebreaker. What is your most memorable Ice Cream?
Ice (Cream) Breaker
Going around the room there were students from all over. Some that came on the course as they have a passion for ice cream, some as they want to make it part of their business. One man had travelled from Greece to take inspiration and gain knowledge from Kitty.
I introduced myself and talked about the Game Of Cones Challenge and how when I lived in whitby I worked in an ice cream kiosk.
Learning Time
Introductions were made around the room. Kitty then gave some key points into how the best ice cream is made. Some facts were shared about the mass produced desserts you see in shops and even some authentic italian gelaterias.
She broke up facts and figures with stories of her travels. How she spent some of her time traveling and working in different places to gain her expert knowledge.
Practical Lesson
It was then time to get making. We paired up and were given a recipe each to make before lunch.
We got eggless ice cream – following the recipe in our hand out we got to work weighing and measuring. I’m so glad I was paired with a lovely lady who was on the same wavelength as me. In fact all of the students on the day were lovely and didn’t make me feel out of my depth.
Once our mixtures were prepared and in the fridge chilling it’s time for lunch.
Lunch Time
Lunch is included in the price of the course and is again freshly prepared with local ingredients some even grown on site.
Food is laid out on the counter like a buffet so you can just help yourself to the beautiful spread. The jacket potatoes, chilli and salad I opted for were delicious.
Once I’d eaten and chatted I headed outside to soak up some of the sunshine and breath in the forest.
Made in an instant
Kitty shared some more stories while she showed us how to make instant ice cream.
This is definitely now on my summer bucket list of things to do with the kids. So simple and so delicious. Still in our pairs we could choose what ingredients to put in our instant mix. We chose a honey and peanut butter
We even surprised ourselves as we tasted our creation. There were lots of other flavours to sample all around the room.
Keep Those Ice’s Churning
A quick cuppa was drunk before churning our main ice cream. Churning takes around half an hour so while it’s working its magic we all help to wash and tidy up. There isn’t much to do however as the kitchen technicians keep on top of it during the day.
Taste Test
Once the ice creams have all had another blast in the freezer it’s time for the last and best part of the day Taste test.
There were a range of different icecreams made during the day including several different vanilla ones as well as a sorbet and a peach flavour.
We all sample a little of each and discuss which ones we would like to try at home which we though tasted the best.
In Conclusion
Before I headed out to this course I was a little apprehensive as to whether I would be out of my depth. I feared that as I’m not really someone who is confident around the kitchen I would have trouble keeping up.
I was pleasantly surprised that everyone there on the day were at different skill levels some had never made any ice cream before.
There are loads of courses on offer at The School Of Artisan Food from absolute beginners to those who are a little more advanced in their food and cookery journey.
Some of the ones I’ve now added to my list are
There is also another Introduction to Ice cream making later on in the year.
Nina X
*disclaimer. I was invited to attend this course to give a review However all opinions are my own.
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