So today was our Introduction to Butchery, & it was quite an interesting morning.

Rich, the tutor, spent the first part of the morning introducing himself & running through various aspects of the Butchery world, especially the 'Field to Fork' principle that's so prevalent now.  He also discussed the importance of a good life for the animals before they go for slaughter, as it all affects the quality of the meat.

Rich talked about why some of the native & rare British breeds of cattle, sheep & pigs had fallen out of favour in farming, which is mostly down to the end of rationing after WW2.  People wanted more protein in their diets (understandably) and some of the British breeds take longer to mature than the continental breeds, so they were set aside in favour of them.

Those students who were keen to do the Butchery minor then got kitted out in chain mail aprons, standard aprons & chain mail gloves.

Then out came the meat!  We had a whole pig, a lamb & forequarter of beef to tackle...

First up was the pig.  We tackled the more intact of the two halves first, & Rich ran us through the various sections of the carcass.

Rich was very keen for the students to get a proper hands on experience, so he was more than happy for them to get stuck in & have a go!  Rich has got a lot of experience in the Butchery trade & that really came across as he talked us through how to tackle the carcass.

This took us up to just before lunch, & honestly, that was quite enough for me.  Much as I love to eat meat, butchering a carcass just isn't my thing...  I'd love to learn how to make hand raised pies & how to smoke meats etc, so I might look into doing a short course on that while I'm here =)

As fascinating as this morning was, I just didn't feel the same level of enthusiasm for Butchery as I did for the Dairy, so I'm really quite sure that that's the best route for me =) 

There were 5 of us who'd made our minds up about taking the Dairy option, so, with Rich's permission, we all came home after lunch (a gorgeous mushroom & leek pie, with potato wedges, carrots, peas & gravy!).

So that's my first week done, & it's been fantastic! =D

Everyone, students & tutors alike, are just lovely, & I think we're going to become quite a tight knit group.  We've got a couple of field trips next week (including a 7.00am start Monday morning!) & the Graduation for last years students, so I think it might be another great week =D

For now, I'm off home back to sunny (hopefully) Shropshire, to rest, recuperate & attend a wedding!

Today was our Introduction to Creating an Artisan Business.

I'm not sure that anyone really knew what to expect from today, but I think we were all pleasantly surprised.  The day started off with quick introductions from everyone, along with a brief outline of any business experience we had (in my case very little!) & what we thought the course might be about.

There are a few people on the course with previous experience of running a small business, so there should be plenty of knowledge to share around the group =)

We were split into groups of 4 or 5, & given a series of words & asked to come up with three definitions of each.  The words were those associated with business; things like 'finance', 'surplus', 'innovation' & 'entraupernership'.  It was quite an interesting exercise, it's surprising how hard it is to pin down definitions for words you use in everyday situations without really thinking about the meaning.

After lunch we undertook a personality test, the results of which we don't have yet, but the idea is to give us a better idea of the people we are; if we're extroverted or introverted etc.  We were then split into two groups, those who considered themselves extrovert & those who consider themselves introvert, & we were asked to list the pros's & con's of both.  We then presented the results to each other, to much laughter!

The students were split into two groups again & given an article to read through, which included 9 Do's & Don't's to consider when starting up a business, & asked to list them in order of importance.  Our team worked through it individually first, then compared our results to come up with a group list =)

It was quite an enjoyable day really, & I'm looking forward to getting more stuck into the theory side of things.  There's quite a lot to think about when considering starting a business, more than you first realise, so I think it will be really useful =)

We get to put together a business plan as part of the course, & then present it, Dragons Den style, at the end of the course, which should be really quite interesting!

Tomorrow we have our Introduction to Butchery, which I am quite looking forward to.  I've never really had any experience in Butchery so it should be fun =)  Hopefully there will be plenty of pictures again, but I'm going home tomorrow night so I might not get a post up until the weekend, but I'll do my best!

Today was our first day getting to grips with the practical side of the course, on our Introduction to Dairy! =)

Lee-Anna is the head coordinator for the Dairy minor, & is also a former student of the School, & she took us through our first day.   We started off with a huge vat of milk, fresh off the farm yesterday & chilled overnight with some starter cultures.

The group split into pairs & Lee-Anna heated the milk back up to 25-30oC.  Each pair then got 5 litres of milk, into which was added 1.5ml of Marzyme (the rennet); the mix was stirred & left to do it's thing =)

We were allowed to sneak a peak every now & then, to check on the progress of our milk.  What were looking for was a separation of the curds & whey, which I'll come to a little later =)

While we were waiting for the curds & whey to separate, we had a milk tasting.  We were given a sheet listing 9 different sorts of milk, including skimmed, whole goats milk, soya milk & a raw whole milk.  Samples of each were in jugs, labelled A - I, & we split into groups to try & work out which was which.

Some milks, like the soya & skimmed, were really easily identified.  The goats milk jumped out a mile, it had a very distinctive smell & flavour, much stronger than cows milk, it was quite clearly a goats milk (I actually thought it was quite nice, a lot of the other students were less convinced!)  Our team got most of the answers right, but the three whole milks confused us & we got them mixed up, but never mind =)

After the milk tasting we went for lunch; today there were jacket potatoes with either a beef chilli or three bean chilli, soured cream, grated cheese & salad leaves.  The food here really is a highlight, it's so tasty & filling! 

After lunch, we went back to our milk, which had separated nicely into curds & whey. 

 

The curds had coagulated into a disc, with the whey visible around the edge of the disc.  We had the opportunity to get our hands in to have a feel of it; it was surprisingly warm, & the curds had a soft, almost spongy feel to them.  It really reminded me of soggy bread!  

Using long knives, we sliced through the curds in a grid pattern, then on a diagonal slant, to break them up.  We then ladled the mix into prepared cheese moulds, topping them up once the whey had drained away; quite a laborious process, especially as we had to keep emptying the whey from the bottom of the tray before it overflowed!

So pretty!  We set the cheeses aside in order to get down to our epic cheese tasting!

We had 9 cheeses to taste (only 8 are in the picture above though), ranging from the lovely Stichelton, an unpasteurised cows milk blue cheese made locally on the Estate, to the Childwickbury, a pasteurised goats milk cheese, only a week old!  My favourites of the bunch were the Childwickbury, the Stichelton & the Cardo, another unpasteurised goats cheese, but firmer than the Childwickbury, & slightly salty. 

After the cheese tasting, we set about making some butter =D

We took 800ml of double cream & poured it into a mixer.  Starting with a slow speed, we gradually increased it until, eventually, the cream had separated into butter & buttermilk.  It really is so simple!

We then sieved the contents of the mixing bowl, to drain off the buttermilk.  Afterwards, we had to squeeze & rinse the butter, to get out as much of the buttermilk as possible.  Then, we weighed out our butter.  We ended up with 442g of butter & decided not to add any salt, so we were able to get straight down to beating the butter with the butter pats!

By the time we had finished with the butter, our cheeses had set enough to allow us to turn them, which involved lifting them out of the moulds, peeling off the blue cheese cloth, & literally turning the cheese over, before wrapping back up & placing back in the moulds =)

We were able to bring our butter home today, but the cheeses will need further time to set & mature.  We were also able to bring home some of the left over whey & the buttermilk, for use in home baking.  I've never used whey before, but apparently it can be used in soda bread, so I might have to have an experiment! =D

Sadly, we didn't have time to go visit the goats, but there will definately be a day on the farm with them on the Dairy minor, so I'm happy =)

It's been a great day, my favourite so far, & I am now quite sure that I want to do the Dairy minor, so I'm quite looking forward to getting back in the training room, & into the dairy!

Afternoon folks!

I'm back home after my second day at the School of Artisan Food, & my legs are killing me!  The cycle ride to School & back, whilst not particularly strenuous, is beginning to tell...  I haven't ridden a bike with any regularity for a number of years, so three 3 mile bike rides in 2 days is quite a shock to the system!

But I'm confident that after a few more days I'll get used to the exercise & the ache will have worn off  =)

Day 2 has been quite hectic really; it started with a talk about the history of the Estate & the various owners from Derek Adlam.  It was quite interesting really, although I doubt I'll be able to remember all the details! 

The Estate boasts some beautiful buildings, some of which are pictured below...

Including our lovely School  =)
These are the main gates into the courtyard...

And here you can see some of my fellow students hurrying to the entrance to get out of the rain!

 After the talk, we headed out to the Welbeck Farm Shop, for a chat with Michael, the manager, & a look round, sampling the breads & seeing what other wonderful produce they sell.  After that, a quick stop at The Harley Gallery for a tour & to learn more about what they do & sell.

We then headed back to School for a lovely lunch, this time tasty homemade soup & bread!  After lunch, we went for a tour of the Welbeck Abbey Brewery, one of the newest additions to the Estate.  It was fabulous in the Brewery, the smell of malted barley was wonderful & hit you straight away!  We sampled two of the different types of barley they use, & we saw the hops they use.  No sampling of that one, but you could rub some between your hands & smell the wonderful citrus aromas; almost grapefruity, but less fresh & zingy.  We were even able to see a batch of beer brewing, with the lovely foamy yeast on top! =D  Almost makes me wish I was a fan of ale... Oh well!  I've plenty of time to learn!

After the tour of the brewery it was back to School for a study skills refresher course.  A little overwhelming, but it will all come in handy, especially for those of us who haven't been in education for some time. 

Sadly, the heavens had opened again this afternoon, so it was another wet ride home, & I'm fairly certain the hills were steeper than yesterday too!

Tomorrow we've got our Introduction to Dairy, which I'm really looking forward to; we're going to be making a soft cheese I think, & we may even get to go see some goats!  Hopefully there will be lots of pictures!  =D

First day over with, & what a first day! =D

The weather could have been kinder; it's been grey & wet & miserable all day, but at 9.30am those of us living in the accommodation in Creswell piled onto the School minibus & headed off.

The day started off serenely enough, with hot drinks in the common room & a talk from Joe, the Director of the School, welcoming us all to the start of the third Diploma course.  Things have changed from when I first applied; Butchery & Dairy are no longer available as major studies, but rather as minor studies.  Bakery now takes centre stage, presumably due to the overwhelming popularity of the Bakery option in previous years.

This works out fine for me as Bakery was always my first love, & it means that I can pick something different as my minor study.  Initially I had thought to do Patisserie as my minor, but that's now been incorporated into the Bakery major.  I think I'm leaning towards Dairy; I have always had a love of cheese, which has grown in recent years so that might be quite interesting =) (Plus, it's a great excuse to keep goats in the future!)

Next were a couple of hours of icebreakers & games, designed to get everyone laughing & relaxed & making friends with our fellow students.  They certainly did that!  All my fellow students seem really lovely, & I think I will make some good friends here =)

Lunch was amazing!  I had some of the wonderful Leek & Stichelton quiche, homemade of course, with buttered potatoes, salad, coleslaw, a very tasty apple bread, lovely cheese & some Spiced Apple & Sultana chutney.  Needless to say, I've signed up for School lunches!

After lunch we had the opportunity to try on sample sizes of the uniform, so we could place our orders.  I don't think white's my colour & I really don't think the trousers are going to be very flattering, but we're all in the same boat! =D

Next was a tour of the School & a presentation explaining more about the content of the course.  The next 10 months look pretty full on, with more hours of practical work than ever before, a trip to France in November, plus 10 weeks of work placement.  I think I'm going to be kept rather busy!

There's also the opportunity to go & work in the Welbeck Bakehouse for an evening, to get a feel for the hours & effort involved in running a still relatively small artisan bakery, which I think could be fascinating.  It's certainly something I'll have to do before my time here is out =)

The staff here are just as excited about the start of this Diploma course as we students are, & it's been lovely to spend a bit more time with them all. 

Finally, the bicycles... o.0

We were all given the opportunity to pick out our bikes; I've been brave & gone for number 13.
She's quite a sturdy beast, & once I'd adjusted the seat we seemed to get along fine.  After being provided with a map & explanation of the route home, we donned our wet weather gear, & headed off into the great unknown!

Four of us from Creswell cycled home today (the others will pick their bikes up on a less damp day) & together we found our way.  The route is really lovely actually, it avoids most of the roads & instead takes us through the scenic Creswell Crags, so it was a bit muddy today, but you know what? I actually had fun =D  I've gotten home wet, muddy, with soggy feet & helmet hair, but I wouldn't change a thing =D

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off for a nice hot shower =)

Catch you later! 

Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I'll begin;

First off, let me say hello =)

Hi! My name is Samantha, and tomorrow I'll be embarking on the journey of a lifetime, for tomorrow is my first day at the School of Artisan Food!

I've come here with the intention of completing their Advanced Diploma in Bakery, but I reserve the right to switch to Cheesemaking or Butchery if the need arises ;)

Yesterday I packed up my things & moved North some 97 miles, to the sleepy village of Creswell, where I'll be staying for the next 10 months or so.  There isn't all that much here, although I did stumble across a small meadow today, which could be a lovely place to sit & watch the birds when the weathers a bit brighter.

The village is some 3 miles from the School, and I don't have my own transport... Luckily, the folks at the School will be presenting me with my very own School bike tomorrow afternoon, which will be my sole means of getting to School & back.

So far I've only met one fellow Student; my housemate Loren, who arrived a couple of hours ago, so I don't know all that much about her yet, but she seems friendly enough =)

She'll be taking advantage of the School bicycles as well, so there's at least one other person I can ride with, which is nice really, especially as I'm not all that confident on two wheels... o.0

Well, that's really all there is to say so far.  All that remains is to get an early night so I'm well rested & ready to start my new adventure!

I'll let you know how it goes; wish me luck!