A masterclass in artisan food

GARETH Kennedy needed a baker. But not just any kind of baker. The director of the Welbeck Bakehouse in Welbeck Estate, north Notts, wanted a traditional baker who could create proper artisan baked goods. So he and an associate began looking. And they looked. And they looked.

And they found nobody.

They went to seek out top British baking schools to see what the problem was... and found that there were no top British baking schools.

By the end they'd made the search international, looking as far afield as Australia, but they still couldn't find somebody adequately skilled in the old ways of artisan bread-making.

"We thought at that stage that maybe the bakery could have some sort of training," Gareth said.

Then they started to hear about similar troubles with training for cheesemakers and butchers. There were some top ones, but they usually began training in a happenstance way. There was little in the way of organised learning.

"I thought, wait a minute, there's a trend here," Gareth said. "There's something missing.

"That basically is how the initial idea for the School of Artisan Food was born."

Gareth, who is also a director of the school on the Welbeck Estate, sees it as a place where aspiring food industry workers can not only learn how to make proper artisan food, but also study its business side and history. He wants to get food workers back to the old ways.

"Were not going to solve the problem," Gareth said, "but we can certainly help." "What would be great, would be for the flagship of the school to be a two-year programme at degree level for artisan food production.

"We thought if people understand the business environment, they understand the social environment and they know how to make the food, they're in a very good position.

"That kind of ethos is at the core of the school."

Accessibility is also part of that ethos. The school was established as a not-for-profit and will have a bursary fund for the degree programme, which is now going through validation.

Entrance requirements will be based more around aptitude and experience than A-levels, explained Gareth.

Then there are the other courses.

"Not everyone wants to come here for two or three years and do a degree course.

"Some people just want to know how to make good bread."

So the school will offer everything from half-day demonstrations for the beginner to five-day or one and two-week courses for professionals who want to hone their skills.

On one upcoming, five-day cheese course, every participant already works as a cheesemaker.

In addition to baking and cheesemaking, courses will be offered in brewing, butchery, preserving and pickling.

"We're very interested in foods that ferment," said Gareth.

"That's not exclusively true, but it informs a lot of our thinking."

The short courses, including the day courses for those with no background in the field, are designed to give the course-taker a new skill.

"We feel that it's important that if you come and do a course here, you can take the skill home and do it at home," Gareth said.

Now they're looking at teaching even more skills – including some involving foods that get away from the world of fermentation.

"We've just introduced chocolate," he said. "The difference between artisan chocolate and mass-produced chocolate is huge."

Old-fashioned frugality will feature in many courses as well – subjects include how to cook a chicken without wasting any of it. The school is also considering evening classes and events.

It will all revolve around learning by doing.

"A lot of our courses are – get into the training room, roll up your sleeves and start making," Gareth said.

"Experiment. Have fun with it."

People taking part get a delicious lunch and at the end of the day, you take home what you've made.

"You get to spend a fun day in a beautiful building."

Short courses range from about £65 to £130, inclusive of all food and other costs.

For more information on specific courses, visit www.schoolofartisanfood.org.