Intermediate Cookery Week
Take your cooking to a higher level with this highly practical and enjoyable week of cookery training.
Aimed at home cooks that wish to expand their general cookery skills the Intermediate cookery week is all about mastering the core cookery skills required to build your confidence and competency in the kitchen.
Soups, sauces & stocks; breads & pastries; shellfish, fish, meat, poultry and game; vegetable dishes; chocolate, sugar, creams and custards and a whole lot more are all condensed into five days - it's hard work but immensely satisfying and provides a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of cooking and the kitchen.
You will leave the course with good skills, and bags of confidence and passion to recreate the many recipes and ideas that you have learned on family and friends.
This course is also accepted by the Armed Forces and funded by the Resettlement Grants.
Course Structure
Typical Recipes
The recipes you will learn are designed to give you as broad a range of cookery techniques as possible building your skills and confidence. You will leave with the ability to cook lots of delicious, well presented dishes for home cooking and entertaining.
- Baked organic salmon fillet en papilotte with buckwheat salad, poached egg and nut butter balsamic dressing.
- Roasted chicken breast, Anna potato, sautéed wild mushrooms, glazed green vegetables with madeira sauce.
- Rhubarb and stem ginger créme brulee.
- Smoked haddock and mature cheddar tartlet, mustard and herb vinaigrette and mixed salad leaves.
- Pork, fennel and lemon meatballs, tomato ragu and herb linguini.
- Honey and Greek yoghurt panna cotta with orange and glazed figs.
- Confit chicken terrine with red onion marmalade and French baguette.
- Roasted saddle and braised breast of Dartmoor lamb, turnip and prune gratin, wilted spinach and tarragon jus.
- Apple, almond and cinnamon strudel with vanilla ice cream.
- Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
- Honey, soy and ginger flank steak, piperade, sweetcorn chilli salsa and spicy potato wedges.
- Warm dark chocolate tart, pistachio Anglaise and raspberry sorbet.
- Devon crab and tiger prawn cocktail with dill and sun blushed tomato bread.
- Pan-fried fillet of John Dory with mussels, cockles, baby leeks, peas and vermouth.
- Lemon, orange and vanilla polenta cake, blueberry compote and yoghurt sorbet.
Since we use the best quality seasonal and local produce as possible, some recipes will sometimes change to match the produce available.
Day 1: Monday
Arrival
Meet your fellow students and chef tutor who will talk you through the week ahead over tea and coffee.
Morning Session
Skills you will learn
- Knife skills
- Fish Cookery
- Savoury Pastry
- Salad Garnishes and Dressings
- Fruit Based Dessert
- Tuille Biscuits
Lunch
- Baked organic salmon fillet en papilotte with buckwheat salad, poached egg and nut butter balsamic dressing.
Afternoon Session
Skills you will learn
- Whole chicken butchery
- Sauces
- Wild mushroom preparation
- Potato garnishes
- Vegetable garnishes
Dinner
- Roasted chicken breast, Anna potato, sautéed wild mushrooms, glazed green vegetables and madeira sauce.
- Rhubarb and stem ginger créme brulee.
Day 2: Tuesday
Arrival
Tea and coffee on arrival. Short recap of previous day and theory session.
Morning Session
Skills you will learn
- Confit chicken
- Lamb butchery
- Vinaigrette
- Pannacotta
- Quiche
Lunch
- Smoked haddock and mature cheddar tartlet, mustard and herb vinaigrette and mixed salad leaves.
Afternoon Session
Skills you will learn
- Pasta work
- Sauces
- Vegetable garnishes
- Fruit garnishes
- Terrines
Dinner
- Pork, fennel and lemon meatballs, tomato ragu and herb linguini.
- Honey and Greek yoghurt panna cotta with orange and glazed figs.
Day 3: Wednesday
Arrival
Tea and coffee on arrival. Short recap of previous day and theory session.
Morning Session
Skills you will learn
- French baguette
- Condiment
- Beef Stock
- Cooking Crab
- Desserts
- Ice creams
- Chocolate sweet pastry
Lunch
- Confit chicken terrine with red onion marmalade and French baguette.
Afternoon Session
Skills you will learn
- Savoury sauces
- Lamb butchery
- Vegetable garnishes
- Marinades
- Sweet sauces
- Studel
Dinner
- Roasted saddle and braised breast of Dartmoor lamb, turnip and prune gratin, wilted spinach and tarragon jus.
- Apple, almond and cinnamon strudel with vanilla ice cream.
Day 4: Thursday
Arrival
Tea and coffee on arrival. Short recap of previous day and theory session.
Morning Session
Skills you will learn
- Chicken stock
- Sorbets
- Custards
- Vegetable Garnishes
- Soups
- Crab Preparation
Lunch
- Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
Afternoon Session
Skills you will learn
- Salsa
- Potato garnishes
- Meat cookery
- Flavoured salts
- Chocolate Tart
Dinner
- Honey, soy and ginger flank steak, piperade, sweetcorn chilli salsa and spicy potato wedges.
- Warm dark chocolate tart, pistachio Anglaise and raspberry sorbet.
Day 5: Friday
Arrival
Tea and coffee on arrival. Recap of the week.
Morning Session
Skills you will learn
- Bread
- Shellfish cookery
- Sorbet
- Polenta cake
- Fruit compote
- Mayonnaise
- Fish Stock
- Round fish filleting
- Reduction based sauces
Lunch
- Devon crab and tiger prawn cocktail with dill and sun blushed tomato bread.
- Pan-fried fillet of John Dory with mussels, cockles, baby leeks, peas and vermouth.
- Lemon, orange and vanilla polenta cake, blueberry compote and yoghurt sorbet.
Afternoon Session
- Course round-up
- Certificate Presentation
Reviews
Read Sam The Food Fan Blog HereRead CucinaCeri's blog about this course here.
Course Photos
Residential Cookery Course
5 Nights Accommodation just £345
Relax at Ashburton Court with an en-suite room with double bed, television, free wifi, tea and coffee making facilities and a delicious breakfast.
Partners can stay for just £20 extra per night and don't need to take a cookery course!
While you enjoy your cookery course on Saturday & Sunday, your partner can explore our wonderful Dartmoor area.
Coronavirus Questions
To see some of the changes we have put in place to make our courses Covid-secure please click here
When you arrive at the cookery school you will check-in at the Arrival Station at the front entrance where you will be registered, asked to sanitise your hands, issued with a face mask and have a quick non-intrusive temperature check (a 2 second check with temperature gun that doesn't touch you). The same procedure is followed by all staff as well. You will then be shown to your own table in the dining room and will be served tea or coffee at your table.
When you arrive you will be issued with a comfortable face mask which you should wear when travelling around the building. In the kitchens you won't need to wear a mask when cooking at your workstation as these are fitted with perspex, but if you wish you can also wear a face visor or a mask - it is your choice. We have tested the visors in the kitchen and after a few minutes you really forget you are wearing them and they don't impede your cooking or enjoyment of the course.
When you are in the dining room, you will be seated 2m from others at your dedicated table and can drink and eat without a face covering., but when you leave this 'safe zone' you would be expected to put on a face covering to move around the building.
No. We have reorganised our kitchens so that if you come as an individual on a course you will have your own isolated workstation, equipment and ingredients to work with throughout the course.
If you are coming with someone from the same household you will be able to work together on a workstation, but again you won't be sharing anything with others outside of your household.
Certainly. If you book with someone from the same household or 'social bubble' you will be stationed at the same workstation so you can enjoy the course and the experience together. You will also be seated together in the dining room so will eat together.
We are providing a Reschedule Guarantee, so if you feel unwell or need to self-isolate contact us with 24 hours notice and you will be able to reschedule to another course date of your choice. You will have 12 months to decide.
Common Questions
You will enjoy a sit-down lunch featuring what you have cooked in the morning session along with a glass of wine. Weekend courses (Saturdays) and 5 day courses (on Monday to Thursday) have a lunch and you will take-away dinner to enjoy at home.
Note: On certain courses such as Breadmaking, Chocolate Making we will provide a Buffet lunch.
All of our courses are highly practical and you will spend 90% of your time in the kitchen learning and cooking. We maximise your quality learning time by taking care of time-consuming tasks such as weighing and assembling ingredients and washing up.
This course is at an Intermediate Level. Aimed at the typical home cook. These courses will build your confidence in all areas of the kitchen. You should be familiar with common cookery concepts such as frying, baking, grilling and be able to follow a recipe. No other special skills are required.
The minimum age to take this course is 18 years old unless otherwise specified.
You will need to tell us about any food allergies or special diets at the time of
booking. Whilst the course content will stay the same, we will always try and
accommodate your requirements with substitutions and alternatives.
We
are very familiar with common food allergies and regularly welcome coeliacs, vegetarians and
those with gluten-free, dairy-free or religious diets on our courses.
Please contact the Customer Service team who will be able to advise you further.
You need to wear sensible footwear with non-slip soles and covered toes. Long hair needs
to be tied back; we advise wearing comfortable clothes and not your best outfit. We also
recommend wearing trousers.
You don't need to bring anything else with you since everything else is provided. If you
wish to bring some containers to take away food you may, but recyclable boxes are
provided.
You will receive a Certificate from the Ashburton Cookery School upon completion of this course.
Yes, we have two kitchens that are wheelchair accessible. Please contact us to discuss your needs.
We source as many ingredients from ethical, local suppliers within a 25 mile radius of the cookery school as possible.
All our fish, poultry, meat and dairy is sourced from local producers as well as vegetables and English fruit.
We will always prioritise locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and recipes where possible.
