New birth in Bakewell

Hartingtons gave birth to its own mother culture last week. This sourdough starter culture can be used in our future artisan sourdough bread making courses.

We made our culture under the instruction of one of our bread making tutors David Neville who incidentally is off to work with Morrisons, starting this week to help them upgrade their already impressive range of artisan breads. Apparently, Morrisons are the only one of the big supermarkets that have retained genuine bread baking facilities within their stores.

To make you own starter culture all you need is flour, water and some grapes. Leave the culture exposed to the atmosphere and it will pick up the natural wild yeast spores, which then work symbiotically with bacteria to produce the unique sour taste. Each starter has a completely original composition. This made the birth of Hartingtons 'junior' a very special moment in Hartingtons short life.

We are doing a sourdough bread making course in May with Andrew Auld of the Loaf. By then young Hartingtons may even be old enough to play his part.

Artisan Italian Bread Making Course In Bakewell

The latest artisan bread making course took place at Hartingtons School of Food on Sunday.

This relaxed baking course took place in Bakewell in the Peak District with students learning all about the mystery of the biga. It was refreshing to hear our tutor David Neville's first rule was to discard the constraints of a standard bread baking recipe. It was all about feeling the dough!

The students produced a fantastic focaccia and a ciabatta as well as producing their own personalised pizza. In addition to this they also made their own delicious pumpkin soup. Lunch was a bowl of the soup together with freshly made olive and rosemary focaccia.

All the students left inspired by their artisan bread making course.......so if you too want to be inspired why not have a look at some of the forthcoming artisan bread making courses at Hartingtons in Bakewell in the coming weeks.

We can guarantee that learning to make your own artisan bread will inspire you to bigger & better things in 2012.

See images from our artisan bread making courses.

Cheese Making Course Launched

Hartingtons are pleased to announce our first artisan cheese making courses taking place in Bakewell in the heart of the Peak District.

We are delighted that these courses will be taken by Chris Ashby. She is one of the countries leading cheese making consultants and has recently been delivering the cheese making courses at Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's River Cottage.

The courses are very competitively priced at £130, proving you don't need loads of bread to be able to learn how to make cheese!

Our first cheese making course is on 29th May but if this date is not convenient please ask about future dates.

Artisan Food Courses in the Peak District

Make yourself a cuppa and put your feet up!

Well the first real snow of Winter has fallen in the Peak District. Everywhere has a covering and in some places much more!

So if you don't need to travel today.....why not keep nice and warm indoors, make yourself a "cuppa tea", put your feet up, have a little surf and make plans for the months ahead.

It won't be long before Spring is upon us so how about doing something challenging and new for yourself in 2012? At Hartingtons School of Food in Bakewell we have a wide range of interesting courses and food related events which are both educational and fun. Come on your own, come with a friend, come with a group........ check out our courses page. I'm sure there will be something that takes your eye.

And for the romantics amongst you instead of a meal out this year on Valentine's Day why not spend a lazy Sunday on 12th February making Italian Bread with your loved one. What could be more romantic than that?

Perhaps your "other half" is a chocoholic.......if so don't buy them a box of chocolates this year let them make their own. Why not indulge them with our full day Artisan Chocolate Making course? They will learn the history of this seductive food, sample chocolates from around the world, be pampered with indulgent chocolate drinks, have a masterclass with an artisan chocolatier and at the end of the day will have created their own hand made chocolates to take home and enjoy! We can even give you a personalised gift letter to give them on Valentine's Day.

Now we all want to treat our Mum for Mothers Day don't we? And we have the ideal present for her too. The Ultimate Tea Experience is a great combination of a talk, tutored tea tasting and a gentle "foodie" walking tour of Bakewell followed by an indulgent afternoon tea with a glass of 'fizz'. Tickets are limited for this event and are selling fast so if you want to pamper Mum you'll need to book quickly. We can provide you with a personalised letter to give her on Mother's Day inviting her to the event on 23rd March.

Well we've sorted you, your loved one and now your Mum ........it's amazing what you can get done on a Sunday morning isn't it? Fancy another "cuppa"?

Hartingtons of Bakewell

Love baking - so do we!

Love is in the air. Valentines Day is fast approaching. Why not buy something different for your partner for Valentines Day? In fact what could be more romantic than learning to bake Italian Bread TOGETHER.

Since starting Hartingtons in Bakewell at the beginning of 2012 we have had several couples come along to our cookery courses. What amazes me is how much fun they seem to have together. One couple didn't stop laughing during the whole cookery course. At the end of the course they genuinely remarked that it was one of the best things they had ever done. Praise indeed.

So why not park the hum drum for one day. It will still be there when you get back! Come along to Hartingtons and be inspired together.

We love baking bread and we think you will too.

Italian Bread Making Course - Sunday 12th February

Chocolates for Valentines Day

Well Valentines Day is fast approaching and if your loved one is a chocoholic then we have the ideal Valentines gift for them.

They will be in "chocolate heaven" with an indulgent Artisan Chocolate Course at Hartingtons School of Food in Bakewell.

We will pamper them from arrival to departure with a talk on the history of chocolate, a tutored chocolate tasting, indulgent hot chocolate refreshments, a delicious lunch, chocolate demos and a "hands on" chocolate making experience which will ensure that at the end of the day they return home with a box of their own delicious chocolate creations.

The whole event will be led by master chocolatier Barry Colenso, who has a lifetime of experience in chocolate.........such is Barry's expertise that last year he had the honour of helping create the groom's chocolate cake for William and Kate's Royal Wedding.

We will provide you with a personalised gift letter to give to your loved one on Valentines Day inviting them to this special event on 25th March. Just a few places remain so if you are interested make sure you book as soon as possible!

Hartingtons School of Food

www.hartingtons.com

Peak District Cottages

Since Hartingtons opened for business our cookery school has been attracting visitors from across the country. Many people love the idea of not only doing an inspirational cookery course but also spending a few days in the fabulous Peak District (who can blame them?).

A number of our students have asked us about places to stay in the Peak District. Well if you are looking at stopping in the Peaks for a few days we can recommend that you have a look at Peak Cottages for their impressive selection of holiday accommodation right across the Peak District.

An inspirational cookery course in the picturesque market town of Bakewell combined with a stay in stunning countryside. What could be better?

Hartingtons Food Experience