Where to find us
Lodge Farm , Hook , Hampshire RG29 1HA
- Telephone: 01256 704128
- Visit the cookery school website
Food and Travel Review
Food and Travel Review April 2016.It’s no surprise that Newlyns is the go-to place in Hampshire for fresh produce. Its farm shop and cookery school is set amid lush countryside on 202ha of land, which has been farmed by the Newlyns family for generations. I’m here for the one-day course in French Cuisine led by Daniel Dobbs, who mastered the art of Continental cooking at Chelsea institution Bibendum (read our review overleaf). He proves friendly and approachable, and makes sure we get plenty of one on one time.We begin by preparing a decadent crème brûlée with a salted caramel crust – sans blowtorch. Once the caramel is cool and set, we blitz it in a food processor and sprinkle it on top of the brûlée. After a few seconds under the grill, I’ve achieved the perfect crack from a crust that gives way to silky custard. Even as a confident cook, I appreciated Dan’s hassle-free method of gentle oven cooking, rather than sweating over the stove and dreading the ‘scrambled eggs’ effect if I overheat the pan.Next, we set about making a classic onion soup using sweet Spanish onions. They’re so much bigger than standard-size, two are more than enough – it spares us from tearful peeling.The centrepiece of the meal is a cassoulet. Masses of cannellini beans and seasonal vegetables are pre-prepped and heaped on our individual work stations in tempting piles, but the real draw is the meat, all of which is raised and butchered on the farm. Toulouse sausages, lamb shoulder and smoked pancetta become wonderfully tender after three hours in the oven, and Dan suggests omitting the traditional breadcrumbs to allow us to top it up with more stock mid-cooking. It’s the ideal celebratory supper: delicious, best prepared in advance and with real theatre as you remove the lid.By this point our soups are filling the air with a tangy, sweet aroma that none of us can resist. We head to the dining room where we mop the starter up with cheese crostini and pair with a glass of spicy rioja. It’s a satisfying dish you can recreate easily at home.We finish the day by watching Dan demonstrate how to cook the perfect sea bass, and making a versatile cream sauce that goes well with white fish. Apparently, the secret to golden, crisp skin and flaky meat is in drying the fish thoroughly beforehand, and making sure the pan is really hot. Dipping the fish skin-side down in some flour before placing it in the pan helps too.Sipping another glass of wine and packing up the food with thoughts of eating it on the hour-long train back to London, I make a mental list of the ways I can adapt the skills learnt today for other dishes. And, of course, an evening of French cooking awaits. CB. Price, £142. Courses range from 2.5-hour sushi making to five-day Culinary Life Skills. http://newlyns-farmshop.co.ukOur Specialities
What you can learn at our cookery school
- Butchery
- Canapés & Dinner Parties
- Children's Courses
- Fish & Seafood
- Knife Skills
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