Lifestyle: Food – Cooks, The Carlton School of Food

CHOCOLATE is definitely one of life’s pleasures.

There are very few people who don’t love it and far more who consider themselves to be self-confessed chocoholics, with the desire to eat tons of it every day if it were only kind enough to be less harsh on the hips.

So, when I was given the chance to spend a morning learning how to make chocolates and talking about nothing but the delicious treat, how could I refuse?

Tucked away in the North Yorkshire village of Carlton, the recently opened Cooks, The Carlton School of Food, has hailed itself as a place to discover food – a place to learn to grow, cook, photograph or write about food.

Sitting at the top of a long driveway surrounded by 250 acres of parkland, The Carlton School of Food, situated in the impressive 17th century Carlton Towers, the ancestral home belonging to the Duke of Norfolk’s family and home to the Duke’s brother and sister-in-law, Lord and Lady Gerald Fitzalan Howard, has started its new business with a bang.

It is playing host to a range of different courses from artisan bread making to cooking for teens and better baking – there’s a pretty varied mix to go at. The business is launching writing and photography classes next year, so is keen to stay clear of referring itself as a cookery school, hence its strap line of a place to “discover” food.

The course I embarked on was with artisan chocolatier Fiona Sciolti. Brigg-based Fiona launched her company – Sciolti Botanical Chocolates –  in 2007 and since then has gone on to judge the National Great Taste Awards. She spends her time all over the country teaching and doing demonstrations and prides herself on using real fruits, flowers, teas, herbs, local cream and honey.

There were 12 eager chocolate pupils joining in the day, which largely took place in one of the spacious kitchens in the stately home. It started off with a brief lesson looking at the history of chocolate and its journey from bean to bar. We then launched straight into truffle making.

Now, if you had asked me a few weeks ago how to make truffles, I would have presumed there were a lot of intricate steps but it appears that with Fiona’s method, it’s much easier than one would presume. A short list of ingredients – some fruit jam (raspberry in this instance), softened butter, white chocolate, dipping chocolate and pink peppercorns were all I needed.

I am known among friends and family as a rather haphazard baker, so I have to say I was very impressed with my professional-looking efforts.

While the truffles were setting, we were taught how to temper chocolate – creating chocolate with a deep shiny gloss and resulting in much better quality. Again, I always thought this was quite difficult, but Fiona taught us that in fact it is fairly simple. As long as you keep an eye on your heat and keep on stirring, you should be on to a winner.

During the half day course we also made chocolate bars with dried fruit and nuts.

I was expecting the course to be more difficult that it was, so was pleasantly surprised and I’m now confident I can create my masterpieces in my own kitchen, something friends and family are sure to be pleased to hear.

There’s a range of courses on offer whether you’re an absolute novice or a professional chef, the enthusiastic amateur, or run your own food-led businesses. The Carlton School of Food is also keen to encourage corporate events.

Visit: http://www.cooksatcarlton.co.uk/
Call: 01405 861662