The Chef's Room fish and cookery school

Cooking is not only about food it's about conviviality as well.

NEW FOR AUTUMN WINTER 2011 - 2012

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OUR COURSES MAKE PERFECT PRESENTS AND FUN FESTIVE CELEBRATIONS - SO PLEASE CONTACT LINDY ON 01989 562353 FOR BOOKINGS AND TO DISCUS TAYLOR MADE EVENTS

NEW FOR 2012 ARITISAN BREAD BAKING, CHOCOLATE AND ASIAN FISH

WE HAVE TWO SINGLES COURSES COMING UP COCKTAIL AND CANAPES AND COOKIES FOR CHRISTMAS with our new team member Rachel.

AFTERNOON TEA AND CHAMPAGNE FOR YOUR HEN PARTY?
Idle your afternoon away before hitting the town. Make scones, fairy and butterfly cakes, Italian biscotti and a multitude of teatime goodies to enjoy with a glass of champagne

CORPORATE COOKING CLASSES -
Discover the movers and shakers in your company in our teaching kitchen while cooking and eating your way through five delicious courses....

NEW MENUS
OCTOBER 2011 TO APRIL 2012
SEE BELOW

FRANCO AND I WELCOME YOU TO THE CHEF'S ROOM AND LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING THE PLEASURES OF THE KITCHEN WITH ALL OF YOU - WE LOVE TO COOK AND SHARE WHAT WE PRODUCE AND WANT TO PASS ON OUR ENTHUSIASM AND KNOW-HOW. SITTING AT A TABLE AND EATING TOGETHER IS SO MUCH MORE THAN ABOUT FEEDING OURSELVES IT IS A WAY OF LIFE.
For more info about Lindy Wildsmith please visit her website

REVIEW OF THE CHEF'S ROOM
Posted on February 18, 2011 by admin
Account Manager, Myrrh Fletcher, on learning to cook her way to the good life
"Last Saturday morning I visited The Chef’s Room, a new teaching facility located at Vin Sullivan’s premises in Blaenavon. As a self-proclaimed foodie and hoarder of cookbooks I can waste hours in the kitchen. Aside from the odd childhood cooking lesson dolled out by mum and a short stint working in a gourmet seaside deli, I’m largely a self-taught cook so I snatched up the opportunity to gain some insider kitchen knowledge.
Signing on to a knife skills course seemed the best place to start, with the course description promising I’d learn how to keep my knives sharp, how to joint a chicken and how to cut up all kinds of fruit and vegetables. I confess I was also swayed by the menu and a promise of a glass of wine with the meal that would be fashioned from our knife skill efforts.
The Chef’s Room is attached to the Vin Sullivan premises, a large building complete with fishmongers and an ample food shop. Courses are designed and often run by food writer and cook Lindy Wildsmith and chef and consultant Franco Taruschio OBE of Walnut Tree fame.
I could have spent the morning examining the amazing array of produce on offer, but was sent to the classroom where I was to learn how to turn my rough slice and dice into pretty brunoise and julienne.
After a coffee and in the hands of professionally trained chef Claudine Boulstridge, the class was given a quick lesson on choosing the right knife for the job, what makes the prefect knife set and how to sharpen knives. I took a great deal from this part of the course, mainly that I’ve been using the wrong knife and that all of my knives are in desperate need of a good sharpen. I shall be swiftly taking them to the butcher to resurrect them.
Next on the agenda Claudine demonstrated the best way to joint a chicken making it look quick and easy, much to the amazement of the class. Yet when faced with my own chicken, it became clear that jointing a chicken is quite a simple job. It’s a basic skill and I’m glad I now know how to do it.
Following this was a lesson on the best ways to chop vegetables. Armed with simple and effective techniques we then tackled an extraordinary mountain of vegetables and fruit to help hone our newly learned slicing and dicing skills.
Completing our chopping task with all fingers intact, my fellow food-loving learners and I were treated to a slap-up lunch menu including a Genoese winter vegetable soup with fresh mint pesto, grilled chicken with soy and chilli glaze, Thai peanut slaw and a tropical fruit salad with star anise infusion. All this served with a cold glass of bubbly prosecco.
Lunch was eaten as a group with the conversation interspersed with the occasional proud mutterings of ‘oh that’s the courgette I chopped’ or ‘those are my carrot julienne’.
I’ve walked away from the course with new found skills but mostly I’ve been so enthused, I’ve now got my eye on two new courses: easy entertaining and the pasta master class.
Whether you’re looking for an alternative form of corporate entertainment, a good day team bonding, something to do on a foodie hen or stag-do or just a few quiet hours to indulge in a personal passion, head up to The Chef’s Room. You won’t be disappointed."

OUR PROGRAMME OF COOKERY CLASSES AND COURSES goes from strength to strength. They are based on the premise prepare it, cook it, eat it and run in the state of the art Chef’s Room at Vin Sullivan’s premises in Blaenavon in South Wales. Food writer and cook Lindy Wildsmith runs the courses with chef and consultant Franco Taruschio OBE, patron of the Abergavenny Food Festival and founder of the legendary Walnut Tree restaurant.

Lindy has written many successful cookery books, and has run the G2 club in Ross-on-Wye staging cookery demonstrations, lessons and events for more than ten years. No stranger to this part of Wales (her mother grew up in Rhymney) she has also taught cooking along with Taruschio at the Hill in Abergavenny for much of that time. She is an able and informative teacher not only locally but at cookery schools in London and across the country.

The school is slowly expanding and will in 2012 extend its repertoir to include an BREAD MAKING course. French and Malay cooking will continue and we hope to add chocolate to our list of specialities as well as Italian, Welsh and English.
Authenticity is everything and Anglo-French tutor Claudine Boulstridge will be back with us after having her fist baby last spring. Malay guest chef tutor Shaun Nean will be back with us from Gloucestershire College in Cheltenham. Tina Moss will be joining us from the Cornerhouse Cardiff to share his bread making craft with us.
Students will as ever benefit from the skills and knowledge of Vin Sullivan’s fifty years plus experience as fishmongers. They will learn, to clean, fillet, skin, cut and dress fish and seafood; spot what is fresh and what is not; what is in season and what is not. Themes covered at the school will not be limited to fish; the courses will benefit from Sullivan’s ample larder which supplies a wide range of high quality produce, poultry, meat, game and wild mushrooms according to season. There is a retail shop on site where students may purchase all the ingredients they have used during the course to recreate the dishes at home.

With ever more cookery books hitting our shops and ever more cookery programmes on TV there are ever more ready-meals available in the shops, ever more mail order companies providing "homecooked" food and ever more caters supplying food to entertain at home with.
The pressure upon the home cook becomes ever more burdensome but home cooking is not about impressing people or cheffing, it is not high art, it is putting a simple meal on the table to be enjoyed by family and friends. We may be called the Chef's Room but we do not want to teach you to be a chef, we want you to be Cooks who enjoy what you do and pass on your enthusiasm to everyone around you.

The Chef’s Room is a unique facility with access to some of the best fresh fish and produce in the country and eventually it is hoped that it will become renowned as a centre of excellence for commercial training for fishmongers and chefs. Special courses, corporate events and chef training days can be arranged.

HOW TO FIND US - post code - NP4 9RL
Directions: We are 6.6 miles from Abergavenny. Take the A4143 signposted Llanfoist from the A40 and follow the signs to the Big Pit museum of coal mining. When you arrive in Blaenavon turn right off the main road still following signs to Big Pit and then immediately left into the Thomas Gilchrist Industrial Estate. Vin Sullivan is on left hand side of the road…..Look out for the lobster on the building!

Chef’s Room cookery courses 2011 – 2012
Give the gift of a cookery course voucher this Christmas!

“What great fun we had! I was really entertained as well as educated. I will definitely be coming back and recommending you to my friends. Many thanks.”
Jono beatson-hird October 17th 2011

All courses include lunch and a glass of wine and a little treat to kick start the taste buds mid-morning and a celebratory glass of Prosecco.

All in-house courses cost £75; guest chef courses cost £85 but will rise to £80 and £90 on January 1 2012– so hurry, book now before January 1st!
We also give private lessons, private party and group lessons and organize corporate and team building events.

Franco and I look forward to welcoming you to the Chef’s Room
Lindy Wildsmith

November 26 - Franco Taruschio – Italian Christmas
The perfect alternative to a traditional Christmas dinner.

Crostini with mozzarella and anchovies
Capelletti in brodo (stuffed pasta in chicken broth)
Turkey Saltimbocca (escalopes of turkey with Parma ham, Marsala sauce and truffles)
Potatoes and parmesan gratin
Oranges caramelized with orange liqueur
Ricciarelli

21 January 2012 – franco Taruschio - Fish basics
the perfect gift for any fish lover
Tuna fish crostini
Goujonettes of fish with Prik Nam pla sauce
Sgombri alla Pugliese - cured mackerel in a potato and rocket sala
Salmon with cherry tomatoes and olives
Torta alle mele – Apple Torte
Rosemary flavoured biscuits

28 January 2012 – Shaun Nean – fish in a wok
an exotic gift for even the most experienced cook
Fish dishes, Asian spices and the wonder of the wok. Malaysian born chef Shaun Naen and food writer Martin Griffiths demonstrate how fish dishes can be simply prepared, cooked and enhanced with subtle spices.

11 February 2012 – The perfect Valentine’s gift – not to be missed
Chocolate Valentine – Lindy Wildsmith and Pam Killick of Chocs Away join forces to create a special Valentine celebration. Cook with Lindy and enjoy a delicious three course meal made with luscious ingredients and laced with the finest chocolate then after lunch learn to make and take home a box of handmade chocolates with Pam To include: tempering, moulding, ganache filling and vanilla cream.

18 Feb 2012 - Carnevale – Franco Taruschio
all the romance and flavour of the Venetian Carnival
Spritz con bitter (campari, white wine and mineral water)
Fritto alla garisenda (fried Parma ham, parmesan and truffle paste sandwiches)
Gamberi croccanti (tiger prawns in a crisp pasta crust)
Lasagne di carnevale
Venetian pudding with custard sauce
Sgroppino (lemon sorbet, prosecco and vodka) palate cleanser
Sfrappe di carnevale (carnival fritters)


25 February 2012 - Knife skills - Claudine
the perfect present for the cook who has everything. A knife is the most important tool for any cook. You'll learn how to keep your knives sharp, how to joint a chicken and how to slice, dice and julienne all kinds of fruit and vegetables. All of your hard work will be transformed into a delicious meal for your to enjoy at the end of the class along with a glass of wine.

Genoese winter vegetable soup with fresh mint pesto,
Grilled Asian chicken with soy and chilli glaze,
Thai peanut slaw
tropical fruit salad.

3 March 2012 – Lindy Wildsmith - Afternoon tea - bake-away
Learn to make irresistible cakes and pastries to grace the most elegant cake stand. Chocolate éclairs, French macarons, butterfly cups, chocolate tartlets and Italian almond biscuits with Lindy. This class starts at 11.30 includes a smoked salmon sandwich with a glass of wine at lunch time and concludes around 3.30 with afternoon tea and a glass of fizz.

10 March 2012 – Tina Moss - Bread of heaven
There is nothing like the warm and welcoming scent of freshly baked bread. Learn the ancient and rewarding skills of bread making in the capable hands of guest tutor Tina from Corner House Cookery Cardiff. Learn to make a versatile bread dough to create either a delicious loaf, dinner rolls or pizza base. Make simple eastern style flat breads on a hob – perfect for dips – and a naan style bread to serve with Indian food. Then lastly but not least – just to remind you that you are in Wales Tina will show you how to make the heavenly bara brith.

17 March 2012 – Franco Taruschio - Pasqua – Easter
Crescente with tomato, capers and basil
Mini Crescia di formaggio filled with salami served with a small salad of purple sprouting, egg and olives.
Abbacchio alla Romana
Served with cannellini beans and pancetta
Torta di Mimosa
Castagnole sweet fritters

24 March 2012 – work shop - cocktails and canapés – Rachel Howarth
Learn to make a fabulous array of canapés ready for Easter and all your summer parties ahead. Rachel has concocted a seasonal feast of bite size treats for you to make and enjoy. Using simple ingredients, you will make savoury lollipops, skewers, sticks, wings, crostini and a special Scotch egg that any Easter bunny would be proud of. You will also learn to make a couple of sensational cocktails and then enjoy a pukka pre-lunch cocktail party before going home. £50.00 11am – 1pm

April 14 2012 - Lindy Wildsmith - Not raw at all!
Sashimi, seared, ceviche, crudo, carpaccio and tartar are time honoured ways of serving fish and meat that we cooked fish and meat eaters think of as raw but in fact they are not raw at all. The addition of citrus juices, vinegars and wines, denatures proteins just in the same way that heat denatures or as we say “cooks” proteins.
Tuna tartar, scallop and vodka shots, seared loin of rabbit, prawn and popcorn ceviche, carpaccio of beef.

April 21 2012 – Franco Taruschio - Le Marche cooking
A menu of Franco’s favorite dishes from his homeland - To include
Olive ascolane – stuffed olives
Vincisgrassi – Franco’s signature lasagne made with porcini mushrooms and prosciutto
Rabbit/chicken in potacchio with baked fennel
Torta di prugne - Plum torte
Pane del pescatore - Le Marche biscuits

May 12 2012 - Franco Taruschio - Welsh Italian Fusion
Potato and laverbread chips
Tagliolini with cockle sauce
Lamb polpette (rissoles) with salsa di papa
Fried bread crumbed Brussels sprouts
Apple cake served with Fior di latte ice cream
Nocelli (walnut biscuits)

June 9 2012 - Lindy Wildsmith - Barbeque

June 16 2012 - Franco Taruschio - Mediterranean

July 14 2012 - Franco Taruschio – Shellfish skills

July 21 2012 - Lindy Wildsmith – Summer in a bottle, preserving and pickling

September 15 2012 - Franco Taruschio – Pasta

October 6 2012 - Lindy Wildsmith - French farmhouse cooking

October 13 2012 - Franco Taruschio – Autumn in le Marche

November 10 2012 - Lindy Wildsmith - Smoke gets in your eyes Hot smoking on a domestic hob is a fun and inspirational way of cookingSmoked citrus scented duck breasts, oriental guinea fowl with sesame seed noodles, prawn and scallop skewers.

November 24 2012 - Franco Taruschio - Game for the season

December 1 2012 - Lindy Wildsmith– Getting ready for Xmas – make your puddings mince pies and cakes to take home.

December 15 2012 - Franco Taruschio – Natale Italian Christmas

Corporate and team building events and bespoke classes by arrangement
Guest chef tutored courses £90.00 from January 1st 2012
Franco’s and Lindy’s courses £80.00 from January 1st 2012
Saturday cocktail and canapé workshop £50.00
All courses include lunch and a glass of wine and start at 10 am – come for a cup of coffee at 9.45 and finish between 2 and 3 with the exception of afternoon tea that starts at 11.30 (coffee at 11.15) and finishes at 3.30 with afternoon tea and a glass of fizz aqnd cocktail and canapés 11am – 1pm.

More courses and dates to be announced soon.
Visit website link for info on Lindy and her gourmet trips to Italy

Visit website link for cooking holidays in Italy with Franco in May and October 2010

More courses and dates to be announced soon.
Visit website link for info on Lindy and her gourmet trips to Italy

Visit website link for cooking holidays in Italy with Franco in May and October 2010

Learn to cook and you will have friends for ever.

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