Specialities
If you want an easy day of watching someone else do all the hard work, then this school isn’t for you. This is a fully hands-on, immersive operation that will guide you from field to fork (and further) – in other words, it’s perfect for the more-ambitious foodie. Situated in a small village on the outside of Bath and set in a converted pool house behind the 19th-century home of Bod and Annie Griffiths, the school can not only teach you to cook, but will also happily instruct you in associated countryside skills, including shooting, fishing, foraging, brewing and preserving. Whatever you choose, you’ll really get to the nitty gritty of the subject, and be well fed in the process. The teaching room is cosy, but this makes for intimate and involved classes. The rota of tutors is impressively expert-laden, too. Butchery, for example, is led by Robin Rea who owns his own charcuterie business in Devon. He’ll teach you about pig husbandry (you can even meet some Oxford Sandy and Blacks in the orchard below), help you break down a pig, then create various roasting joints, bacon, black pudding, salami and charcuterie to hang at home.