November 2014 Archives

Swedish St Lucia saffron buns with hazelnut fluffy butter

Sticky cinnamon 'snails' (Danish buns)

Traditional Danishes with easy home-made dough

Rye, Icelandic skyr cream & blackcurrant layer cake

Spiced malt cookies

Swedish glögg (mulled wine with a vodka kick)

At this hands-on class you will learn how to bake each of these delicious sweet treats from scratch. We will enjoy some for tea with plenty of glögg, and you will go home with all the recipes and plenty of buns, Danishes and cookies to share with others, or not...

This class is a collaboration between Culinary Anthropologist and Mia Kristensen of CPH Good Food, following our series of very successful Spring, Summer, Autumn and Christmas New Nordic Cuisine classes. Mia Kristensen runs Nordic cuisine classes and food tours in Copenhagen. 

“I am passionate about Nordic cuisine - its seasonality, lightness of ingredients and symbiotic relationship to nature. Nordic foods contain all five basic tastes and this makes it complete. Many ingredients are found in nature, which encourages wonderful family trips, cooking in nature and of course eating together,” says Mia.

Also a food writer and student of Food Science, Mia will share her knowledge of the whys and wherefores of baking during this class. The class is limited to 8 guests so that everyone can fully take part.


Dates: Saturday 29th, repeated Sunday 30th November 2014

Time: 2.30pm - around 6pm

Location: London N5 (Arsenal tube 2 mins walk)

Price: £90, or £162 for two people

To book: Email Anna

Please read the booking terms and conditions before booking your place.

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Photos from last year's Nordic Winter Baking classes.

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Comments from previous Nordic cuisine class guests:

"I had lots of fun and I can't wait to try out the recipes for Xmas."

"Absolutely fabulous experience!"

"The Scandinavian class was quite outstanding, such good fun, informative as always and the most delicious and enormous dinner."

"Fabulous food!"

"Wonderful class! I learned so much!"

"Loved it! So inspiring!"

Join Catalan culinary expert Rachel McCormack and Anna for a glorious day of pig cookery and general piggery. We will celebrate the pig by using its various parts for a delicious breakfast, hearty lunch and sausages to take away, as is done at the annual pig slaughter in villages around the world.

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We will make:

Frit Mallorquin - a breakfast dish using liver

Trotters a la Catalana - to enjoy for lunch with rice, and roasted with honey

Catalan black pudding - with a couple of variations

Fuet sausages - a classic Catalan salami

Sweet pig's blood pancakes - for dessert

...and we will also use the pig's head so as not to waste anything.

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Rachel is originally from Scotland but spent most of her twenties living in Barcelona, where she caught the Catalan obsession with food. She now lives in London where she teaches cooking classes, runs food markets and writes about food. She is also a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet, for which Anna works as food consultant behind the scenes (having had the idea for the show).

Rachel has run several very popular Pig Days at other venues for crowds of 20-30 people. This event will be in Anna's home teaching kitchen and is limited to just 8 guests. It will be a very hands on class, with plenty of pig for everyone to get their hands into. Not for the squeamish.

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Date: Saturday 22nd November

Time: 10am - 4pm

Location: London N5

Price: £120, or two places for £216 (includes breakfast and a late lunch with wine)

To book: email Anna Please read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place. Thank you.

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 "What a fantastic and unique day. I really enjoyed the food (top marks to the pig's head meat + brain fried with sherry), conversation and having the opportunity to dive into masses of pig meat and fat. It was a great experience."

"Yesterday was lovely ... welcoming hosts, a lovely atmosphere, and we made sausages! Which was very cool. The kitchen worked well, and looked nice too. The wine was lovely and the sherry. The rice dish was delicious. ... I would recommend the day to anyone, it was great fun, and I feel a big sense of achievement!"

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See photos from our previous Pig Days here.

a celebration of autumn

Fall Classics

Sourdough with sweet chestnuts, lardo & truffle

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Radicchio, persimmon, walnut & Perl Las salad

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Wild boar & teran stew, smoky polenta

Carrots & beetroots agrodolce, cavolo nero

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Hazelnut brownies, vanilla & pear ice cream,

malvasija-poached pears, spruce syrup

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Home-made liqueurs

The Cooking Club is a monthly series of classes that you can dip in and out of as you please. At each class we cook a seasonal vegetarian supper, the stars of which are Riverford's beautiful organic vegetables and fruits. This class is perfect for those who want to eat seasonally and are after a little recipe inspiration (as well as a fun night out).

Classes are usually held on the second Tuesday and/or Wednesday of the month, 7pm-10pm. We cook together for a couple of hours - learning different culinary techniques each month - and then sit to enjoy a convivial dinner around the kitchen table with wine.

Come in November for inspiration for cooking seasonal stars such as radicchio, sweet potatoes, persimmons, apples and quinces. Below is an example November menu to give you a feel. The exact menu is usually set at the last minute so that the best seasonal produce available from Riverford at the time can be used.

Radicchio, persimmon & walnut salad

Sweet potato & sage gratin

Celeriac rémoulade

Grilled radicchio with balsamic dressing

Apple and quince crumble with homemade custard

"Well, what can I say about last night! It was superb and I really enjoyed. You are a great chef/cook/mentor and very patient. The food was delicious."

“I have thoroughly enjoyed these classes. I have learned many new skills and the classes have given me ideas on using seasonal vegetables. I have used many of the recipes again.”

"Thanks for a great evening. We all enjoyed it very much and I am already trying out new knife skills and more. We'll be back!"

“Thank you for another wonderfully inspiring and enjoyable evening.”

Date: Tuesday 11th November 2014, possibly repeated Monday 10th OR Weds 12th November if demand

Time: 7pm - 10pm

Location: London N5 (Arsenal tube 2 mins walk)

Price: £45 per person per class. Or £120 for 3 Cooking Club class places

To book: Email Anna Please read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place. Thank you.

This class is perfect for anyone who has dabbled with bread-making before and now wants to improve the flavour and texture of their bread and learn how to shape different loaves such as baguettes, fougasse and ciabatta. For anyone who has tried sourdoughs at home but been disappointed with the results, this class will transform your bread!

At this class you will learn how to make and care for your own sourdough starter and use it to make crusty wheat and rye sourdough breads. You will also learn how to make beautiful baguettes, olive fougasse and airy ciabatta.

After this intensive workshop you will understand how to create artisan breads with proper crackling crusts and moist, open irregular crumbs. You will learn how wet and stiff doughs behave differently, how different types of kneading affect the final loaf and about the importance of long fermentation periods. We will also cover using pre-ferments such as poolishes and bigas.

This is a hands-on class. You will make and shape all of the doughs yourself so that you leave confident to try these breads at home.

What's more, you will go home with an artisan bread-making kit specially sourced by Anna, including a long wooden slip for loading baguettes into the oven, your own new sourdough starter, a baker's lame (razor for slashing) and a wicker proving basket. Plus of course there will be plenty of the freshly baked bread you have made to take home.

The workshop includes a delicious seasonal lunch showcasing different types of bread, with wine.

You can view pictures of previous bread workshops here, here, here and here.

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"Anna's classes are always brilliant. The day is busy but in the nicest possible way. The classes are small and extremely friendly. The information and level of confidence and competence you leave with is quite amazing."

"Anna is not only an extremely knowledgeable cook, but she is able to transmit her knowledge in a very clear manner. The workshop is very well-prepared, there is no time to waste. What I really liked is that she teaches you to prepare and bake amazing delicious bread with home/normal tools and resources. I can highly recommend her workshops, great day, great fun, great teaching and most importantly, one feels ready to start baking immediately after at home."

"I had an amazing time and this workshop was exactly was I was looking for. I learned how to make impressive artisan bread at a more advanced level.  I highly recommend this workshop!!"

"Since the course I did with you I have become the family baker - there are six of us, and I bake anything up to eight loaves a week! The children love the fresh bread and beg me not to stop home baking."

(Bread workshop participants, 2012 and 2013)

Dates: Friday 7th November, repeated Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th November 2014

Time: 10am - 4pm

Location: London N5

Price: £120 (with 10% discount if you book as a pair, so £216 for two)

To book: Email Anna

Please read the booking terms & conditions before booking your place. Thank you.