NEW Cookery School
Details of the content of the courses can be found below. If you wish to make a booking please email cookery@aylesbury.ac.uk or call 01296 780286.
Click here for dates of courses
Cookery for Beginners
If the thought of cooking scares you, or your repertoire only goes as far as the microwave, this is the course for you. The course will show you how to make a selection of superbly simple dishes that are quick and cheap using only fresh ingredients. It will also show you how to choose the best ingredients and how to make life in the kitchen more enjoyable.
Price: £55.00 (including buffet luncheon)
No previous cookery skills necessary.
Dazzling Dinner Parties
Why spend hours chained to the cooker when you could be having fun? After this course you'll be the cool, calm and collected host on the receiving end of your guests' gasps of admiration as you serve up a breathtaking three-course meal. This course will teach you the art of quick, effective entertaining. You will make two starters, two main courses and two desserts, eating one of each during the day and taking the rest home with you.
Price: £65.00
No previous experience required.
Canapés are perfect for any occasion and this course will teach you to create a broad range of attractive, mouth-watering delights that are sophisticated yet quick and easy to make. Perfect if you host informal drinks parties or even corporate events. You will make around 10 or 12 different types of canapés, both hot and cold. All the canapés will be made from scratch and there is a chance to learn to make a pre-starter also.
Price: £45.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
No previous knowledge necessary.
Which Wine?
Do you want to know which wines go with which foods? Then look no further. Our specialist wine supplier and their senior wine specialist will teach you all you need to know and answer all of your questions. They will also bring along a selection of wines to taste with an informal cheese buffet. They will also take orders for wine at a heavily discounted price. We recommend booking a taxi home for this course, which is open to over 18s only.
Price: £35.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
No previous knowledge necessary.
Dates for this are to be confirmed.
"Off to University"
Straightforward survival cooking for students from breakfasts to simple suppers to Sunday roasts. All dishes are quick and easy to prepare with minimal equipment required. Toby will also show you how to cook on a strict budget using fresh and convenience ingredients to achieve perfect results.
Price: £35.00
No previous knowledge required.
One for the Girls, cooked by the Boys
For all the Lads out there that want to give the love of their life a special night off. Toby will show you a selection of romantic dishes to "wow" your lady. Throughout the day you will learn how to plan and cook a meal to impress that is stress free and relatively cheap. This course will put you in her good books for life!
Price: £75.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
Some previous knowledge would be helpful but not essential.
Italian Cookery
If you've had enough of pre-prepared sauces, the usual old pasta fillings and over-priced ready meals, then it's time to get serious about the Italian in your kitchen. From antipasti to pasta making, to classics like risotto, gnocchi and polenta as well as Italian breads, authentic sauces and magnificent main dishes. It's a gastronomically gladiatorial day for Italian food fanatics, and you take home everything you cook with a portfolio of recipes.
Price: £75.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
Some previous experience would be helpful, but not essential.
Fish and ShellfishCovering basic filleting, poaching, and frying; together with more sophisticated fish dishes, sauces and garnishes. We will be cooking classic fish dishes alongside contemporary recipes and showing you what to look for when buying fish and shellfish.
Price: £75.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
Some previous experience would be helpful, but not essential.
Mediterranean Gastronomy
There is nothing quite like the aromas and spices of North Africa and the delicious fruits, ripe tomatoes and wonderfully diverse foods of the Mediterranean. The colours and flavours combine into rich Tagines, Kefta, fragrant cous-cous, delicious flatbreads with herbs - all part of the wonderful experience. Our one-day Mediterranean course brings you up close to this exciting cuisine and fuses flavours from Spanish, Greek and Turkish cookery, as well as dishes from Lebanon and the South of France.
Price: £75.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
Some previous experience would be helpful, but not essential.
Cake Decorating and Pastillage
Learn how to ice and decorate a cake using Royal Icing, Pastillage and Chocolate Glaceage. Toby will show you how to achieve excellent results with all sorts of cakes. During the day you will be using a variety of ingredients to decorate your own pre cooked Madiera cake. You will also receive a portfolio of ideas and recipes as well as some of Toby's tips on achieving stunning and amazing looking cakes.
Price: £65.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
Some previous experience would be helpful, but not essential.
Desserts and Patisserie
Calling all dessert addicts and those who want to create something fabulous to complete the perfect meal! This course offers an opportunity for sheer indulgence while learning new skills. The finest ingredients, the most exquisite tastes, Patisserie is an indulgence to be enjoyed at any time of day. On our Patisserie course you will learn the art of short crust, sweet and choux pastry, working with biscuits, chocolate and homemade custards. There will be plenty of wonderful desserts as well, such as Panna Cotta, Creme Brulee, Chocolate Mousse and Homemade Ice creams. A light lunch is included and you will take your own baked goods home with you.
Price: £85.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
Some previous experience would be helpful, but not essential.
Toby Hill Michelin Masterclass
Learn how to amaze your guests with our Michelin Starred Chef Toby Hill. On this advanced course you will learn to re-create a number of starters, main courses and desserts that he has had on his menus at his starred restaurant. This course is limited in numbers so he can spend more one on one time with you. He will show you how and where to get the best ingredients as well as giving you those valuable tips and chef shortcuts to create amazing dishes. You will receive a portfolio of recipes and information on how to get perfect results.
Price: £125.00 (including a buffet luncheon)
Due to the complexity of the course content, previous knowledge is necessary. Please ask for a course itinerary to see if this course is suitable for you.
List of Courses and Dates Summer 2010
August 1st 2010 "Off to University" 09.30-14.30
September 18th 2010 Cake decoration and Pastillage 09.30-16.30
Over the August period there will be a series of children's cookery courses, summer specials, Al Fresco and BBQ courses.
If you wish to make a booking please email cookery@aylesbury.ac.uk or call 01296 780286.
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Toby Hill Biography
Multi-award winning chef, Toby Hill is Aylesbury College's Commercial Manager for Catering & Hospitality. He has had a very successful commercial career to date, with many accolades to his name and his restaurants.
Amongst his awards, Toby ran 3 restaurants winning a Michelin star in each, he was the youngest chef ever to achieve a Michelin star, the youngest chef ever to achieve 4 AA Rosettes, and was Chef/Patron of two Gastro-Pubs both voted Michelin Pubs of the Year.
Toby started his catering education with Aylesbury College in 1986, where he gained many of the skills which helped to kick start his very successful career. His time at the College included 3 months work experience at 'Le Manoir aux Quat' Saison', with its famous Patron & Chef Raymond Blanc and 2 Michelin stars.
The knowledge and experience Toby gained with the College and in Raymond's restaurant encouraged him to progress further in the catering world and he worked his way up from Chef de Partie to Sous Chef to Head Pastry Chef at the 3 Michelin starred Gordon Ramsay Restaurant, where he had full responsibility of the pastry section. From this he moved onto the key roles of Consultant Chef, Head Chef, Executive Head Chef and eventually into Chef Patron, at the Moon and Sixpence Pub, which was recommended in the 2006 edition of Which? Good Food Guide as well as the Michelin Guide to Eating Out in Pubs.
Toby was invited by Aylesbury College's Principal, Pauline Odulinski, to give a speech as one of the College's student "success stories" when the new campus was opened in 2007. After the opening Toby was asked to develop the "Learn and Earn" concept that the College now operates within the commercial area of the College. The Principal was keen to give the catering students a more realistic and wider range of education in an environment that the commercial area of the College now provides superbly.
When Toby joined the College's staff he had several aims for the College's Hardings Restaurant, the Hospitality & Catering section and students. One of the most prominent goals was to make the kitchens run more like a real working environment, giving the students skills they would need in the workplace as well as making them more attractive to the catering industry on completion of their qualifications.
Since Toby started at the College, many elements of the department have changed. The new commercial side of the restaurant creates a realistic teaching environment and the business is run by students on the courses, as well as this the Hospitality & Catering Team. The students have worked on external events for local businesses and have become the preferred caterers forBucks County Council, Aylesbury Vale District Council and the Territorial Army.
Some of the other achievements made by Toby, his team and students are catering for The Mayors Annual Charity Dinner (275 covers), High Sheriff's Afternoon Tea (450 covers), and the Armed Forces Day Pig Roast with Bucks County Council (4500 covers).
The number of events and customers Hardings restaurant has welcomed is steadily growing and the new venture is a Cookery School, run by Toby, for the local community - offering various one day courses for beginners to advanced chefs in a range of areas, including Dinner Parties, Wines, Canapes, Italian Cookery, Cake Decorating & Pastillage, Mediterranean Gastronomy, Desserts and Patisserie and even a Michelin Masterclass for the pros!
If you wish to make a booking please email cookery@aylesbury.ac.uk or call 01296 780286.
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