Sparkenhoe Work Placement
04 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
Sparkenhoe Work Placement
15th – 27th January 2012
Armed with instructions to take whites, wellies and a packed lunch I was a little apprehensive about entering the real world of a working dairy. Sparkenhoe Farm – owned and run by David and Jo Clarke.
I was staying a 50 minute drive away (home), so set the alarm rather early for an 8 a.m. start. This was to be the theme of my time at Sparkenhoe. Early starts, traffic jams avoided, and early finishes.
My Sat Nav ensured I arrived in the tiny Leicestershire village of Upton, now to find the farm. I pulled into the drive and headed for the farmhouse where I met Jo leaving the house. After we swapped cheery introductions she led me down to the dairy. I was made to feel very welcome by everyone.
There was Michael, last year’s student, who Jo handed me over to; David, Michael’s fellow cheese maker, who was going to and fro to the milking parlour co-ordinating the transfer of milk to the VAT (Monday being a Sparkenhoe Red Leicester make day); and Sue, in charge of packing and despatch. I would meet Jenny Tuesday (she made the Bossworth Field cheese); and Linda Friday, the only day she worked.
I was shown where to change, signed a disclosure form and donned a blue plaster for the finger I had cut that very morning. I was given a tour of the dairy and given a rundown of the procedures I must adopt. Whites in the make room, white coat over whites when entering the store room, removed again when returning to the make room. Hair nets at all times. No watches or jewellery. Foot bath entered at the make room entrance.
Their week was scheduled as follows:
Monday – Sparkenhoe Red Leicester Make Day
Tuesday – Bossworth Field Make Day
Wednesday – Monday’s Cheeses Larded + Sparkenhoe Red Leicester Make Day
Thursday – Every other week, Battlefield Blue Make Day
Friday – Wednesday’s Sparkenhoe Cheeses Larded, Shop Open, Full Dairy Clean.
Days started early – 7.30 a.m., but had no real fixed finish time, it was more a case of leaving when the job had been done. This meant sometimes working until 4 p.m., sometimes leaving earlier.
Turning of cheeses in the store seemed to take up any spare time that Michael had away from making in the dairy. He was the only full time member of staff.
I was involved in every aspect of the dairy – making all 3 cheeses, larding, turning, and the inevitable cleaning, packing and despatch. There were times of very hard work, but also times where the cheese make was the lovely calm, time honoured task of the cheesemaker. All 3 cheeses were made differently. Red Leicester in the big 4500 litre VAT, the other 2 in the small 350 litre VAT. All 3 were salted differently. Red Leicester had salt added at milling. Bossworth Field by immersing in a 20% brine bath for 48 hours (calculated by weight). Battlefield Blue, rolled in salt, left for 7-8 hours, then washed off.
I also had the opportunity to spend a day in the milking parlour with David Clarke where I learnt how clean the udder prior to milking, express milk from the udder to check for the presence of mastitis, attach the milking clusters, move cows from barn to parlour (including the more stubborn ones), and the inevitable clean down. Then finally feeding the calves – including hand feeding from a bottle, one little calf who had been a little off colour and was being given medicine along with her milk. After a 5.30 a.m. start I joined David and Jo for a lovely full English breakfast in the farmhouse, after which David showed me how he could trace the pedigree of his cows and we talked about all manner of things including the whole veal debate.
Fortunately the dates of my work placement meant that the middle weekend I was able to help out at one of the farmers markets they attended. I accompanied Michael and set up in the grounds of a school in the village of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It was a cold, wet and very windy day yet Michael’s cheery disposition and charm offensive gave me a lesson in how to engage people and sell your cheese. Lovely to sell cheeses that you are proud to share, have a story behind them, and that are well received.
Cold, Wet and Windy……………but still smiling.
Michael showed me all their HACCP procedures and schedules, went through their Critical Control Points and all their cleaning in place and was prepared to answer any question I asked.
I had a wonderful full and comprehensive 2 weeks and left with everyone, including Jo and David Clarke, making me promise to stay in touch and let them know how I was getting on and said that I was welcome to drop in any time and say hello. Something that I am fully intending to do.
My very own Brawn
22 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Artisan, Charcuterie
Fellow students have been asking for the method and recipe for the Brawn I made this week when I returned back to college digs after a weekend home.
10 days previously I had gone into the Welbeck Farm Shop for Ox Liver with a view to experimenting with trying to make a tasty pate with something that some butchers just throw away. Alas they had non, but I did see a vacuum packed Pigs Hock and Trotter so the grey cells quickly turned to Brawn.
Armed with my £1.50 purchase I arrived back at digs deciding to brine the booty for a week to 10 days before boiling for Brawn.
I found a large heavy plastic container I had the fore-site to bring with me on my college adventure, placed the Hock and Trotter in and covered with water. To calculate the amount of salt you need you remove the water and measure. You then use salt in the ratio of 5 litres to 900g of sea salt. As I needed 2 litres of water, 360g of salt were used.
Into a pan I put the 2 litres of water, 360 gram of salt, teaspoon of black peppercorns, coriander seeds and 3 bay leaves. Brought all of this slowly to the boil to dissolve the salt, then left to cool.
Now, with the hock and trotter in a lidded plastic container (or any non corrosive one) you pour over the cooled, salted 2 litres together with all the spices and put in the bottom of your fridge for 1 week to 10 days.
Hock and Trotter in Brine Solution
Keep checking the container and if it starts to smell, change the brine solution. Mine never did smell so all was good throughout the 10 days.
Once the 10 days are up, drain off the brine solution and soak the Hock and Trotter in fresh water overnight.
Remove from the water and pat dry, now simmer in fresh water again for around 2 – 3 hours again adding black peppercorns, coriander seeds and bay leaves. I actually did this overnight in a slow cooker, the results were amazing so I can highly recommend this way of cooking.
Once cooked, remove the hock and trotter while still hot. Using the slow cooker method the meat, skin and fat fell from the bones with ease. I discarded all the fat, cut up the skin and placed in the oven until crispy to form pork scratchings, then chopped up the meat for use later in assembling the Brawn and placed in the fridge.
I sieved the liquid to remove all the whole spices and placed in the fridge overnight so that the fat would rise to the surface and turn solid so that it could be easily removed.
I then fried up some good quality bacon and again placed in the fridge to go cold for Brawn assembly.
Finally, assembly. I had a small loaf tin that I lined with a little olive oil then layered up with the hock meat and bacon. Took the cooking liquid from the fridge, removed the fat layer on the surface, returned this to the stove and reduced by 1/3rd adding sugar to taste. I sieved yet again and poured over the layered meat in the loaf tin, poking with a fork to ensure the liquid got between all the pieces of meat, and placed in the fridge for the jelly to set.
Finished Brawn - already half devoured!!
To remove the Brawn from the loaf tin I placed the tin in a bath of hot water for a few seconds, placed a plate on top, turned over, tapped and prayed. Hey presto!!!
Yum!!!!
3rd Week at The School of Artisan Food
20 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
Here we are in the 3rd week of our Advanced Diploma course at The School of Artisan Food. This is the 3rd of 3 induction type weeks where we sample all 4 of the disciplines offered in either our major or minor subjects. Bakery, Dairy, Butchery & Charcuterie and Patisserie.
We have already had taster session in all but Dairy – my chosen major subject, but at last today sees us at the start of a 2 day taster session of all things cheese.
Monday Morning we start off in the lecture theatre where Val Bines introduces us to the world of cheese and the dairy and we are given the opportunity of sampling a range of cheeses.
A Wheel of Cheeses
Starting at the top of the wheel and the only red cheese on offer – Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, Berkswell, Montgommery Cheddar, Appleby’s Cheshire, Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire, Swaledale Goats Cheese, Tunworth (a real favourite), Wigmore, Stawley Goats Cheese, Sparken Blue and finally, (another favourite) Stitchelton.
I hope I wrote them all down correctly – all delicious, being a cheeseaholic, but the Tunworth did stand out for me.
It was then on to the dairy donning blue hair nets, blue shoe covers, and thorough hand washing. A distinct lack of pictures due to the handling of a camera not conducive to clean hands, but I did decide to take a step back from the proceedings over the 2 days for a few minutes to show you how proud we all were to be making several different cheeses, lactic cheese with and without rennet, feta , small coulommier’s and 2 wonderful cheddar’s we made for next years (our) graduation.
Cheddar x 2 - fantastic!!!
Feta..........
Salting Coulommier
Can you tell it is Dairy I am here to study?
Just can’t wait to get started for real with the study of how to make cheese.
Wednesday sees us with a tour of the Welbeck Estate. What a treat this was. We were shown things that not many people have seen. What a privilege, but then I feel my whole experience here is just that. We are led around by those that know lovely little snippets about how the estate was formed, how it was in its hay day, when used as a college for the MOD and how it is now being opened up as the family who own the estate have moved back into the Abbey and develop this beautiful part of the country. This is the reason The School of Artisan Food exists, as do some of the award winning parts of the estate like the Welbeck Farm Shop, the Harley Gallery, the Welbeck Bake House, and the Welbeck Brewery.
Thursday sees us down to earth with a bump as we are show the world of Health and Safety – the subject was made as amusing and interesting as possible, but we were rather thankful to be finally given out exam papers. Results in around 3 weeks time.
Reward for yesterday, today, Friday, we have a day of chocolate making – wow – Ross Sneddon takes us into the wonderful world of real chocolate – and not the everyday chocolate bars that never come across my non sweet tooth. To tell you all of what we learned here would be a whole new blog of its own so I will just leave you with the pictures of the tastings followed by efforts of our own.
All things chocolate lined up ready for us to taste as Ross guides us through the world of artisan chocolate.
Chocolates made by Lisa, Sally and me all ready to be boxed up.
Ross in full swing with eager fellow students listening to every word.
Handmade chocolate bars - Lisa, Sally and me.
The perfect end, to another fantastic week.
2nd Week at The School of Artisan Food
15 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
Here we are, one week under our belts and about to start another. Nerves gone as we have got to know each other. All 21 students able to have a laugh and tease each other. The staff are amazing too, from receptionist to director, the teaching staff and not forgetting the cooks that dish up our daily dinner – we can’t find fault and feel privileged we are able to take this year out to spend at SAF.
Monday sees us yet again split into 2 groups - my group heads off to the bakery area of the school for Patisserie with Yanick. A larger than life French baker with a passion for his subject second to non. Will he charm any of us to take up patisserie as our minor subject, for alas it is not a major…………something for the future maybe. He gives us a quick overview of the subject which covers, not just pastry, but different types of cream, sponges, gateaux, chocolate, icecream………the list goes on.
For todays taster session we tackle pastry, shortcrust and sweet. We are to make savoury quiche and sweet apple tart. Yanick starts with a demonstration before sending us all back to our work stations to have a go ourselves. He goes from person to person, offering advice and encouragement or a personal demo where he needs to show where we are going wrong. The final result are quiche and tart to be proud of.
Stichelton Quiche and Apple Tart - Delicious
Tuesday has us all puzzled We are to spend a day in the Library. Of course it’s more than that. First we get handed out our uniform. Much hilarity ensues as these are unisex, with the smallest being a man’s small that ‘comes up big’. My size 8 petite frame does look a little ridiculous since my only option for the small that seems to fit most of the men. Sewing machine will have to come out of mothballs.
We then indeed head to the Library to get all our logins and instructions on how to find and take out books. Followed by being presented with the question, “What is Artisan”. We are challenged, we discuss and finally tasked to come up with a 10 minute presentation in our teams of 3. We come up with rather a novel idea so head for the lecture theatre for a bit of privacy. We decide to do our presentation based on the John Cleese/2 Ronnie’s “Class Sketch. With Lisa nearing, if not 6′, Martha 5’8″ and me a mere 5’2″ we rather are a match for the comic treo. Lisa is to represent Industry and be far from Artisan, Martha to be an Artisan baker with wholesome attitudes, and me the confused consumer. What a laugh!!
Wednesday sees us all pile into a minibus to drive down to Harper Adams Agricultural University College. They are to provide a serious of lectures on sensory analysis throughout the year. They give an overview of the course content together with a tour of the facilities and farm. I know this is normal farming methods, but it just all affirms my resolve to one day have my own smallholding to rear my own animals for meat and milk.
All aboard!!!!
Thursday is the Graduation ceremony for last years students (shame not all could make it due to work commitments). Randolf Hodgson from Neil’s Yard Dairy and the Specialist Cheesemakers Association is the guest speaker. After all the formalities we are taken to the Abbey. As the new set of students we are all rather in awe but are greated warmly with champagne and then Alison Parente, one of the founders of The School of Artisan Food who now lives at the Abbey, arrives to great us. I hope it not inappropriate to say what a lovely lady she is – we are all bowled over by her warm personality and the welcome she gives us.
Congratulations.........
It was so good to meet them all and catch up with how they are progressing in life “after the school”.
Friday is a real treat. Claire Monk from The Welbeck Abbey Brewery comes over to give us a quick lecture on brewing followed by a brewery tour. Her knowlege is inspiring, especially to a few of my fellow Creswell flat mates, as they love a spot of home brewing. She quides us through ingredients and processes, before heading back to the school for the tasting.
Hmmmm..........now how would you describe this one!!!!
Who would believe there were so many ways to describe the taste of beer!!!
What a way to end week 2, with week 3 holding even more delights as we finally get an introduction to all things Dairy – the one thing I have come here to do.
First week at The School of Artisan Food
08 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in Cheese
What a first week this has been. Left work on Friday the 23rd September, packed my sons car with as much as I could on Saturday morning and arrived at my digs in Creswell midday.
Wow, my room was amazing and nothing like the student digs I remember taking my son to when he started his uni course 5 years ago.
Sunday was spent with Luke, a fellow Dairy student, cycling one or two routes to school to find one that is sublime.
We cycle through the Creswell Crags, then across the A60 onto the Welbeck estate down leafy footpaths and across open fields where we are greeted with the sign “Drive Carefully, Racehourses”. Goodness me, can anyone elses journey to work compete.
Our first day gave us an introduction to all the disciplines in the school followed by ”get to know each other” games that had everyone laughing. A perfect start to a bunch of nervous students, many of which had given up secure jobs to follow a life’s dream. At last I was amongst people who had taken the same life changing decision I had, without thinking I was either brave or mad.
Day 2 launched us into Food and Hygiene with a lady that, while importing all the necessary facts made the day as light hearted as possible. We ended with an exam!!!! Day 2 and that was under our belt.
Day 3 saw half of us head off to the Butchery department and told all about Farm to Fork by Kate Hill. Hard not to be swayed away from Dairy. Kate’s enthusiasm grabbed us all and we managed to have a go at stringing up previously salted port, and hang it in the chiller ready for smoking (something we later found out the other half did the following day).
We all have a go at stringing up salted pork ready for smoking.
Could things get any better.
On day 4 we were off to the bakery lesson. This time it is Emmanuel that casts his spell as we enter the world of baking bread. His calm and expert way about him draw us into a world of miracles. He explains that we treat yeast as we would ourselves, feed it and keep it warm and it will grow, treat it gently and take care and it will grow.
And here we are – a few hours later with lovely loaves of White, Wholemeal and Granary. All were as proud and punch and couldn’t wait to share with family and friends.
First successful wholemeal loaf!!!
Confusion reigns as we ponder whether to change our major subject, or indeed, what will we do for our minor????
As if things could get any bettter, day 5 sees us introduced to our sense of taste – wow. I will never eat food without the need to wonder what is actually tripping across my tongue. Francis Percival is our guest lecturer. From Chocolate to Sardines, Coffee to Wine, we are challenged in the way we think about food in terms of its taste. A whole new world opens up. His energy for the different tastes we can experience and describe is inspiring. This is a subject we will follow throughout the year and something that is totally new to me. It is an area I am a little nervous about, but excited that my senses will be challenged and a new skill learned.
Few…………an amazing week. A life changing decision that is confirmed to be so right for me at every turn.
Fellow students on our bike ride to school...........amazing!!
