 | |
| Company type | Charity |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Welbeck Estate, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom |
Key people | Alison Swan Parente (founder) |
| Website | schoolofartisanfood |
The School of Artisan Food is a cooking school sited on the Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire. Founded in 2009 by Alison Swan Parente, the school aims to teach the 'lost skills' of artisan food production. [1]
The School was founded in 2009 by William and Alison Swan Parente as the UK's first artisan food school, and opened that October. [1] [2] The couple had founded the Welbeck Bakehouse the previous year but, upon finding that there was a lack of skilled artisan bakers to supply it, decided to establish a school to provide education and training in artisan food production. [3]
The school is located at a Grade II listed former fire station dating back to the 1850s at the Welbeck Estate. The School's facilities include three purpose-built training rooms, a resource room and a demonstration theatre. [4] [5] [6] The school focused first on fermented foods like cheese, beer, bread and charcuterie. [7]
The first students graduated from the School's Advanced Diploma in Artisan Baking in 2011, which is now a six-month course equivalent to foundation degree level. [8] [9] About 2000 students enrolled in 2015. [10]
The School hosts the annual 'Food for Thought' festival each summer with lectures from food writers, business owners and educators. [11] [12] The School won the Cookery School of the Year award for 2014-15 [13] [14] and the Countryside Alliance Clarissa Dixon Wright Award in 2017 for outstanding contribution to food and education. [15]
It was featured on the BBC radio The Food Programme on 26 April 2010. [16]
In 2018 the School launched a foundation degree course, Artisan Food Production FdSc, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, taught jointly by both institutions. The first course will be taught in October 2019. [1] [17] [18]
In August 2018 the School launched a range of handmade artisan meats in collaboration with Delilah Delicatessens sold in Nottingham and Leicester. [19]
The School's courses cover a range of food production skills including butchery, bakery, cooking, cheesemaking and patisserie. [20]
The School's cheesemaking courses have been claimed by The Guardian to have "helped to transform the British industry". [21]
Courses range in length from half a day to six months and also include courses to teach students how to set up their own food businesses. [22] Seasonal courses, such as Christmas-themed classes, Mother's Day and Father's day courses, are also available. [23] The school's "Pig in a Day" is a crash course in butchery. [24]
The School attracts students from a variety of backgrounds, from middle-aged people looking to change career path, to hobbyists, to children, to international students who come for long-term residential courses. [25] [26] [3]
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