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.

History

The School was founded in 2009 by William and Alison Swan Parente as the UK's first artisan food school, and opened that October. 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. 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. The school focused first on fermented foods like cheese, beer, bread and charcuterie. 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. About 2000 students enrolled in 2015. The School hosts the annual 'Food for Thought' festival each summer with lectures from food writers, business owners and educators. The School won the Cookery School of the Year award for 2014-15 and the Countryside Alliance Clarissa Dixon Wright Award in 2017 for outstanding contribution to food and education. In 2018 the School launched a foundation degree course, Artisan Food Production FdSc, in partnership with

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...

, taught jointly by both institutions. The first course will be taught in October 2019. In August 2018 the School launched a range of handmade artisan meats in collaboration with Delilah Delicatessens sold in Nottingham and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

Courses

The School's courses cover a range of food production skills including butchery, bakery, cooking, cheesemaking and patisserie. The School's cheesemaking courses have been claimed by '' The Guardian'' to have "helped to transform the British industry". 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. Seasonal courses, such as Christmas-themed classes, Mother's Day and Father's day courses, are also available. The school's "Pig in a Day" is a crash course in butchery. 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.Baking school is cooking up fresh careers
''Worksop Guardian''. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2019.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:School of Artisan Food Cooking schools in the United Kingdom British cuisine Baking industry Educational institutions established in 2009 Organizations established in 2009 2009 establishments in the United Kingdom