Pattacakes Cookery School: 2010

Welcome
to our Autumn email newsletter keeping you in touch with everything new at Pattacakes Cookery School. This newsletter gives details of all our up and coming workshops and details of how you can sign up for them. We are in the process of trying to set up an after school club for primary age children in Harpenden and will keep you up to date with progress. Do let us know if you would be interested in this. If you are know of anyone else who may be interested in what we do please forward this newsletter onto them.

Pattacakes Cookery School Takes Cooking to New Heights!
Pattacakes recently staged possibly the strangest cookery demonstration ever seen when we were selected to take part in a major art project taking place in London.
Jane Todd, from Pattacakes, was picked from over 30,000 people to spend an hour on the 8 metre high fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square as part of sculptor Antony Gormley's One & Other project. The project sees a different person on the plinth every hour, 24 hours day for 100 days.
Jane spent her hour showing spectators how to make bread rolls, pizza swirls, chelsea buns, fair trade chocolate tiffin cake and a gathered apple pie. As well as the audience in Trafalgar Square, the demonstration was broadcast around the world via the web.
Samples of the food prepared were given out by colleague Sarah Cripps who also had the job of chatting to them about the cookery school .
Jane described the experience as a once in a lifetime opportunity and hopefully one that promoted the importance and enjoyment of teaching children to cook. 'The hour went really quickly and it was rewarding to see the very positive responses we received about the demonstration and the food produced'
To see Jane on the plinth log onto www.oneandother.co.uk/particpants/jane_t

NEW DATES .....
LITTLE COOKS COOKERY CLUB

Our very popular cookery club for preschoolers is about to restart with a slightly different look. It will still be on a Thursday from 1.45 - 2.45 at St Nicholas Church Hall, Harpenden, but will now be on offer EVERY week. This will mean even more fun for your little ones and lots more delicious dishes to make and taste. The club will run for 9 weeks starting on the 1st October (with 2 weeks off for 1/2 term on 22nd and 29th October). The first week will be run as an opportunity for you to try the club and will cost £8 per child. At this session you will then be able to sign up for the rest of the term for £64 per child or £120 for 2 sibings coming together.
Each week the children, who attend with a carer, get the chance to taste and learn about food in a fun way and to create a tasty dish to take home and enjoy. Pattacakes Food Coaches ensure that all techniques are appropriate to the age and ability of the children taking part and most importantly taste really delicious! We cover a mixture of sweet and savoury recipes taking into account healthy eating guidelines. We provide all ingredients, equipment, aprons and containers to take the food home in. Younger siblings are welcome to come along with you as well. We can cater for most food allergies but need to know when you book.
To sign up for the first session call us on 01582 762986 or send us an email

HAVE YOU BEEN ON ONE OF OUR UNIQUE COOKERY AND CERAMIC PAINTING WORKSHOPS YET?
These highly enjoyable children's workshops are run in conjunction with pottery painting company 'Made by Me' and always book up quickly. During the 3 hour workshop children create a piece of painted pottery and create two dishes under the supervision of expert tutors. We have a few places left on the afternoon workshop on 12th December which will be held at St Nicholas Church Hall, Harpenden. If interested see our website or 'made by me' or give us a call on 01582 769855 / 762986 or email us

FOOD IN SCHOOLS
Jane Todd and Sarah Cripps from Pattacakes Cookery School are now recognised as trainers for the Department of Children, Schools and Families 'Food in Schools Primary Training' initiative which ensures all primary schools in the UK have teachers who are trained to deliver food education as part of the primary curriculum. We were very pleased to be asked to join this initiative and will be offering the first courses this Autumn. Courses will be one or two days long and cover the delivery of the food curriculum at KS1 & KS2. The courses are free and are open to all primary schools in the area, specifically those teachers who have a remit for Design and Technology. More details will be sent out in due course but contact us for more information if you are a local teacher or would like your school to participate and are interested in finding out more.

Fantastic Flexible Business Opportunity!
We have already had a lot of interest from people wanting to join us as Food Coaches and Franchisees, but we are still looking for more people. Could this be just what you are looking for? Are you a confident cook or do you know someone who is? Could you create food confident children? By using our range of activities for children you too can bring cookery to life. Whatever your background we will train you to become a Pattacakes Food Coach and provide you with everything you need to run your own profitable Pattacakes Cookery School in your area, providing exciting workshops and parties for preschoolers to 11 years old. For more information visit our website and look at 'Work with Us'

At this time of year there is often a glut of apples and plums. Make the most of them with this easy recipe Let's make
GATHERED HARVEST PIE

INGREDIENTS

For the Pastry
120g Plain Flour
60g Block Margarine or Butter
About 60ml Cold Water

For the Filling
1 large Eating Apple
3 or 4 Plums or Greengages
1 tablespoon Fresh Breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Demeara Sugar
To Glaze
1/2 beaten egg

How to make your
GATHERED HARVEST PIE
Remember to always ask a grown up to help whenever the text is underlined Start by washing hands, putting on an apron and tying up long hair
To make the pastry, put flour in a mixing bowl. Break the butter or margarine into little pieces and put this into the bowl
Using your fingertips rub the butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs
RUBBING IN
Put your hand into the bowl of flour and butter and rub your fingers and thumbs together. Keep putting your hand back down into the flour and butter so you are always rubbing more butter and flour together. The butter will gradually be mixed into the flour and the mix will be a pale yellow colour. When it looks like breadcrumbs and there is no flour left, you can stop. It is important not to keep rubbing for too long as your mixture will get sticky and your pastry will be tough
Add 8 teaspoons of water and mix well. Add more water if needed and gently mix into a ball of soft but not sticky dough. Put in a cool place while you prepare the fruit
Ask a grown up to help you prepare the fruit. Peel and cut the apples into quarters. Cut out the cores and pips , then cut each apple quarter in half. Cut plums or greengages in half and remove the stones
Put the fruit into a bowl. Add demerara sugar and mix everything together
Sprinkle flour on the table and push with hands or roll the pastry out to a circle about 25cm diameter and 1/2 cm thick. Place on a slightly bigger piece of baking parchment
scatter the breadcrumbs over the centre of the pastry circle
pile the fruit mixture onto the breadcrumbs in a mound, leaving 5cm clear round the edge
bring the sides of the pastry up to cover the fruit all the way around to make a parcel. Pinch the pastry together where it touvhes itself. You can leave a small gap at the centre if the pastry will not reach
Place the parcel on the baking parchment on a baking tray. Brush lightly with beaten egg
Bake the pie for 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove carefully with oven gloves
The pie can be served warm or cold. Serve with custard, cream or ice cream
skills included in this recipe: Rubbing In, Chopping, Rolling Out

© Pattacakes 2009

More information about
Pattacakes Cookery School
can be found at
www.pattacakes.com
give us a call or 01582 769855 / 762986 or email us

Thursday, January 14, 2010

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