Saying Goodbye To Our Cookery School

With last weekend marking our final course in our Cookery School, we wanted to share some of our favourite memories from over the years.

 Thirteen years ago, we transformed what was once our family home into a place of learning – opening its doors to welcome thousands of people to bake with us. What had been a house full of family life became a space for learning, community, and sharing.

For us, our school has always been about using good food to bring people together and giving people the confidence to share their baked goods with the ones they love. Ensuring that food is at the heart of every occasion.

Message from Jane (Cookery School Manager)

As my time at Hobbs House Bakery draws to a close, it’s a great opportunity to revisit and reflect on the last 12 years.  

All that time ago, the first class I taught was Beginner Bread, and fittingly (without knowingly planning) it was the last one. We talk much about bread making being a journey, and boy, what a ride I’ve had!  

Of course there have been lows but I’m not one for dwelling on those. I much prefer to think about the highs, the things to be proud of, the friendships. From bread to BBQs, pre- schoolers to octogenarians and everything in between. Make it fun, inclusive and welcoming.  

Although I had been working with chef apprentices and teaching at post 16 level, my bread making was, shall we say, in its infancy. I think, having eaten a lot of bread in my time, most certainly helped. Being given the opportunity to teach at Hobbs House Bakery, has been such a wonderful experience. From the first time I stood in front of a class (terrified) to now (nervous) – to see the bread displayed and everyone’s reaction to it. Never exactly the same, but always something to admire, and indeed learn from.  

I have learnt so much; about bread, baking and most of all about myself. I will be sad to leave, but I’m definitely ready for the next chapter and whatever that has in store. 

Some of Henry's Favourite Memories:

• Travelling to Copenhagen with Jane to learn barbecue techniques at Weber HQ. Two full days of grilling, eating and trying to track down the Little Mermaid statue. We had been told it was the Statue of Liberty of Copenhagen, only to discover it is about the size of a child and incredibly easy to walk straight past.
• Taking the cookery school on tour to The Big Feastival with Jamie Oliver and Alex James. Having Jamie jump in and help teach during the sessions was a real highlight.
• Tom and I ran an American themed Baker Brothers course where we recreated recipes from our US series. It was complete chaos in the best possible way. The class overran by more than two hours and we only put it on a handful of times because there was simply far too much food involved.
• In the early days I ran quite a few butchery classes. One memorable session involved teaching a room full of lawyers how to break down a whole pig and make sausages. It was a bring your own drinks evening and they enthusiastically embraced that part of the brief. Sixteen slightly merry lawyers waving sharp knives around was entertaining enough, but one man taking a piece of pig skin and wearing it as a face mask while pretending to be a horror film villain was something I have never quite forgotten.

A massive thank you to Jane, Henry, Uncle Sam, Tom, and everyone else who helped behind the scenes over the years to make each course so special. And thank you to everyone who baked, learned, and shared in the journey with us. It might be the end of this era, but we look forward to continuing to share our passion for baking with others in new ways in the future.