It need not be hell in the kitchen (From Gazette Series)

It need not be hell in the kitchen

WITH television chefs such as Jamie Oliver urging us to be more adventurous with our cooking, more people are turning their attention to the kitchen in their leisure time.

For many. however, even rustling up a ham sandwich can lead to disastrous results. So for the thousands of us who fear putting pan to stove and giving the microwave a night off, master chef Fran Winston and her gang of culinary wizards have thankfully come to the rescue.

Kitchen-phobe Hannah Swingler went to meet the team dedicated to turning hapless "chefs" into the Delia's of the future.

AS A young adult living away from home long gone are the perks of parental cooking. My experience of attempting to rustle up meals for myself, and other people, can only be described as disastrous.

My inability to make anything remotely edible is legendary among friends who fondly recall how I was once dumped by a boyfriend who became convinced I was trying to poison him.

Valuing his life above our relationship, he decided he could no longer cope with my appalling banquets of undercooked chicken, burnt steaks promptly and ran off with a girl from Newport, who presumably could turn her hand to a three-course feast before saying Severn Bridge.

Needless to say that anything to do with cooking now fills me with dread and the thought of having to spend a day in the kitchen learning how to create fantastic Chinese dishes was met with some trepidation.

Thankfully, I am the type of student Fran Winston, who co-owns The Gables School of Cookery in Falfield, is used to and when I cautiously arrive at the old B&B on the A38 I am quickly assured that I will leave a competent chef.

"Some of the most inexperienced people become good cooks after doing one of the courses," I am assured by fellow chef and co-owner Richard Gabriel. "You will be surprised how inexperienced some people are when they come here and they leave being able to make decent meals."

The emphasis of the day is to keep things simple.

One of the problems I encounter when I do rarely attempt a recipe from a cookery books is that ingredients are often hard to get hold of or cost a fortune. This is something Fran and Richard are aware of and throughout the session they give advice on how to be economical and where to ingredients.

"We don't teach people to be perfectionists," said Fran. "I believe that meals cooked at home should look as though they have been home made and not like something you can buy pre-packaged from a supermarket."

The purpose-built kitchen is homely and the atmosphere is relaxed with students left to create dishes in their own time.

Those attending residential courses, which can be taken in a four-week block or split into separate weeks, are free to do what they want in the evenings and Fran and Richard are keen not to impose themselves on their guests outside the kitchen.

Day courses are also popular with locals and professionals and are ideal for enthusiasts who want to brush up on their cooking skills.

Back in the kitchen and the first task of the day is to gut and clean fresh squid which was a little hard to stomach but gruesomely interesting.

As we learn the technical side of cooking Fran chats about why people from certain cultures have particular eating habits and shares knowledge she has gained from a her vast experience travelling the world for culinary inspiration.

Born in Bristol and brought up in Australia, Fran branched into the world of cookery after working as a PA to multi-millionaire businessman Mr Gabriel but her love affair with food began when she started, writing her first recipe book at the tender age of just 12.

Under her watchful and patient eye, my fear of cooking quickly evaporates and I begin to feel confident about making the sweet and sour pork dish that I am in charge of. It is only briefly ruined when I drop a bowl into the sweet and sour sauce and literally end up with egg on my face.

Nevertheless, I am encouraged to persevere and soon I am dicing, chopping and mixing things to my heart's content. My enthusiasm starts to run away with me as I begin planning my first dinner party.

After all this preparation. me along with the rest of the students cook the meals together and soon we are tucking into our master pieces and for once, I am proud to say, I have created a dish worthy of any fussy boyfriend.

For more details on the Gables School of Cookery call 01454 260444 or log on to www.thegablesschoolofcookery.co.uk