Local High School Bakery Workshop
By Peter Loweth PR
Aug 11, 2006, 10:14

BLACKER HALL IS TOP CLASS FOR LOCAL PRODUCE

Award-winning Blacker Hall Farm Shop teamed up with Kettlethorpe High School this week (Monday 7^th August) to give eager pupils a real taste of the best local Yorkshire produce and ingredients.

Stephen Jarvis with the eager students

As part of the school’s summer vacation eco-design workshop, Blacker Hall experts taught the youngsters about traditional, additive-free bread-making, using locally-sourced flour and other ingredients. Each student then tried their hand at making their own speciality bread in the school’s food technology department.

 

Young Mr Wagstaff expertly kneading!

They also learned about the benefits of local, economically-sustainable food production from the staff of the farm shop on Branch Road, Calder Grove, which has received numerous industry awards, including being named ‘Best Farm Shop in England’ last year by the Meat Trades Journal and receiving five Gold Awards for its home-made sausages at a national butchers’ convention earlier this year.

 

Deep in concentration

Cheryl Garthwaite, Blacker Hall’s Business Development Manager, said: “We want the pupils to learn about the advantages of local sourcing and small, specialist batch production compared with food which is mass-produced in factories, and why we don’t use preservatives or ‘improvers’.

 

Deliscious tomato and basil bread

The children, aged between 11 and 13, each made their own speciality breads and these were then tasted and compared to factory produced breads. They will be presenting their creations to parents on Friday 11^th with a buffet and fashion show.

“We wanted to get the children thinking about the business side and the sustainability of the local economy. For example, all the flour we use at Blacker Hall in our bread-making is sourced from Yorkshire mills and this helps to support traditional, local producers.

 

Time to sample their creations

“We also want students to realise there are good opportunities for well-qualified and enthusiastic young people in the food industry, apart from becoming a chef in a restaurant. It’s such a rewarding profession.”