If you'd like to learn to cook in a homely, warm, beautiful setting, you'll be hard pushed to find anywhere that fits the bill more than Mrs Portly's Kitchen.
Based in a lovely old Tudor house in Brockford, mid-Suffolk, the school (re-opening this month) was set up by food writer, teacher and blogger Linda Duffin before the pandemic.
Lessons include pasta, pastry and bread making, food photography and game cookery. And, alongside lessons with Linda herself, there are a number of courses on offer from local experts including Steve Tricker of Truly Traceable, Simon Wooster of award-winning Wooster's Bakery, artisan knifemaker Sergio Muelle, seafood expert Mike Warner, and photographer Phil Morley.
Linda, a member of the Guild of Food Writers and regular contributor to Suffolk Magazine, says: “The range and quality of the produce and skills available in Suffolk is outstanding. I’m a strong supporter of local producers and I wanted to be able to showcase their talents, which is why so many of them are joining me in the kitchen to teach.”
Lessons take place in Linda’s big, airy farmhouse kitchen, set within several acres of grounds, including a herb and vegetable garden and an orchard. In season, students can harvest the home-grown produce to cook with. The coronavirus pandemic led to a temporary suspension of classes but the school is now ready to open its doors again.
Linda says: “Like every other cookery school in the country we were forced to close at the height of the pandemic, which was a blow as we’d been garnering five star reviews and as a new business we were still building our reputation. But we’ve put stringent safety precautions in place and we’re confident we can now re-open safely. We did some one and two-person residential courses over the summer which were a great success and I’m really looking forward to a return to a full programme.
"We’re kicking off with my popular pastry and pies class, which is already sold out, but there are lots more courses to come in the run-up to Christmas and in the New Year.”
For students traveling from outside Suffolk or for anyone who just wants a break from routine, there is an option to stay overnight in one of the bedrooms. Bookings for classes are now open and gift vouchers are available for Christmas at mrsportlyskitchen.co.uk
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