Cookery courses: Creative canapés
The canapés served at the Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons are an inspiring start to a course at the hotel's Raymond Blanc Cookery School, which proves small is beautiful
I must admit to having come close to swearing I'd never make another canapé. I am still haunted by the experience of spending an entire day rustling up dainty creations with my sister and then witnessing platefuls of these mouth-sized morsels disappear in minutes when the first guests arrived for our housewarming.
Of course, I love eating canapés. Fabulous finger food can turn even a run-of-the-mill party into a culinary event, as waiters whiz round with plates of tidbits that are a feast for the eyes and a treat for the tongue.
There can be few more inspiring precursors to a course on creative canapés than dinner at the Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire, at the beginning of which we were served a platter of exquisite, bite-sized bursts of flavour. The next morning, I hoped that some of this culinary brilliance would rub off as I entered the Raymond Blanc Cookery School in the heart of the Manoir's kitchen, already buzzing with the hotel's chefs hard at work at 9.30am.
The course started with a run-down by the chef tutor, Michael John, of the treats to be tackled - a varied mix of intricate-sounding meat and fish dishes, plus reassuringly simple fruit sticks. This was immediately followed by a demonstration of how easy it can be to keep guests happy without resorting to bowls of nuts, as within minutes we were presented with bowls of still warm parmesan and rosemary popcorn.
The morning passed in a flash as the elements of each canapé were produced. The emphasis on this course is more on demonstration than participation, but the advantage of this approach is that a lot of culinary ground is covered. Given my own previous experience of feeding hungry hordes, I appreciated the ample advice on taking shortcuts, on what can be prepared in advance and how many elements can be frozen until needed. And along the way, I picked up lots of incidental tips - such as how to make olive crumbs and the best butter for frying (high-fat unsalted, apparently).
Fueled by popcorn and a glass of champagne, we all got our chance to test our piping skills as the class took it in turns to curl goat's curd onto tiny oat biscuits and fill choux buns with chicken liver parfait and mango puree, before garnishing our work with micro leaves. My piping may not be up to professional standards, but I couldn't help but be proud of my slate board of canapés in all their miniature glory.
The half-day Creative Canape course costs £185. belmond.com
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