Charlotte Pike

Award-winning cookery writer, teacher and chef

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2020 Class Dates

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Happy New Year!

I’m sorry I haven’t written anything here for a while. 2019 was a year of overwhelming work, family and house renovations, and it’s been a real juggle to make it through. But I’m through the other side and we took some time out for a very lovely holiday just before Christmas (I’ll be sharing the details of this soon). 

Christmas was so last minute this year. I was wrapping presents at 9pm on Christmas Eve…but it was so lovely in the end, despite being far less elaborate and organised as usual.

And after some lovely time with my nearest and dearest, I am back, and I wanted to share some of my 2020 class dates with you. There are more in the process of being organised, so do get in touch if you have any questions.

January

Tuesday 7th – Beginner’s Breadmaking – Harborne Food School

Wednesday 8th – Funky Up Your Veg (Winter) – Harborne Food School

February

Monday 3rd – How to Cook the Mediterranean – Harborne Food School

Tuesday 4th – How to cook Fish – Harborne Food School

Wednesday 5th – Moroccan Kitchen – Harborne Food School

Monday 17th – The Persian Kitchen – Harborne Food School

Tuesday 18th – Spanish Tapas & Wine Tasting – Harborne Food School

March

Monday 9th – Cake – The Basics – Harborne Food School

Tuesday 10th – The Spice Route – Harborne Food School

Wednesday 11th – Lamb Classics – Harborne Food School

April

Monday 6th – Knife Skills – Harborne Food School

Tuesday 7th – Beginners Breadmaking – Harborne Food School

Tuesday 14th – Cooking with Chocolate – Harborne Food School

Wednesday 15th – Mexican Streetfood – Harborne Food School

Thursday 16th – Middle Eastern Mezze – Harborne Food School

May

Tuesday 5th – Beef Classics – Harborne Food School

Wednesday 6th – Learn to Cook the Mediterranean – Harborne Food School

Thursday 7th – Cooking with Fish – Harborne Food School

Monday 18th – The Moroccan Kitchen – Harborne Food School

Tuesday 19th – Spanish Tapas and Wine Tasting – Harborne Food School

Wednesday 20th – Low Calorie and Nourishing Meals – Harborne Food School

Final Cookery Class Dates for 2019

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The summer and autumn passed in a flash, with each day occupied with cookery classes, cooking for events, writing recipes and appearing at food festivals up and down the country. Now that Food Festival season is over, and my final wedding of 2019 is a wrap, I’ll be focussing on writing and teaching for the rest of 2019.

I wanted to write to share my last few cookery classes of 2019 here, in case you know someone who’d like to join. I’ll be sharing dates for 2020 classes in due course.

Thank you to everyone who has joined me for a class in 2019. It’s such a pleasure to meet and cook with you all. 

Final 2019 Cookery Class Dates

Monday 18th November – Scandinavian Cooking at Harborne Food School

Tuesday 19th November – Herbs in Food and Cocktails at Harborne Food School

Wednesday 20th November – Gastropub Cooking at Harborne Food School

Monday 8th December – Edible Gifts at Harborne Food School

Tuesday 9th December – Traditional Christmas Party at Harborne Food School

Wednesday 10th December – Christmas Baking at Harborne Food School

Monday 16th December – Christmas Canapés at Harborne Food School

Wednesday 18th December – Christmas Baking at Harborne Food School

Recipes from Ludlow Food Festival

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I’m just back from a fabulous weekend at Ludlow Food Festival. I’ve been there each year for the last few years, and it’s a real highlight of the year. This is a wonderful food festival with a really special atmosphere in a truly beautiful town.

I started off a crazy schedule of events on the stage, demonstrating some of my favourite recipes to cook right now. I decided on my recipes on the morning, based on the best ingredients I could lay my hands on, and a little hedgerow foraging.

So, as promised, here are the recipes I made during my demo. I do hope you enjoy them.

Poached Pears with Elderberry, Juniper and Lemon
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
1661 calories
430 g
0 g
1 g
9 g
0 g
2129 g
48 g
331 g
0 g
0 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
2129g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1661
Calories from Fat 12
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1g
2%
Saturated Fat 0g
1%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 48mg
2%
Total Carbohydrates 430g
143%
Dietary Fiber 37g
146%
Sugars 331g
Protein 9g
Vitamin A
5%
Vitamin C
108%
Calcium
15%
Iron
21%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. 6 pears, peeled
  2. 225g caster sugar
  3. 600ml water
  4. Zest of one lemon, peeled into large strips using a potato peeler
  5. Around 10 fully ripe Elderberry heads (the berries should be black, plump and juicy
  6. 12 juniper berries
Instructions
  1. Bring the sugar and water to the boil Turn it down to a simmer. Add the pears, whole, followed by the lemon zest, elderberry heads and juniper berries and cover with a paper lid and saucepan lid. Simmer until just soft.
  2. Remove the pears from the liquid and set aside. Reduce the liquid a little more so that it’s sticky and sweet. Serve the pears with the sauce drizzled over and maybe even with some cream, too. Delicious warm or cold.
beta
calories
1661
fat
1g
protein
9g
carbs
430g
more
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/
Pork with Squash, Apples and Cider
Serves 4
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
50 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
50 min
492 calories
27 g
132 g
28 g
34 g
10 g
402 g
154 g
19 g
0 g
17 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
402g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 492
Calories from Fat 250
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 28g
43%
Saturated Fat 10g
48%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 14g
Cholesterol 132mg
44%
Sodium 154mg
6%
Total Carbohydrates 27g
9%
Dietary Fiber 5g
19%
Sugars 19g
Protein 34g
Vitamin A
10%
Vitamin C
53%
Calcium
4%
Iron
13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. 500g diced shoulder of pork
  2. 2 tbsp olive oil
  3. 1 butternut squash, cut into half, deseeded, and cut into thick slices
  4. Sea salt and black pepper
  5. 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  6. Around 300ml quality cider
  7. 4 seasonal eating apples, cut into quarters and core removed
  8. 25g butter
  9. A good handful parsley, chopped roughly
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Start by gently frying the pork in the oil over a moderate heat. A cast iron pan is ideal here.
  3. Separately, place the squash onto a baking tray, season well and drizzle over some oil. Roast for around 30 minutes.
  4. Now, add the garlic to the pork and fry for just a minute, followed by the cider. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/ Gas Mark 4. Place the pan into the oven with a lid on and bake for 30 minutes.
  5. Put the squash into the pan with the pork, along with the apples and butter. Season again. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, lid off, until the pork, squash and apples are all tender.
  6. Spoon onto a warmed serving dish or onto individual plates. Serve topped with parley.
beta
calories
492
fat
28g
protein
34g
carbs
27g
more
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/
Damson Fool
Serves 4
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Save Recipe
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
291 calories
55 g
29 g
8 g
1 g
5 g
94 g
4 g
53 g
0 g
2 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
94g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 291
Calories from Fat 74
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8g
13%
Saturated Fat 5g
26%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 29mg
10%
Sodium 4mg
0%
Total Carbohydrates 55g
18%
Dietary Fiber 0g
0%
Sugars 53g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A
5%
Vitamin C
0%
Calcium
4%
Iron
0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 450g damsons, fresh or frozen
  2. 25ml water
  3. 200g caster sugar
  4. 600ml softly whipped double cream
  5. Plus shortbread biscuits to serve
Instructions
  1. Place the damsons, whole, into a pan with the water and sugar. Cook gently for around 20 minutes until the fruit is cooked through. They will start to break up. Set aside and leave until cold. Now, remove the stones from the cooled fruit and discard. It’s much easier to do this at this stage than before they are cooked. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
  2. Gently fold the cold damsons into the whipped cream. The fool is now ready to be served or can be chilled for serving later. I like not to mix it too evenly, so there is a distinct swirl in the fool, and serve a little extra fruit on top. Serve with shortbread biscuits.
beta
calories
291
fat
8g
protein
1g
carbs
55g
more
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/