For the well-heeled young in post war Britain who weren’t suited to academic life it was often a choice (for young ladies in particular) of learning secretarial or cooking skills. On the cooking front selection usually came down to two venues in England, the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London or the Tante Marie Culinary Academy in Woking. Nowadays Leith’s and other great colleges have joined the party and there are a wealth of courses to choose from. Recently Tante Marie’s move to a new purpose built venue means they are topping the leader board again. The academy (the first of its kind in the UK) is famous for its professional chef courses, celebrity graduates as the incredible skill set that students leave the school with unlocks many doors into the foodie world. Being part of the local community is also high on the agenda for Tante Marie Management and with a new restaurant and plethora of short courses open to the public they are gaining loyal following. Want to do a season cooking in a ski chalet or luxury yacht then this could be your passport too.
Tante Marie has changed ownership three times since opening in 1954 under the tutelage of cookery writer Irish Syrett who died in 1964. Today former chef and deputy principal Andrew Maxwell and Gordon Ramsay Holdings own the academy. With a new lease of life and investment the school moved from an old red brick Victorian building to a new purpose built site in central Woking in 2015. In addition to the culinary academy there is also a modern European restaurant, staffed by graduates of the Cordon Bleu Diploma. Here they work for one year to gain a Level 5 Diploma in Culinary and Hospitality Management. I have dined here twice now and have been impressed by the delightful service, innovative and professionally dispatched menu. The attention to detail in the food and service is faultless as overseen by tutor manager Marco Di-Michele.
The restaurant food is fresh, seasonal, locally sourced where possible, skilfully prepared and presented. To give staff the full range of food service skills, Amuse-bouche accompanies menu selections as does hand made bread (orange and thyme or caraway last visit). Appetising nibbles on offer include smoked mackerel pate on melba toast or shot glasses of leek and potato soup with truffle oil.
Starters on the seasonal menu may include scallops and black pudding (£10.50) or crab rarebit (£7.25). For mains we chose beef fillet anchovy butter served with creamy mash (£19.95) and pan-fried sea bass (£15.95). The fish was served on a bed of pearl barley risotto intensely green from the addition of baby spinach with contrast in taste and texture of spicy chorizo.
Both dishes arrived swiftly from the kitchen on stylish hot plates and were cooked and seasoned faultlessly. Desserts (£6.50) included pear and frangipane tart with clotted cream (light and buttery) and a rhubarb fool with hand made biscuits. The food is so good here it’s hard to believe the staff are all new graduates.
Well run and managed; the space is modern, clean and comfortable. Wine is reasonably priced (starting at £20 per bottle) and offered by the glass too. It was good to see local gin Silent Pool on offer here and some English wines. We started with a glass of Prosecco each at £7 each.
Located centrally in Woking in a newly regenerated area Tante Marie and other newcomers have really started to put Woking on the map as a foodie destination. This is in part due to incentives from the council to make this a reality.
With so many gastro pubs churning out the same predictable menus its refreshing to to find a menu that really is a bit different!
Tante Marie Culinary Academy
57-61 Commercial Way, Woking GU21 6HN
01483 726957
I was invited by Woking Shopping’s PR company to review this restaurant. Having already been once I was keen to return. The food and standard of service was as good as it was on my first visit. I am looking forward to doing one of their 1 day cookery courses on Indonesian food in late May.
in 2013 he can’t possibly have foreseen its success. With a commercial background he understood that branding and product were of equal importance and worked hard from the outset on both. For him his journey started out by searching for a great distiller, a path that took him to Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh. There they run the only MSc in Brewing and Distilling in the world, as you might expect from the home of Whiskey. The stars were clearly in his favour, as whilst he was there he was introduced to Cory Mason a graduate of the course who was undertaking some research. From their first meeting Cory and Ian decided to work together and enlisted a current student Tom Hutchings who for his dissertation then worked on gin botanicals (the flavour enhancers) helping to put together a blueprint for what is now an award winning gin. Most London dry gins (which Silent Pool is have 3-4 botanicals but this one has over 20) Remarkably this gin has achieved the sales in months that most new brands take years to reach.
the UK in parts and built on site. Cory says it’s not the Rolls Royce of distillers but the end results better as the process can be more flexible. Without getting too academic here Silent Pool gin combines infusion and vapour techniques for building its unique taste. Many gins use either technique but rarely both. The distiller is powered by a reclaimed and renovated 1970’s Barford Invicta Major wood burning stove which sits in the wood shed next to the distillery. Fuel (wood) comes from a sustainable source on the estate. Cory and Toms first job in the morning is to chop wood and fire up the stove. The wood, Cory says affects the temperature rise in the distiller and because it varies each batch of gin is slightly different. This he says is a hand made product in every way; there are no computers or digital timers just skill. Cory and Tom love their job they feel it gives them a chance to perform magic with a perfect mix of science, art and craft.
watercress grower and love bloomed over their love of local food. Neil decided that watercress was a lesser love so he married Michaela and her cheese-making prowess and moved to Surrey. Now they work together blissfully making batches of their delicious cheese. Norbury blue is a soft blue cheese with a big attitude. Made with unpasteurised milk from Michaela’s father’s closed herd of Friesian cattle this is artisan food production as it should be. I went to see them in production but sadly had to share the cheese shed with a film crew who were making an educational movie so Neil showed me the ropes while Michaela was transplanted onto the big screen.
tasty and light with a dough structure that suggests long fermentation. Kind on the palate (I am not a fan of challenging crusts) it holds its own with just the right bite resistance. This bread provides the perfect vehicle for carrying sandwich fillings and dipping oils in both taste and texture. When owner Valeriana de Berardinis got in touch I jumped at the chance to visit the bakery.
Housed in an old converted stable in Lodsworth the bakery is overlooked by fields and luscious pastureland. Horses, cows and sheep are in view and it feels a little bit romantic. Step inside the bakery and the contrast is stark, it’s hot because at forty degrees Celsius yeast is at its most productive and this is essential for formation of the trademark bubbly texture. Making the starter dough the previous night (called biga) it’s left to ferment. Using the right flour for this bread style is essential too and selection of Marriages Canadian Manitoba flour is no accident. This wheat is grown for its high protein content, harvested in spring and used exclusively for a long fermentation process.
hand-produced bread. Apart from the use of an electric mixer for the biga (sour dough starter) and the final bread dough, weighing, cutting and shaping of the bread and rolls is by hand. Val employs a local lady Elaine to help in the bakery. Here Elaine is in charge of baking each batch of bread to achieve consistency and quality. She also helps to pack and collate orders for the delivery vehicle to dispatch. In fact its Elaine’s brother Steven who arrived at the bakery at 4.30am to start work. Val’s customers love the fact the bread arrives early in time for the start of business.
