The School of Artisan Food keeps traditional food skills alive at Welbeck

On the Welbeck Estate in north Nottinghamshire, in the heart of Sherwood Forest, a charity is making sure that the skills of traditional food production are not lost. The School of Artisan Food opened in October 2009 with the aim of teaching what have been described as the lost skills of artisan food production.

The school was founded by Alison Swan Parente and is a registered charity. It is based in a Grade II listed former fire station dating from the 1850s, known as the Fire Stables, which has been converted to house three purpose-built training rooms, a resource room and a demonstration theatre. In 2011 the school welcomed a royal visit from the then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Its short courses cover a tempting range of crafts, including bread and baking, butchery and charcuterie, cheesemaking, patisserie, chocolate, and preserving and fermentation. Courses run from half a day to several months.

This winter's programme includes a one-day Artisan Christmas Larder course, covering pâtés, terrines, smoked fish and pigs in blankets, along with German baking with award-winning baker and author Emmanuel Hadjiandreou and a curing and smoking course with tutor Sally-Ann Hunt.

For those hoping to make food their career, the school offers a Higher Diploma in Artisan Baking and Business Skills and an undergraduate degree delivered in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, combining traditional craft with food science and business.

Its ambitions reach beyond the classroom too. Through its Best Food Forward programme, the school works with schools, communities and policymakers to champion food education as an essential life skill.

The setting adds to the experience. The school sits within a wider community of food producers and makers on the estate, which also includes the Harley Gallery, a farm shop in the former estate gasworks and craft workshops in a former kitchen garden.

The estate is reachable by car or from nearby railway stations, and course dates, gift vouchers and bursary details are on the School of Artisan Food website.