Visit to Denman College

On Monday 13th October a group of 26 went to Denman College. The day was very grey and wet but we took our own sunshine with us. The coach was filled with chatter and laughter all the way.
 
We arrived at the College in good time, were given our Day Visitor badges and ushered into one of the lounges where a very polite young man served us with coffee. There were also some very scrummy homemade biscuits.
 
After this we were taken to another building and into a multi-purpose training room which doubled as our dining room for the day. Here we were joined by WI members from Powis and West Sussex, which made a group of about 90. Once settled we were introduced to the young looking College's Award Winning Chef - Peter Lien.
 
To make viewing available for everyone there were cameras and screens around Peter and even one above so you could see what was going on in the pans, brilliant.
 
Peter was making a 3 course meal consisting of:
 
Cauliflower cream with pickled pear, cranberries, almonds, parmesan and watercress.
 
Braised ox cheeks with celeriac, blue cheese and horseradish remoulade
 
Fig and hazelnut frangipane tart.
 
Peter showed us all the ingredients (quite a lot as you can imagine). Many of the audience baulked at the sight/thought of the Ox cheeks, but Peter assured us it was a very tasty and cheap cut of meat, which was his 6 year old son's favourite meal. It was just we knew where it came from before we had tried it and so were hampered by our preconceptions.
 
A lot of the cooking was done before as in Blue Peters "here`s one I did before" but the majority of it was done in front of us and beautifully prepared and served. Although some ladies commented they use bigger spoons at home!
 
After the demo it was time for lunch which was delicious. Chicken, pasta and vegetables (very al dente), followed by individual pavlovas and accompanied by a very nice glass of wine.
 
Several of us would have probably enjoyed a little nap after this, especially the wine, but no chance. The group was split into three smaller groups for the guided tour. After a short comfort break our guide came in to give us a potted history of Denman and how it came to be. It was a shame that the day was wet because from the small glimpses of the grounds the planting looked lovely and it turns out that even though there are17 acres of land there is only one gardener!!!
 
After our talk we were taken to one of the class rooms where some ladies were beading, making necklaces and bracelets. They had come quite a long way for the day course so had taken advantage of staying in the rooms overnight.
 
From there we went into the kitchen classroom which caters for able and disabled people. There were gas cookers, electric and even a large range. One of the tutors was there and she gave us a chat on the different courses that were on offer.
 
From here it was back outside to be shown some of the many bedrooms. All were en-suite and with tea and coffee making facilities. These rooms were beautifully decorated and once again catered for able and disabled bodies, each of them are sponsored by the various County Federations and were named accordingly.
 
The whole place was very calm and peaceful, there was no rushing about (other than avoiding the rain) and we were able to go at our own pace.
 
After this tour we were ushered back into our room for a cream tea!! There were warm scones, bowls of cream and individual pots jam! These little pots made us wonder where the jam had come from, had it been bought in? If so we had an inward chuckle as this is the W.I., so where was the Jam and Jerusalem? Perhaps they had run out!!! (In retrospect the jars didn't have labels on them so perhaps they hadn't been bought in, subsequent enquiries when we got home didn't answer the question so we perhaps will never know the answer!)
 
Once we had eaten our fill it was time to go to the shop and also the craft shop where some of us purchased material, patterns, books etc.
 
Then it was time to go home. Once again lots of talking and laughter and Janice even made the joke of going to the chipper on the way home, we were all bursting!
 
Thanks go to Jennifer for another successful trip. Definitely a place to visit again.