UPDATE: The new term at the FOOD ROOM & LIBRARY starts tomorrow, 28th September 2010. Cooking Basics courses will run every Tuesday, Intermediate classes on Wednesdays and Advanced and Ambitious courses every Thursday - between 11.00 and 12.00 or 14.00 and 15.00. Courses cost from £25 per person (up to a maximum of 10) - for 45 minutes of quick-step tips and tricks, a glass of wine/cup of coffee and tasting samples of the food prepared - up to £120 - for demonstrations (on Thursday afternoons between 1.00 p.m. and 3.45 p.m), which are extensive, detailed sessions for up to 6 students, including lunch with wine, coffee/tea and take-home tasting samples, plus use of The Food Library afterwards.
The Food Room & Library is the brainchild of Jane Lunzer Gifford. Trained at Leith’s, Jane has spent the past 30 years cooking and teaching about food. She has also written cookery books, done food photography and created dishes for all sorts of events. 'Maximum impact with minimum effort’ is Jane’s principle – and is the basis for the demonstrations she gives in The Food Room, a beautiful, calm, comfortable and spacious kitchen in Jane's Eccleston Square home. She gives demonstrations either on a one-to-one basis or to groups of up to ten (ranging from £25 to £120 per person) and tailors her lessons to suit her clients’ needs. She teaches how to taste, assess and 'tweak' recipes and stresses the importance of presenting food beautifully. She does not believe in sticking rigidly to a recipe, when it can be just as successful - and much more fun - to go off-piste. Jane believes that with a little coaxing and one or two guidelines, anyone can cook with confidence and panache.
Adjoining The Food Room is a wonderful library of 700 food-related books, a resource which she is happy to share. Guests at the demonstrations or Library subscribers (see below) can drop by, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the thoughts of writers such as MFK Fisher, Jane Grigson, Fergus Henderson and Nigel Slater, explore the esoteric simplicity of Japanese cookery through Shizuo Tsuji or dip into the learned scientific explanations of Harold McGee. Some of the titles in Jane’s collection date as far back as the 1700s and give a fascinating insight into how approaches to food have changed - or not - over time. The Library continues to grow – selectively – and many contemporary publications are for sale at 10% less than cover price. Orders can be placed in advance for books about to be published, and the Library offers a search service on behalf of clients for titles no longer available from the usual sources.
There is also a small selection of some of the best cookery equipment for sale – pieces that Jane considers highly useful. Cards and gift-wrapping are available too.
The Food Library annual membership fee of £200 is inclusive of drop-in use, menu planning and cookery advice, magazines to browse and refreshments. It is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8.45 am to 11.30am. After hours access is available by appointment, and questions can be emailed at any time – with a response guaranteed within 24 hours. Membership of the library gives individuals a 10% discount on demonstrations.
The Food Room & Library
80 Eccleston Square
London SW1V 1PP
020 7630 6036 / 07920 755 998
www.thefoodroomandlibrary.co.uk
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