We are delighted to collaborate with Naomi Devlin from the UK’s River Cottage for a weekend of Gluten-free workshops and dining experiences. An experienced tutor, Naomi’s wholesome, nutritious bakes and engaging teaching style will fill you will confidence and enthusiasm to embrace cooking joyfully, whether you need to eat gluten-free or are cooking for a loved one who does.
Learn how to bake delicious, gum-free breads. Discover homemade soba noodles and make a perfectly balanced ramen bowl. Delight in homemade pastry and create your own free form tarts or pasties from scratch.
From Friday to Sunday, stay at the beautiful escape for the full experience as we dine and discover together. Relish welcome snacks and supper on Friday. Hearty breakfast, lunch, and a Saturday night feast followed by Sunday brunch – all delicious and gluten-free. *All workshops and meals come with dairy-free alternatives.
Gluten-Free Workshops
Naomi was diagnosed with coeliac disease over 16 years ago and knows all too well the initial period of ‘gluten grief’, where food becomes a source of anxiety and disappointment, restaurants are fraught with danger and old favourites like crusty bread are off the menu. After the initial shock, she chose instead to embrace the new challenge and celebrate the wonderful things that she could still safely eat, learning to bake again and exploring the many cuisines and grains that are inherently gluten-free.
With a combination of hands-on cookery and educational demonstrations, the weekend will teach you about:
- Gluten-free flours and healthy alternatives for food intolerances,
- Pastry for pies, galettes and turnovers.
- Dumplings and noodles for our Saturday feast where we will create a fragrant ramen bowl and hand pleated dumplings
- Focaccia and sourdough bread
The weekend will leave you inspired to create your own delicious free-from bread, pasties and other dishes at home.
Event Details
- Start Date: Friday 6th December 2019
- End Date: Sunday 8th December 2019
- Time: 17:00
- Duration: 3 days/ 2 nights
Schedule
Friday:
- Arrival at The elbowroom escape where your hosts Lisa Wilkinson and Naomi Devlin will greet you with tea, coffee and gluten-free treats
- Make yourself at home and check into one of our luxury garden cabins
- Session 1: Learn about the huge range of gluten-free flours available and how to combine them for different bakes.
- Then we’ll put together a simple shortcrust pastry ready for tomorrow.
- Session 2: Naomi will talk you through the intricacies of gluten-free sourdough starters and demonstrate feeding and keeping your new pet so it’s as bubbly and yeasty as possible.
- Sit down and dine with us over an exciting and delicious meal
- Relax at our Gin Bar and have a tipple if it pleases you
Saturday:
- Start the day with a Gluten-free breakfast and miss out on nothing!
- Session 3: You’ll make your very own sourdough loaf with the sourdough leaven that has been bubbling overnight (as true sourdough is a long process, we’ll add a bit of yeast on the day to make it rise more quickly so you can take home freshly baked bread). You’ll also take home your very own starter to cultivate for years to come
- Session 4: Next you will make delicious savoury pastries or free-form sweet or savoury galette.
- Lunch – Enjoy a relaxed lunch in the dining cabin with organic, local and seasonal food
- Session 5: Naomi will demonstrate a dough that we will roll out into Japanese gyoza dumplings. You will learn how to pleat the dumplings, make a bespoke filling and cook as potstickers, with a crispy underside and soft, steamed top. If pleating dumplings sounds too complicated, Naomi can show you a simple version that works just as well.
- Session 6: Naomi will demonstrate how to make fluffy French bread and gooey brownie cookies that you can enjoy with your afternoon tea.
- Time for an afternoon stroll in the woods
- Session 7: Next, we will make a buckwheat noodle dough and hand roll our own soba noodles before making a lovely broth and ramen bowl using seasonal veg, fermented pickles, seaweed and egg.
Supper time and we will all feast on Ramen bowls and dumplings
Early to bed or a little more Gin!
Sunday:
- Wake up to the sound of the birds and stroll over to the cabin for a continental breakfast
- Session 8: Stovetop breads are quick and simple to make. We’ll cover chapatis and sourdough crumpets that use up the discarded sourdough starter and reduce food waste.
- Gather for a delicious cooked vegetarian lunch
- Departure – time for goodbyes packed away with recipes, sourdough starters and loaves, a new understanding of gluten-free cookery and new friends.
Naomi will be available during the weekends’ sessions for questions and to share ideas.
Benefits
The weekend will leave you inspired to create your own delicious free-from bread, pasties and other dishes at home.
Prices
Treat yourself to a Gluten Free learning experience
€455 per person
Team
Naomi Devlin
I am a foodie, in love with the changing seasons that bring rhubarb in February, asparagus in May and plums in August, and I’m endlessly fascinated by the diverse flavours of food from around the world. I am not a trained chef and yet I have always cooked, devouring recipe books greedily as soon as I could read. From my teenage years in a rural commune, where I learnt to make great pots of spicy dal and bake show-stopping birthday cakes, to more recent holidays in Italy where the vegetables were so good they only needed a slick of olive oil to sing, cooking and eating have been at the centre of my life.
Food took on a different meaning for a while when I was diagnosed with coeliac disease, becoming a source of anxiety and often disappointment; restaurants were fraught with danger, and old favourites, like crusty bread, were off the menu. I could have sulked and pined for what I was missing, but I chose instead to embrace the new challenge and celebrate the wonderful things that I could still safely and joyfully eat. I learnt about the mysterious business of what goes on in the gut, and that what I eat, how I live and my emotional state all have a profound influence on my health.
Eating is such an integral part of our lives and an opportunity for each of us to comfort, delight and nourish, that I have made it my mission to help others discover how delicious it can be to take care of your gut. Whether you come on one of my courses, read one of my books or just pick up a few tips from this website, I wish you good health and a happy belly!
