Chanstone Court Farm in Hereford

Learn to bake classic yeasted and sourdough breads, how to bake under the bell and even how to set up a mini-bakery in your own home!
Cost: £295 per person, including all tuition*, great food and wine, and two nights very comfortable accommodation. Non-baking partners and friends are very welcome (£100 per person all inc.). Non-residential rate: £100 per person per day, including lunch.

This is a really exceptional opportunity to follow all the Love Loaves Workshops in one weekend! That’s the Classic Yeasted Workshop, the Sourdough Session, baking under the bell and the Mini Bakery Blueprint* – if you booked all these separately the cost would come to £550, so the saving on tuition alone is considerable. There are eight places available, and plenty of lovely walks and local pubs for non-bakers to enjoy! It’s like a casual country house party with a serious baking theme, and suitable even for those who’ve never baked before.

Programme:

Friday : Arrival at Chanstone Court 6pm-7pm for welcome drinks, when you will meet the bakers Penny and Dragan, your hosts Ellie and David Parker, and your fellow guests then enjoy a delicious supper with wine, using fresh local produce.

Saturday : Classic Love Loaves Workshop followed by Mini-bakery Blueprint Session. We will then toast your successes over candle-lit dinner by the fire…

Sunday: Up early (-ish) to start the Sourdough Session. Dragan will be demonstrating the Croatian art of baking under the bell, either by the lake (weather permitting) or in the fireplace. A guided walk in Chanstone’s Ancient Woodlands is also available for those who want to stretch their legs.

Departure: With your arms full of beautiful breads, you’ll be on the road by 4pm and hopefully miss the traffic on the way home.

Information:

Chanstone Court is a beautiful Georgian farmhouse in Herefordshire’s Golden Valley. It has been in the Parker family for generations, and remains a working farm today. The setting is outstanding: Chanstone’s Ancient Woodlands are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, expertly managed by forester and farmer, David Parker. The lovely grounds are managed by his wife Ellie,a theatre director and former restaurateur, whose wonderful walled vegetable garden feeds a constant stream of house guests. Daughter Tilly Parker is now running a flock of three hundred sheep on the fields in which she grew up.
Accommodation is in Ellie and David’s family home. Two double rooms and two twins are available, each completely individual, and all equally comfortable.  Single guests will have their own room.Two bathrooms are on the first floor and there’s a shower room/loo on the ground floor; you won’t find any ‘toiletry baskets’ but you will find blissfully clean sheets and towels, masses of hot water from Chanstone’s own well, blazing log fires and a library of books stacked all over the place.
If you are arriving by train or coach in Hereford, we can collect you from the appropriate station. It’s a good idea to bring a camera, some wellies, comfortable clothes and an apron!
The emphasis will be on great bread, good fun and a kind of laid-back, bohemian chic, with plenty of furry (and feathery) friends milling about … we look forward to seeing you there!

Cost: £295 per person for full course or £100 per person for non-bakers. Non-residential rate: £100 per person per day, including lunch.

NOTE: Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the January weekend due to events outside all our control, but we are hoping to run another one later in the spring.  If you would like to email to register your interest, we will put you on our Chanstone mailing list.  Thank you!

Please email us on bakers@loveloaves.biz including a contact telephone number, and we’ll take it from there.

Photos of Chanstone Court Farm by Tilly Parker