Gluten-free Cooking for Kids

This weekend I was lucky enough to sit in on a course at Leith's School of Food and Wine, in London.  Much to my surprise, the tutor was  the lovely Max, who was my tutor when I did the diploma course at Leith's almost 14 years ago.  We had a delicious menu to work through and Max was fantastic.  She was so inspirational and her knowledge of food is truly awesome.  Nevertheless, she made the 4 hour course so enjoyable and we all came away feeling we had made really good friends.  It was an extremeley jolly atmosphere, with lots of photos being taken and lots of lively chatting.  In my group was Lou (short for Louise) and Jeff, who will both be  travelling to New Zealand to work in the wine industry and the kind and gorgeous Bids, an ex- banker whose  gorgeous eyelashes were the subject of much conversation. I must also mention Randa and Daniel a mother and son team who were great  fun and who I was lucky to sit next to during the pre-warm up coffee.  They were so enthusiastic and so full of life and energy.  It was wonderful to see a son and mother doing things together.  I am looking forward to Daniel opening a restaurant soon and sharing with us lots of delicious food from around the globe.

Anyway on the menu we had a delicious pear and Roquefort tart (I have been thinking hard on how I could find something to replace the puff pastry) which was so delicious.  It is true that simplicity is the key and this really is very simple but so effective.  Then we made baked cod with caramelized lentils and roasted cherry tomatoes.  Yum Yum and triple Yum.  I am not a great fish lover, but this is something I will definately be making at home and I know the children will really enjoy it.  And finally for pudding, we made a sparkling wine jelly.  Much of the sparkle had gone by the time we came to eat this, but it's one of those really easy puddings that lends itself to lots of different interpretations.  I am going to have another go tomorrow, using sparkling grape juice and if it works it will be going on the Halloween menu.  (which is coming soon, I promise, just putting the finishing touches and gettings some pictures together).

I've been putting the finishing touches on the menu I will be teaching at Leith's on the 10th of November.  I have a feeling that the course is now full, but do phone up and ask if they have a waiting list or perhaps whether or not they would consider running another course in the new year.  There are still some places on the Gluten Free Course at the Bertinet Kitchen in Bath and on the South American Fiesta which is suitable for gluten intolerance provided you let them know in advance so we can adjust the menu accordingly.  It would be wonderful to see you there!