Course overview

Discover how to make and cook with pastry on this pie making course with chef Tom Morrell from River Cottage.

Tom Morrell will teach you all the skills necessary to make a variety of savoury pastry recipes – including shortcrust, rough puff, hot water crust and suet. He'll then show you how to make a pork pie, bake sausage rolls, make pastry bases for quiches and tarts and make a classic British suet pastry for steamed or boiled puddings.

By the end of this course you will have gained the practical skills, knowledge and confidence to create homemade pies for any occasion.

You'll learn:

which pastry to use for different pies
how to make pork pies with hot waster pastry
making quick rough puff pastry for sausage rolls and cheese straws
blind baking with shortcrust pastry for tart cases
savoury and sweet steamed pudding recipes using suet pastry

The course includes:

4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Tom Morrell and River Cottage
lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
downloadable lesson notes
practical pastry and pie making assignments and recipes (with tutor feedback available)
access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

Independent Cookery Schools Association approved

This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.

Time to complete the pie making course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 15 hours 5 minutes to complete including:

Video lessons: 3 hours 5 minutes in total
Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
Your pastry and pie making recipe assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

Your lesson notes will include the full details of the ingredients you'll need, but you will be making pies and pastry, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Tom on your pie making.

If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Lesson summary

Hot water pastry

In this first lesson Tom will teach you how to perfect pork pie pastry. Get Tom’s tips for working with this pastry, and practise what you’ve learned with the creation of the ultimate River Cottage pork pie.

Rough puff pastry

A common misconception is that puff pastry is tricky to work with. In this lesson Tom will teach you otherwise and show you how puff pastry can be as easy to cook with as, well, pie! By following a few simple guidelines you can have perfect puff pastry every time, and by the end of this lesson you will have created sausage rolls, cheese straws and a cheese, potato and basil tart.

Shortcrust

Shortcrust pastry can be great for both savoury and sweet dishes. Follow Tom’s method and learn the art of blind baking and sealing. By the end of this lesson you will have created tart cases, an indulgent veggie roast onion and blue cheese quiche.

Suet pastry

Suet pastry is a good, old-fashioned British pastry used for steamed or boiled, sweet and savoury puddings. Learn how to work with this versatile pastry, and put your skills to the test with the ultimate comfort food – steamed suet pudding.

Choose how you want to learn

Expert-level

Develop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition:

Start the course whenever you like
Tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
Certificate of completion and CPD learning hours
Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
Lessons with expert videos & notes
Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

Peer-level

Get the most from shared knowledge and community study:

Start course whenever you like
Practise what you learn with your peers
Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
Lessons with videos & notes
Course assignments
Group chat & direct message classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

meet the expert

Gelf Alderson

River Cottage Culinary Director pioneering farm-to-fork ethos, passionate sustainability ambassador.

Why choose Learning with Experts?

Start whenever it suits you, and immerse yourself in motivational lesson tutorials with expert guidance.

Enhance your learning and personal growth with lesson assignments. Each course includes an optional assignment at the end of every lesson.

Drop a friendly message or respond to your assignment feedback. Our world-class experts are just a click away, ready to help you!

Stay informed about your own progress and those of your peers, and take joy in celebrating achievements along the way.

Chat and share ideas with passionate communities of learners from around the world.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between PEER and EXPERT options?

At Peer and Expert level, you get access to the same core content and features:

Video lesson tutorials led by your expert tutor
Downloadable lesson notes
Option to practise what you learn with lesson assignments
Group learning within an online interactive classroom of up to 20 classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes and classroom

If you choose Expert level, you get all of the above plus the following:

Personalised assignment feedback and coaching from your expert tutor
Opportunity to interact with your expert tutor through a private messaging system
Certificate of completion.

What is an online classroom?

Our online classroom has been developed to allow you to learn from our experts in a sociable environment alongside up to 20 other students. After each video tutorial led by your expert, you will be encouraged to practice what you have learned with optional assignments - these can be seen by the other students in your class, who are free to share their own thoughts and questions with you.

You will be encouraged to take part in an ongoing class discussion where you can discuss ideas, post images or work, and comment on each other’s assignments. It’s a great way to learn from other like-minded people who share your passion from all over the world.

This means not only do you benefit from people who are outstanding in their field, but also from a close-knit group of like-minded people whom you can learn alongside. Group learning has shown to greatly improve not just the experience of studying, but also how well you retain the knowledge, and we have built our classroom experience around this fact.

When can I start my course and how long will it take?

You can start your course any time within 12 months after receipt of your purchase confirmation email. Once you start, you’ll have lifetime access — meaning you can revisit the lesson videos and notes whenever you want.

Our courses are designed so that you can study at your own pace, some prefer to binge learn while others like to spread their studying over a longer period of time - it’s completely up to you. To give you a rough time frame, each lesson video is approximately 30-40 minutes long, and we recommend that you spend around an hour on each assignment.

How often can I speak with the Expert?

If you opt for the Expert version of your course, the time you have to interact with your tutor is limited to course length. You will have one week per lesson to chat to your tutor and to have your assignments marked, and during this period you can ask them as many questions as you would like.

To find out the length of each course, head to the product page and look at the Course outline to see how many lessons it contains. e.g. a four lesson course assumes that you will have completed the assignments within four weeks.

Your tutor interaction period will start as soon as you enter the classroom. If you find that you are struggling to complete the assignments in the allocated time or you wish to put this function on hold, just get in contact with one of the team via the support button and we will help you out.

Support and full FAQs

If you need any help with a course, be it one you’ve started already, or one you are looking to purchase, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support email address, or view the full FAQ’s here.

You can also use the orange speech bubble on your page to start a conversation with us.

For privacy or data questions, please contact us here.

The Pie Shop