Gill Meller
Next Level Wood-Fired Cooking
- Regular price
- £135.00
- Sale price
- £135.00
- Regular price
-
Tax included.
Expert outdoor chef, and River Cottage tutor Gill Meller show you how to cook over fire - this course goes far beyond a BBQ cooking course!
Gill will teach you how to cook fresh fish on the beach, how to create and cook meat using a spit and inspire you with new recipes for cooking wood-fired veg. You'll also learn how to build a wood fire, cook with fire safely and how to extinguish a fire once you've finished cooking.
Fish recipes include scallops cooked in their shells, smoked fish cooked using a wooden plank on the beach, clay baked trout with lemon and dill. Gill then demonstrates vegetable recipes including a favourite brunch dish - mushrooms with sage and fried eggs and how to char brassicas to make the most of their wood-fired flavours.
The final lessons will teach you how to go the whole hog (roast). Gill will show you how to create your own wood-fire spit, guiding you through the entire process, from cooking over fire, right through to carving and having a celebratory hog roast party.
You'll learn:
- how to build a fire
- how to cook vegetables, fish and meat over a fire
- using a spit to cook meat
- how to control your fire and cook safely
The course includes:
- 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Gill Meller 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 cooking over fire 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 wood-fired cooking course:
Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 13 hours 40 minutes to complete including:
- Video lessons: 1 hour 40 minutes in total
- Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
- Your cooking over a fire 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 a fire, and using a fire to cook fish, veg and meat, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment, a suitable location for your fire and wood to get your fire started.
Ready to get started?
Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Gill on your wood-fired assignments.
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.
Lessons
What You’ll Learn
Explore the lessons and topics covered across the course.
In the first lesson, he goes the source, cooking freshly caught fish on the beach.
He’ll show you how to prepare the fish on a wooden plank for smoking over an open fire.
He’ll then show you how to cook scallops in their shell to keep all their glorious juices in place as they steam in butter and soak in subtle hints of wood smoke.
He’ll also show you how to use clay for baking bream with lemon and dill.
In this lesson, Gill celebrates veg and its amazing ability to lap up flavours when cooked over an open fire.
He’ll whip up one of his favourite brunch dishes, a simple yet stunning Mushrooms with Sage and Fried Eggs.
He then turns to brassicas which transform in flavour when cooked over a fire, caramelising all of their natural sugars.
He’ll share his Grilled Cabbage with Caraway and Garlic Butter before diving into cooking roots and fruits over the fire, showing you how to Grilled Jerusalem Artichokes with Tahini Yogurt and Grilled Pears in Honey with cinnamon and vanilla mascarpone.
The final lessons will teach you how to go the whole hog. Gill will show you how to create your own spit, guiding you through the entire process.
He’ll show you what you need, how it works, everything you need to get set up, what wood to use and how to light the fire.
Spit-roasting differs from other forms of open-fire cooking in that, as the food is turned on the spit, it is exposed to a burst of intense heat from the fire, followed by a much cooler interval as it is turned away again.
In addition, as the meat revolves on the spit, fat and juices are directed back inside it, rather than dripping out, so the meat is effectively self-basting.
This lesson dives into the actual cooking and celebratory potential. You’ll be sold on spit-roasting once you’ve seen this lesson.
Learning options
Choose How You Want to Learn
Recommended
Expert
£135.00
A guided learning experience with expert support, feedback and recognised outcomes.
Peer
£45.00
Learn alongside others with a collaborative, flexible learning experience.
COURSE TUTOR
Gill Meller
SUCCESS
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Common Questions
Answers to the most common questions about learning with us.
Our online classroom is designed to help you learn from experts in a collaborative, social environment alongside a small group of learners.
Each lesson combines expert-led videos with optional assignments, giving you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned and share your work with others. You can take part in ongoing discussions, ask questions, exchange feedback, and learn from a community of like-minded people from around the world.
By learning together in a small, supportive group, you benefit not only from expert guidance but also from shared ideas, perspectives, and experiences—helping you stay engaged and retain what you learn.
You can start your course at any time within 12 months of purchase. Once you begin, you’ll have lifetime access, so you can revisit lesson videos and notes whenever you like.
Courses are designed to fit around your schedule, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Each lesson video is typically 30–40 minutes, and we recommend around an hour for each assignment.
Both Peer and Expert options give you full access to the course content, including lesson videos, downloadable notes, assignments, and a collaborative online classroom with up to 20 learners. You’ll also have lifetime access to revisit the material at any time.
The Expert option includes everything in Peer, plus personalised assignment feedback, direct messaging with your expert tutor, and a certificate of completion.
With the Expert option, you can interact directly with your tutor throughout the course. You’ll typically have one week per lesson to ask questions and receive feedback on your assignments, with as much interaction as you need during that time.
Your tutor access begins when you enter the classroom and follows the course schedule (for example, a four-lesson course usually runs over four weeks). If you need more time or support, our team is here to help.