Gelf Alderson

Spice it Up!

£150.00
£150.00
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River Cottage Executive Chef Gelf Alderson teaches you how to cook with spices from around the world — building layers of flavour to enhance and complement meat, fish and vegetables.

Each lesson focuses on a different application: making your own curry powder and paste, marinating and spicing meat (including a River Cottage classic "Tupperware chorizo" and a tagine), cooking with spices on fish, and using spices with veg and salads.

The course includes 4 on-demand video lessons, lifetime access, downloadable notes, practical assignments, and a small interactive online classroom. A pestle and mortar and a good selection of spices are recommended. Approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA).

Chef Gelf Alderson teaches you how to cook with spices from around the world. Gelf will demonstrate how to build flavours with spices and how they can be used to enhance and compliment meat, fish and vegetables.

In each lesson you will learn how to use different spices and new techniques beginning with making your own curry powder in lesson one, how to marinade and spice your meat to perfection in lesson two, fish in lesson three and finally veg in lesson four.

You'll learn:

  • how to make your own curry powder and paste
  • spices to use for meat - including a River Cottage classic "Tupperware chorizo" and a tagine
  • how to use spices on fish
  • using spices with veg including salads

The course includes:

  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Gelf Alderson 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 spiced food 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 cooking with spices course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 30 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours 30 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your gut health 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 spied food, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment including knives, pestle and mortar, a selection of sauce pans, access to a plentiful array of spices.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Gelf on your spicy 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.

Learn how to create your own curry powder and a paste of garlic, onion and ginger - the building blocks of all great curries. Gelf will show you how to use these ingredients to make a curry, and a dhal made with English yellow split peas. You’ll also learn to make naan bread to enjoy alongside your curry.
In this lesson Gelf will demonstrate how to create a marinade for a shoulder of goat, which after it has marinated for 24 hours, will be used in a traditional tagine recipe. Next you will learn a simple salt and chilli marinade for a spatchcock chicken.And to finish the lesson, Gelf will teach you a classic River Cottage recipe ‘Tupperware Chorizo’, a great way to make your meat go further.
In this third lesson, Gelf will share techniques and spiced fish recipes from around the world. You will learn how to combine spices with vinegar to make a Spanish style escabeche and a slow-cooked Japanese-style mackerel dish. And you’ll finish the lesson by learning how to cook a spiced see bass over coals.
In the final lesson Gelf will show you how to combine spices and vegetables to create tasty and exciting veggie dishes. You will start by learning how to use chilli to transform simple salads next up will be a River Cottage favourite - merguez roasted cauliflower. The lesson will conclude with Gelf sharing his recipe for “satay” greens with pears and goats cheese
Learning options

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Expert
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A guided learning experience with expert support, feedback and recognised outcomes.

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Peer
£95.00

Learn alongside others with a collaborative, flexible learning experience.

  • On-demand Lessons Videos & Notes
  • Collaborative Classroom Chat
  • Message Classmates Directly
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  • Lifetime Access
COURSE TUTOR

Gelf Alderson

Gelf Alderson is the Culinary Director at River Cottage having worked alongside Hugh F-W for nearly ten years. Gelf is a dedicated ambassador of the River Cottage commitment to sustainability. He was one of the early pioneers of the farm to fork philosophy and is passionate about using food that is farmed locally, sourced from the River Cottage kitchen garden, or foraged from the surrounding area.

Gelf is able to communicate the importance of sustainable eating in a simple, practical and down to earth way. He is both engaging and charismatic and leaves people with a clear understanding and heads full of ideas to implement at home.

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Reviews

What Learners Say

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5.00

“It is extremely beneficial to have feedback on your own understanding of the topics and to have input on the detail required in an answer. Learning with Experts has been a really good experience.”

Bronwyn
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“Outstanding content - I have gone back into the course videos many times and had many hours worth of incredible insight even before doing the assignments, which have forced me to really think about the experts' guidance.”

David
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“The course has given me lots of tips and ideas. It was helpful being able to speak to others in the class about assignments and the feedback from the expert was very inspiring and has given me the confidence to try new things in my own garden.”

Helen
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“I would not hesitate to recommend Learning with Experts for the RHS Level 2 Certificate. They provided thorough, comprehensive study materials alongside each individual video lesson presented by highly regarded experts in the field of horticulture, who are also engaging communicators."

Amanda
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Our online classroom is designed to help you learn from experts in a collaborative, social environment alongside a small group of learners.

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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.

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