Art of the Tart Course

This is a one off collaboration with New Cross Farmhouse. This special tart course is a celebration of Tamasin Day-Lewis’ book The Art of the Tart. Miranda grew up as chief taster and baker while this book was being written by her mother The Queen of tarts. From this book forth, Miranda (obviously the knave) developed a fascination with and passion for making tarts.

When Carol and Miranda met as pastry chefs, Carol was the only chef in the kitchen that could pull off a tart that tasted as good as the tarts she remembered eating for her mother’s book.

Carol is the best pastry maker in town. She makes pastry making look easy and our guests go home realising that it is a simple as it looks. We teach our guests how to make a simple short crust to start. Then we move to the sweet pastry or Pate Sucree which is a little harder to work with. Then we dig deep and push our guests to brave a sandy pastry or pate sucree which is harder to work with but the best pastry of the lot and Miranda’s all-time favourite.

We also teach Dan Lepard’s rough spelt puff pastry which makes the most scrumptious sausage or spiced vegetable rolls. This is Carol’s most recent revelation. We are always challenging ourselves to make new things too.

Then we move on to a hot crust pastry and use up the rest of our piggy or veggie filling in a pie. You will of course get to enjoy these delights for lunch.

Our tart fillings are seasonal and range from smoked haddock and watercress, to a leek flamiche, wild mushroom and red onion or a sweetcorn and spring onion tart, to name a few. The puff pastry is a delight in the summer when making the Goat’s Camembert, Tomato and Herb tart. It also makes delicious individual tomato, herb and prosciutto tarts.

We teach you how to make a frangipani filling with the sweet pastry and a Tarte Aux Citron with the sandy pastry. If we are mid-summer you might make a Tarte Aux Fraises with crème pâtissier, or Simon Hopkinson’s Chocolate tart, which is just off the charts. Whatever tarts you get to make, it is a fun-packed, hand-on day with a rolling pin and pinny and we think it’s a rather fabulous course.

Start time: 10am

Finish time: 3pm

Course time: 4 – 5 hours

Lunch included

Price: £185

Course limited to 6 people