Learn How to Cook and Preserve Herbs in Jekka’s Herb Kitchen Master Class
Discover how to bring the flavour, fragrance, and benefits of herbs into your kitchen and home in this inspiring, hands-on full-day Master Class at Jekka’s. Herbs have been used for food and medicine since records began. Yet in the last century, much of that traditional knowledge has been lost. This master class will teach you which part of the plant to use, how much to use, and when to harvest for the best flavour and effect. In this master class, Jekka and Alistair will help you rediscover this wisdom, blending the historical uses of herbs with practical, modern techniques.
Morning: The Flavours of Herbs & Cooking Together
The day begins with a guided lecture and tasting session, exploring the many tastes, aromas, and uses of herbs. You’ll learn how different herbs enhance food, not only adding depth and flavour but also supporting digestion and wellbeing, echoing Hippocrates’ timeless advice: “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”
You’ll then head into the kitchen to prepare a light, herb-based lunch together. Jekka and Alistair will demonstrate a variety of techniques for cooking with herbs, from subtle infusions to bold flavour pairings, showing you how to turn a simple meal into a feast.
Afternoon: From Herbetum to Preservation
After lunch, enjoy a guided tour of Jekka’s Herbetum to see how herbs are grown and to discover which parts of the plant are best for culinary and medicinal use. The day concludes with a practical session on preserving herbs that includes making herbal vinegars and shrubs allowing you to capture their freshness and flavour to enjoy throughout the year.
By the end of the day, you’ll leave with a new confidence in using herbs in your cooking and home, an understanding of their many benefits, and a deeper connection to the plants themselves; the very essence of Jekka’s lifelong passion.
Reviews:
"Inspirational day, both cooking & gardening. Lovely, enthusiastic & approachable people."
"This has given me the courage to use and grow a wider range of herbs and make them intrinsic to my life."
“Brilliant learning atmosphere. Relaxed and just generally fabulous!”
“I loved the food: I have been inspired to cook and create with herbs.”
For more information about our Master Classes, as well as potential accommodation options, please see this page.
At Jekka’s we aim to provide a variety of master classes to suit everyone from the amateur to the enthusiast. Our master classes are very hands on and cover a variety of disciplines from art and food to horticulture.
You can purchase a gift voucher for our master classes and we have both illustrated gift vouchers and digital gift vouchers available.
Jekka's gift vouchers allow the recipient to pick a class of their choosing from a range of different topics. As a gift voucher holder they will be informed of the new class dates before we publish online to ensure that they have a place on the next available class of their choosing.
Gift vouchers can also be used to purchase seeds, plants and gifts from the online shop or during our open days.
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