Le Manoir x The White Company festive cookery day.

If you had to pick two brands who encapsulate Christmas cheer and merriment and blended them together for the day, you couldn’t have better stable mates than the gorgeously gastronomic Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and purveyors of all things perfectly festive The White Company. And so it was on a fittingly frosty morning last week a group of intrepid bloggers were invited to head to the hallowed cookery school kitchen to learn a thing or two about putting a delicious seasonal menu together.

On arrival, we were immediately transported into a magical Holiday atmos thanks to The White Company elves who had been tirelessly toiling to decorate our base for the day.

After a fortifying cuppa and croissant or two, we were then whisked off on a garden tour. The garden at Belmond Le Manoir Quat’Saison is no ordinary garden. Our tour guide, head gardener Anne Marie Owens talked us through the whole farm to table system. It works as a two-way street either with the gardening team cultivating new and interesting ingredients and sharing them with the Chefs or vice versa with the Chefs asking for certain ingredients to be grown… all under the watchful eye of Michelin-star chef Raymond Blanc.

From there we headed back into the Chef’s kitchen for our workshop with Mark Peregrine, Head Tutor of the Raymond Blanc Cookery School. He broke us in gently with a glass of fizz and some gorgeous canapes, before whisking us through some easier than you think recipes which I think I might well be able to recreate this Christmas.

I met up with some lovely bloggers along the way. Some I’d met before at other The White Company events – the Wear & Where gals way back this time last year at a fun calligraphy event… you can catch up with that post here. My cooking partner was the lovely French photographer Carole Poirot who I’d last compared camera lens tips with at another summer event. While it was also fab to meet lovely Amanda from The Online Stylist, Kathryn from Kat Got The Cream and Poppy from Poppy Loves in the flesh too (as opposed to simply blabbering to them online). These ladies are definitely worth stalking when you have a mo.

Bloggers be blogging…

For the recipes which we had a crack at check out this foodie post here.

I hadn’t realised Le Manoir did quite so many courses. I’m definitely tempted to head back or keep it in mind for a special birthday gift for someone. To find out more about the Raymond Blanc Cookery School and packages at Le Manoir click here.

As for Christmas, I’m just beginning to get my head around thoughts on table deccies, so it was great to see what The White Company have on offer for inspo… for more click here. To recreate some of the styling ideas they used on the day click the images below.

With huge thanks to both Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saison and The White Company for a fantabulous day.