Looking for a way to learn new skills with your children throughout 2016? South Devon's Manna from Devon Cooking School's family courses allow the whole family to get hands on with local, fresh food, transforming raw ingredients into a whole range of delicious dishes, in one of their four family cooking courses (£75pp).

When grappling with bored children, there is no better way to occupy their minds (and hands) than getting them involved in a Family Pasta cooking class. The whole family will learn to make pasta from scratch, getting messy in the process. The children will be rolling, kneading, cutting and filling their own pasta dough to create ravioli, tagliatelle and lasagne.  They will learn to make staple sauces that will give them a skill for life, including pesto, butternut squash and ricotta filling, homemade tomato sauce and a classic beef ragu.

Manna from Devon Cooking School is best known for their wood-fired oven classes, and now children can get involved cooking some wonderful, healthy dishes too. On their Family Wood-Fired Cooking you'll enjoy a fun filled, sociable day preparing, cooking and eating great summer dishes.  Based out on the deck overlooking the River Dart, your family will be collecting herbs, baking Pitta breads, making kebabs, stuffing peppers, roasting vegetables for lovely summery salads and lots more.   We'll even use the oven to bake a fruit pudding for lunch and pies to take home. All of these recipes and skills can be easily translated to cooking in a conventional oven at home.

Become a baker for the day at Manna from Devon's Family Bread course, baking flat breads, poppy seed plaits, sticky iced lemon buns and honey seeded roll. Although you will be munching on the amazing produce you make throughout the day, the children will take home both their breads and the confidence to try their hand at baking at home.

Making pastry is one of the kitchen's greatest pleasures but requires patience, skills and creativity, however, once mastered, it allows the baking of an infinite variety of great dishes. In Manna from Devon's Family Pastry class, you will learn to make short pastry for savoury mini pasties, sweet pastry for a tartlet and the reputable choux pastry, to make the delicious choux buns.

The family cooking days are for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and god-parents to bring along one or more children. The kids get to do as much of the preparation and cooking as they like with parents and instructors helping where necessary.  No experience on the part of either adults or children is necessary. Suitable for children aged 8 – 15 (Note: Children aged 13+ are welcome to attend any of Manna from Devon's courses).

Each course is limited to 8 places to allow for maximum participation. 1 Adult + 1 child £150. Additional children £75 each. Workshops start at 10am and finish between 3pm and 4pm. Manna from Devon can also run private classes and children's parties. 

Established in 2005, Manna from Devon Cooking School is run by Holly and David Jones who teach cooking skills to small groups in the relaxed environment of their Victorian home, positioned in an area of outstanding natural beauty in Kingswear, South Devon. The stylishly decorated, homely kitchen and the outdoors' decking overlook simply stunning views across the Dart estuary to Dartmouth.  In addition to the main kitchen, there is a second kitchen that is in the style of a bakery.  As always, Manna from Devon only use locally sourced ingredients, cooking recipes and dishes the owners have discovered during travels around Europe, Asia and the United States.

To book one of their Family Cooking Days please visit www.mannafromdevon.com, or call 01803 752943.  To hear their latest news follow Manna from Devon on Twitter (@mannafromdevon) or link up with them on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/mannafromdevon. 

ENDS

"Holly and David run a fabulous cookery school at Manna from Devon, both are extremely accomplished cooks and teachers. The bread course I did was fantastic and I learnt so much and it was great to be able to cook in such a relaxed location and enjoy the fruits of my labour over a wonderful lunch. I would definitely recommend a course at Manna from Devon which I would consider to be one of the best and most unique cookery schools in South Devon."

Mitch Tonks (June 2012)

Notes to editor:

1. Holly Jones studied at Leith's School of Food and Wine and is a chef with twenty years' experience.  She has written many articles and books, has appeared on UK television, trained chefs from many organisations, run cafés and restaurants and answered questions as resident chef on the BBC's Food website. Holly also served as an army officer for three years.
2. David Jones served as an officer in the Royal Navy followed by a decade as a management consultant.  Both careers took him all over the world, which is why he is now happy to have settled and re-trained as a baker and wood fired oven cooking expert.
3. Manna from Devon Cooking School is in Kingswear, South Devon just across the Dart estuary looking over to Dartmouth.
4. Manna from Devon has just refreshed its brand image.  The new logo reflects David and Holly's passion, warmth and enthusiasm as well as capturing the essence of their unique enterprise.
5. David and Holly's wood-fired ovens are from Dingley Dell Enterprises.

For further information, photography or an interview with David or Holly, please contact:

Hayley Reynolds at RAW PR and Marketing - hayley@rawprandmarketing.co.uk;

Tel: 07887 474 104

To book email info@mannafromdevon.com  or call 01803 752943