LAST UPDATED 09/09/2020
With the rules on groups tightening again, we’ll continue to run our small (socially distanced) class sizes and utilise our covered outside areas as much as possible. And we’ll continue to react to any future developments as required.
10/06/2020
We are aiming to open for socially distanced courses at some point in July, however this needs be done correctly, with safely of our students and tutors paramount. We have thought long and hard about the correct model. Although hygiene standards are already high we have decided on the following changes:
• The Maximum class number will halve to four students and will continue to conform to social distancing guidelines. This will allow for totally individual workstations, with 2 meters distance of other students.
• We will be adapting our covered outside dining area to include prep and cooking stations. In the first instance we will be running courses that can be delivered in this area.
• No sharing of equipment.
• If working inside the building, we will open the doors to let in lots of fresh air.
• Lunch will be taken outside. We have a large outdoor seating area, for warmer days the gentle breeze offers a pleasant relief from the heat of the kitchen, and for the colder days we can roll down the canvas sides and dish out blankets (and even hot water bottles).
• We will ask all students who use the toilet facilities to use the provided cleaning materials to clean all touched surfaces.
• As with all guidance we ask that you do not attend the course if you or a member of your household has been in contact with anyone with COVID-19 fourteen days prior to the course or is showing symptoms.
We welcome any suggestions from you about how to safely re open. We are all in this together and hopefully will see each other soon.
22/03/2020
I hope that this finds you and yours safe, healthy and well. These are unsettling times, and as such this post serves to update you on the current situation here at Philleigh Way.
Firstly, I need to let you know that we are suspending all cookery courses until further notice. If you are booked onto an upcoming course then if you haven’t heard from me already, I will be in touch very soon to make arrangements. This is not something that I would have ever expected to be doing, but the health and safety of our students and team is of the utmost importance to me and it’s the right thing to do for society as we all do what we can to reduce the spread of coronavirus. You can still book on to a course later in the year, and I aim to get courses back up and running and to be welcoming you back to Philleigh Way as soon as it is safe to do so.
Secondly, we want to help however we can. We are planning some free live online tutorials for skills such as basic bread baking on social media, and also looking into how we can offer pared-back versions of some courses using online conferencing tools. I also want to use my chef’s brain (and our larder and wholesale contacts) to help with menu planning for those of you who are at home for extended periods of time or to help you make the most of your store cupboard and cut back on food wastage – that’s the basis of our previous Foodie Blog article (click here).
At times like this cooking can be a wonderful way to spend some time at home, a welcome distraction and, above all else, a way to look after and show your love for your nearest and dearest, and your neighbours.
I hope that you and your families and friends stay safe and healthy.
Rupert & the team