Eat Well To Feel Well
Nancy is passionate about food; how we eat, what we eat, when we eat, why we eat and crucially, where what we eat comes from. In short, Nancy loves locally produced food that not only tastes fantastic and is healthy but is also environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially just.
Her simple back-to-basics approach is about eating foods that people living 100 years ago would recognise.
Nancy’s cookery demonstrations are available to book below
Basic Student Cooking For Uni
Two-day intensive introductory course for up to 6 students. This course is priced at £300 for both days. You are welcome to stay at the house if you are travelling to us. Accommodation charged separately.
A two-day course aimed at students over the age of 18. This short course is designed to get students cooking good healthy meals with confidence. The course covers many of the basics, including food hygiene, knife skills, family favourites, batch cooking and several quick and easy nutritious meals.
We believe that if you eat well, you feel well and as your son or daughter ventures out into the world we believe they will find that cooking is a vital life skill to help them stay fit, healthy and positive.
The day runs from 10am – 4pm and will include lots of hands-on practice to give them the confidence to cook meals from scratch. There will be plenty to eat and some food to take home too.
Upcoming dates:
None currently scheduled - check back soon for 2026 dates
Additional/private sessions are available on request, please get in touch to discuss this with us.
Teen Cookery Morning
Fun filled morning of cooking and eating aimed at ages 12 and up. Maximum 8 people per session, priced at £55 per head.
A lovely morning teaching your teens how to prepare and cook, delicious well balanced meals. They'll learn how to navigate the kitchen safely and get lots of hands on experience.
The morning runs from 10am – 1pm and concludes by enjoying the lunch they have prepared themselves. As always, there should be plenty of leftovers to take home and share with the family.
Upcoming dates:
2026 dates yet to be scheduled - please check back soon.
Additional/private sessions are available on request, please get in touch to discuss this with us.
Stuck in a Rut Cookery Demonstration
Half day course. Maximum 12 people per session, priced at £65 per head.
A half day course aimed at people who can cook but would love some inspiration for feeding themselves and family well. Courses run from 10am - 1pm and you can enjoy Nancy showing you some fresh ideas.
The course can be tailored around the groups needs……a quick curry, a good casserole, crowd pleasing pudding.... those go to recipes that need updating.
Upcoming dates:
None currently scheduled
Sessions are available on request, please get in touch to discuss this with us.
Seasonal Cooking for All
A cooking session for all abilities designed to reignite your joy for cooking and learn basic techniques. Maximum 12 people per class. Priced at £65 per head for a 3 hour session.
If you're a seasoned cook who's stuck in a rut and looking for inspiration or a complete kitchen novice these small friendly demos are designed to make cooking accessible to all.
The classes run from 10am – 1pm or 6:30pm - 9:30pm and include lots of samples of all the food Nancy creates, a complimentary drink on arrival and a recipe booklet to take away.
Upcoming dates:
Tuesday 18th November 6:30pm - 9:30pm Christmas Entertaining - FULLY BOOKED
Friday 21st November 10am - 1pm Christmas Entertaining
Wednesday 26th November 6:30pm - 9:30pm Christmas Entertaining - FULLY BOOKED
Tuesday 2nd December 6:30pm - 9:30pm Christmas Entertaining
Additional/private sessions are available on request, please get in touch to discuss this with us.
Perimenopause/Menopause
A one-day workshop looking at health and nutrition during the perimenopause/menopause phase of life. Maximum 8 people per session charged at £85 per head.
The day will focus will on how nutrition can help us as we move through this phase in our life, with lots of practical food recommendations. You will learn how to add key nutrients into your everyday family food/recipes so that the food you eat will help you to feel well. The day includes a cookery demonstration of delicious meals that support women’s health at the same time as being good family crowd pleasers.
Workshop runs from 10am – 1pm and finishes with a delicious buffet lunch of all the food prepared during the day.
Upcoming dates:
None currently scheduled
Please get in touch to discuss arranging a session.
Booking
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Cook Book
Nancy’s highly popular first cook book, “Cooking In Chaos” is still available for £17.50 (plus postage). Containing all the most popular recipes that Nancy has cooked for guests over the years. Nancy is working on a highly anticipated second cook book which will be available next year.
New Book Coming Soon
Oat Rolled Flapjacks
Wiltshire Chicken with Lemons, Garlic and Overtown Rosemary
Homegrown Elderflower Cordial
Overtown Granola
Wild Blackberry and Apple Crumble Cake
Oat Rolled Flapjacks
Wiltshire Chicken with Lemons, Garlic and Overtown Rosemary
Homegrown Elderflower Cordial
Overtown Granola
Wild Blackberry and Apple Crumble Cake
Oat Rolled Flapjacks
225g butter
225g demerara sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
275g oats or jumbo oats
- Pre heat the oven to 180°C. Line a 33 x 25 cm baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Melt the butter with the sugar and syrup in a saucepan and let it bubble gently until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Take off the heat and stir in the oats. Mix well and pour into the prepared tin.
- Bake in the oven for 8 – 10 minutes or until golden brown. They will be soft when they come out of the oven and firm as they cool. Try not to over bake or the flapjacks will be too crunchy.
- Once out of the oven leave to cool for 10 minutes. Cut into 24 squares while still warm and leave to cool completely in the tin.
Wiltshire Chicken with Lemons, Garlic and Overtown Rosemary
1 lemon – juice and grated zest
50g butter
3tbsp clear honey
2 crushed garlic cloves
4 sprigs rosemary or thyme – roughly chopped
8 chicken thighs or drumsticks
- Heat the oven to 190°C.
- Melt butter, lemon juice and zest, honey and garlic in a saucepan and pour over chicken pieces in an oven proof dish and sprinkle with rosemary sprigs.
- Put the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes and check it is cooked before serving.
- Serve with crusty white bread and salad for lunch.
Note: You can add 500g mini new potatoes to the raw chicken and cook as above in the roasting tin and serve with seasonal vegetables.
Homegrown Elderflower Cordial
30 elderflower heads
1.7 litres boiling water
1kg caster sugar
50g citric acid (available from chemists)
2 lemons, sliced
- Gently shake the elderflowers to remove any dirt or little creatures.
- Pour the boiling water over the sugar in a very large mixing bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved, leave to cool.
- Add the citric acid, lemon slices, and then the flowers.
- Leave in a cool place overnight or a couple of days, stirring occasionally.
- Strain through some muslin and transfer to sterilised bottles and store in the fridge.
Notes: You can freeze this cordial in plastic bottles for up to three months.
Overtown Granola
Dry mix:
300g rolled oats
360g bag supermarket
mixed dried fruit and nuts
OR a 140g mix of almonds, brazil nuts, cashews and a 220g mix of dried apricots, dried cranberries, and dried blueberries
120g mixed seeds
(sunflower, pumpkin, linseed)
Syrup:
¼ tsp salt
45ml water
30ml rapeseed oil
30ml sunflower oil
100ml maple syrup
100ml honey
- Preheat the oven to 140°C. Mix together all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Place over a low heat and stir.
- Put all the dry mix ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour the warm syrup over the seeds, nuts, dried fruit and oats and stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and spread the granola over it evenly. It should form a layer no more than 1cm thick. If it is too thick consider using two trays. Bake for 40 minutes, turning and mixing the granola 2 or 3 times. When it is ready, it will have taken on a dark, honey-like colour. Don’t worry if it is soft, it will turn crunchy once it is cool. Leave to cool completely then transfer to an airtight container. It will keep perfectly for up to two weeks.
Wild Blackberry and Apple Crumble Cake
For the crumble:
125g plain flour
4 tbsp caster, granulated, demerara
or dark brown sugar
90g butter
Fruit:
2 sliced apples
250g blackberries
For the cake:
175g butter, softened
175g caster or granulated sugar
3 eggs
175g SR flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk
- Heat the oven to 190ºC. Butter a 24cm spring form cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
- For the crumble, place the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Or, stir the flour and sugar together and cut the butter into the flour mixture using 2 knives.
- Beat the cake ingredients together in a bowl.
- Spread the cake mixture evenly over the base of the buttered cake tin, pile over the sliced apple and blackberries and sprinkle with the crumble. Bake in the oven until the apple is soft, the crumble is golden brown and the sides of the cake have shrunken away from the tin, about 1 hour.
- Place on a wire rack and let it cool in its tin for 15 minutes. You can serve it warm as a pudding, or leave it to cool completely and serve cold as a tea-time treat. Either way, thick cream or ice cream is a must.