An Irish Springtime Tea at Granny's with Cherie Denham

Taught by Cherie Denham of Flavor Passion from her Hampshire Kitchen, in the United Kingdom, hosted by Six Dutchess Farm.

All the best teatime gatherings involve homemade treats and lots of great stories. Here is Cherie's story about the idea behind this class and the roots of her earliest food memories.

"Almost every Sunday afternoon we would travel 30 miles from our farm in County Tyrone to my Granny and Granda’s farm in County Armagh for a visit.  On the way there, we would sing along to Country & Western Classics, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride and, of course, Elvis would be in the mix too. We were in fine form when we arrived at Granny & Granda’s. We’d walk in through the back door, and I remember standing there to take in the beautiful homely smells that were so welcoming. There would be bread, cake, tarts, jams, all homemade and ready to have for our tea later in that evening. The fire was always lit, even in summer the fire was lit. Granny’s fire was stacked with turf which Granda had cut from the bog and the smell was like nothing ordinary.  It was homely, warming and comforting. Years before, Granny had baked over her turf fire, but then she got a gas oven. Later she got an electric oven but couldn’t get along with it at all, so she fired up her old gas oven in one of her outhouses and baked with it again. As tea time came around, the excitement mounted because we absolutely knew that every mouthful would be full of flavour and make us happy. This is where I first tasted mature cheddar cheese and homemade jam on bread. There was something so exciting and beautifully odd about that sweet and savoury togetherness. I still love it to this day! The fruit Granny used for her cakes and jams was always from her own garden and so with every season came different treats. During the winter months when there wasn’t much growing on the farm, Granny made lemon curd, oh it was delicious, tangy, zingy and sweet.  Granny’s scones were made with buttermilk and were soft as clouds; the spotted dog, full of fruit and slathered with homemade butter. Cakes were either chocolate or coffee, but when the odd fruit cake was made, it was always delightful. Meringues came along in later years when I started baking, and I now I make them as part of my family’s teatime treats. We always have them with raspberries to remind me of Granny’s fruit cage – where we often tried to sneak into. Honestly, memories linked to food and family are my favourite memories!"

For this class, Cherie will take us back to her Granny and Grandad's farm and share some of her favorite treasured Irish recipes, and add some new ones to the mix too!

Here is our menu for the class:

Irish Buttermilk Scones with Homemade Lemon Curd and Fresh Clotted Cream

Spotted Dog Irish Soda Bread with Mature Cheddar Cheese and Rhubarb Jam

Rhubarb Cake with Seville Orange Glaze

White Chocolate Meringues with Rhubarb-Orange Compote