Please can you tell us a little bit about your culinary background and your current work at Lainston House?

I’ve always been into cooking and this was an obvious choice of career path for me when I was young. I had studied and worked in France before I decided to move to the UK nearly 10 years ago to improve my English. I’ve been at Lainston House for just 9 years now; I started as demi-chef de partie and finished as Sous-chef in the main kitchen. Three years ago I took the cookery school into a new a project stage and now manage the Lainston House cookery school on a daily basis.

What are you working on at Season this year?

We are constantly working on developing on-trend new courses for the public but also for corporate clients or private events. This year we are working a lot on incorporating the kitchen garden into most of our course. We are developing courses as part of which people will go to the garden to plant their own seeds and using these products to create some amazing dishes in our kitchen...

At Season, you share a close relationship with Le Creuset and use much of the brand’s range in the kitchen. What are some of your earliest memories of cooking with Le Creuset?

My parents have a very old (over 35 years) Le Creuset casserole which I always enjoyed using when I was younger—anything always tastes better cooked in a casserole for hours! [post_card id="1"]

Why do you use Le Creuset’s products over other cookware brands?

Le Creuset is an amazing brand, not only because it’s French, but the quality and durability is incredible. Everyone knows the brand well and the different colours and shape are so attractive. What’s more, the colours and shapes of Le Creuset’s products help inspire your brain for developing some incredible dishes.

This season, the Le Creuset Nature’s Kitchen campaign highlights the importance of cooking seasonally and sourcing local ingredients for flavour, goodness and sustainability. How does this message resonate with your work at Season?

As I mentioned earlier we have our own kitchen garden here at Season and love taking our guests outside to pick something we will use during the course. It is not always possible to have everything available and in large quantities, but even simply picking fresh herbs from the garden helps transform the dish.

Here at The Hut, we love the versatility of Le Creuset’s cookware and we are always amazed at how much you can do with any single product from the range. Are there any recipes you were surprised to learn you could do in a Le Creuset product?

I am always amazed at what you can do with the products, many of which I didn’t know before working very closely with the team from Le Creuset here at Lainston House. There are many great examples, but let’s focus on only a few of them: firstly, the lid of a Le Creuset casserole dish can be used as cake stand; another example is that the lid from the Shallow Casserole is amazing to make a quiche or even a cheesecake; and finally, you can even cook a nice crusty bread in the round casserole.

What seasonal dishes will you be cooking with Le Creuset this spring?

We have so many different courses than isn’t easy to pick one, but maybe a lovely poached egg in 3-ply saucepan served with some grilled asparagus on the griddle pan and topped with a hollandaise cooked in a TNS pan. [post_card id="2"]

Away from work, which Le Creuset products do you use most frequently at home?

I am a big fan of the classic casserole for stews, soups or baking some cake. But I now also have a griddle pan which I use an average of once a week for some steaks and vegetables.

If you could recommend one recipe to cook in Le Creuset at home, what would it be?

Wow, that’s a tough question! I do love cooking anything and always trying new recipes but maybe a classic Boeuf Bourgignon cooked in a cast-iron casserole served with a lovely Dauphinois potato baked in a bakeware dish.

Life at Lainston House with Season Cookery School Manager Sylvain Gachot

Sarah Atkinson

Writer and expert6 years ago

To celebrate the launch of its new Nature’s Kitchen Collection, Le Creuset recently invited us to Winchester’s Season Cookery School at Lainston House for a lesson in cooking seasonally. Set within a renovated 17^th century well house, Season Cookery School is set amidst Lainston House’s expansive grounds which feature a brimming kitchen garden which supplies the cookery school with the very best seasonal ingredients.

While at Lainston House, we caught up with the cookery school’s Manager Sylvain Gachot to talk about his work at Season, the importance of cooking seasonally, and why the cookery school swears by Le Creuset’s cookware and bakeware.

Q Please can you tell us a little bit about your culinary background and your current work at Lainston House?: A
I’ve always been into cooking and this was an obvious choice of career path for me when I was young. I had studied and worked in France before I decided to move to the UK nearly 10 years ago to improve my English. I’ve been at Lainston House for just 9 years now; I started as demi-chef de partie and finished as Sous-chef in the main kitchen. Three years ago I took the cookery school into a new a project stage and now manage the Lainston House cookery school on a daily basis.
Q What are you working on at Season this year?: A
We are constantly working on developing on-trend new courses for the public but also for corporate clients or private events. This year we are working a lot on incorporating the kitchen garden into most of our course. We are developing courses as part of which people will go to the garden to plant their own seeds and using these products to create some amazing dishes in our kitchen...
Q At Season, you share a close relationship with Le Creuset and use much of the brand’s range in the kitchen. What are some of your earliest memories of cooking with Le Creuset?: A
My parents have a very old (over 35 years) Le Creuset casserole which I always enjoyed using when I was younger—anything always tastes better cooked in a casserole for hours! [post_card id="1"]
Q Why do you use Le Creuset’s products over other cookware brands?: A
Le Creuset is an amazing brand, not only because it’s French, but the quality and durability is incredible. Everyone knows the brand well and the different colours and shape are so attractive. What’s more, the colours and shapes of Le Creuset’s products help inspire your brain for developing some incredible dishes.
Q This season, the Le Creuset Nature’s Kitchen campaign highlights the importance of cooking seasonally and sourcing local ingredients for flavour, goodness and sustainability. How does this message resonate with your work at Season?: A
As I mentioned earlier we have our own kitchen garden here at Season and love taking our guests outside to pick something we will use during the course. It is not always possible to have everything available and in large quantities, but even simply picking fresh herbs from the garden helps transform the dish.
Q Here at The Hut, we love the versatility of Le Creuset’s cookware and we are always amazed at how much you can do with any single product from the range. Are there any recipes you were surprised to learn you could do in a Le Creuset product?: A
I am always amazed at what you can do with the products, many of which I didn’t know before working very closely with the team from Le Creuset here at Lainston House. There are many great examples, but let’s focus on only a few of them: firstly, the lid of a Le Creuset casserole dish can be used as cake stand; another example is that the lid from the Shallow Casserole is amazing to make a quiche or even a cheesecake; and finally, you can even cook a nice crusty bread in the round casserole.
Q What seasonal dishes will you be cooking with Le Creuset this spring?: A
We have so many different courses than isn’t easy to pick one, but maybe a lovely poached egg in 3-ply saucepan served with some grilled asparagus on the griddle pan and topped with a hollandaise cooked in a TNS pan. [post_card id="2"]
Q Away from work, which Le Creuset products do you use most frequently at home?: A
I am a big fan of the classic casserole for stews, soups or baking some cake. But I now also have a griddle pan which I use an average of once a week for some steaks and vegetables.
Q If you could recommend one recipe to cook in Le Creuset at home, what would it be?: A
Wow, that’s a tough question! I do love cooking anything and always trying new recipes but maybe a classic Boeuf Bourgignon cooked in a cast-iron casserole served with a lovely Dauphinois potato baked in a bakeware dish.