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Learn with Gill Meller

River Cottage on Fire

Learn how to cook over a fire by taking the River Cottage on Fire course on Learning With Experts.

Course overview

Find out why cooking outside can be so good for your health and wellbeing. You will learn how to get a fire going, the importance of fuel and heat management and the endless possibilities of cooking with open fire. This lesson will show you the possibilities of cooking in the simplest sense and give you the confidence and know how to give it a go even if your new to this stripped back, homespun approach to wild cooking. We will round off the lesson with a simple yet delicious roasted tomato dish.

Meet Gill Meller

Gill Meller has been involved with River Cottage from the early days and appears regularly on the celebrated Channel 4 series and still works closely with Hugh. A big advocate for simple, seasonal cookery, Gill makes the most of ingredients and the natural qualities they possess. Gill considers his cooking to be a reflection of his surroundings, taking inspiration from the landscape, his locality, and the amazing farmers, growers, and fishermen that produce the ingredients he uses. Gill teaches at River Cottage and internationally. He is a regular contributor to titles such as the Observer, Guardian, Waitrose Food, Telegraph and Country Living to name but a few, and his regular recipe column can be found in the award winning Delicious magazine every month. Gill's first book, Gather (2016), won the Fortnum & Mason Award for Best Debut Food Book, and Time (2018) was nominated for the Guild of Food Writers Cookbook of the Year. His latest book Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower was released earlier this year.

Course description

River Cottage's outdoor cooking expert Gill Meller teaches you how to cook over fire - from fire starting (and fire safety), to cooking with a wood oven, cooking in an earth oven (or hangi), and cooking in embers of your fire.

More and more people are enthused by the idea of cooking outside over fire. Not only can you create the most incredible food, it also helps us reconnect with nature and the world around us. It’s a very mindful and rewarding experience and something we should all try to do a little more often.

During this course you will learn everything you need to know about outdoor cooking. You will be taken right back to basics, how to get your fire going, manage fuel and heat.

You'll learn new River Cottage outdoor cooking recipes including pizza, slow roast meat, fish, vegetables and bread – you’ll even be equipped with the skills to cook a leg of venison in your own earth oven.

You'll learn:
  • how to build, control and cook over fire
  • recipes for outdoor cooking including pizza, roasted vegetables, roast lamb, flatbreads & more
  • creating an earth oven or hangi
  • using hot BBQ embers to cook with
    • The course includes:
  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Gill Meller and River Cottage
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical outdoor cooking assignments and recipes (with tutor feedback available)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas
    • Independent Cookery Schools Association approved

    This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.

    Time to complete the outdoor cooking course:

    Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 20 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours 20 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your outdoor cooking recipe assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson
    • You'll need:

    Your lesson notes will include the full details of the ingredients you'll need, but you will be cooking over fire, so you'll need to think about the location of your fire (or wood oven or earth oven) and ther materials you'll need to make and control your fire.

    Ready to get started?

    Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Gill on your outdoor cooking assignments.

    If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

    Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.