About River Cottage HQ
River Cottage has given millions of TV viewers a taste for great cooking since 1998, when Hugh first brought his famous food ethos to Channel 4. Our hard-hitting campaigns have changed the eating habits of a nation and improved the welfare and sustainability of animals and fish.
River Cottage HQ, found on the Devon and Dorset border, is home to everything we do and is the base for our cookery school, unique dining experiences, memorable events and the new Channel 4 series ‘Scandimania’- where Hugh explores the culinary delights of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. One day City and Guild Accredited Courses for catering industry professionals and a Young Chef Apprentice Scheme are both recent additions to our programme.
The River Cottage Cookery School has over 30 in-depth cookery courses where our expert chefs inspire attendees with their passion for local, seasonal and organic produce. We offer a broad range of subjects including bread making, fish skills and preparation, meat butchery and curing, game and wild food cookery, foraging, booze and cheese making. The most popular is a general cookery course combining home cookery skills across one, two and four days. New for 2014- we have released seven new cookery courses (with more to come) that cover a variety of skills including the very upcoming and popular smallholder trend, savoury pastry and pies and cakes and sweet pastry.
River Cottage HQ offers dining events on most Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday lunchtime in both the beautifully restored barn and the famous TV farmhouse. Dining at River Cottage is a unique experience where the food and location take centre stage. Guests will be taken down the famous farm track on a tractor and trailer. After a warm welcome from the team they will be offered a welcome drink and canapés. Once seated the chef will introduce the seasonal four course menu and explain the provenance of the dishes that have been prepared, so guests can learn about the food and our philosophy. The experience is rounded off with petit fours and coffee before the return journey back up to the car park in the tractor and trailer. We cater for all dietary requirements and there is usually live music on a Saturday Night. The farmhouse is also available for private hire – the perfect location for celebrating a special occasion including weddings and corporate days.