Have you ever found yourself struggling for recipe inspiration when hosting a summer party or barbecue? At our inaugural summer cooking class, held at three Hillier Garden Centres in late July and August, we shared deliciously simple ideas for a three-course barbecue feast with participants, which they could easily repeat at home to impress any guests.

“Just a note to thank you all for a very good evening last Thursday… The whole evening was brilliantly organised – a great idea.”

– Guest, Hillier Newbury

The interactive evening sessions, led by our Hillier Group Development Chef, combined expert demonstrations with hands-on elements. All guests were put hard at work on individual stations to create their own dessert, which they could take home after. A number of elements were cooked on a firepit, showing how easily they can be used for ingredients beyond the classic burger.

Having worked up an appetite and seen how to cook the courses, all guests then enjoyed dining together, tasting the delicious food and enjoying a glass of homemade lemonade and each other’s company.

“I am emailing to say how brilliant we thought last night’s summer cooking class was … It was evident that an enormous amount of work had gone into preparing for our arrival – equipment, ingredients, recipes, tastefully laid up table. Nothing had been forgotten.”

– Guest, Hillier Chichester

We host many horticultural talks and workshops every year, but this is the first time we have held a cooking class. With our restaurants putting ever-greater emphasis on fresh, quality, seasonally-changing menu items, we wanted to share our culinary passion. We have been overwhelmed by the positive comments from those who joined our classes. As a result, we are pleased to announce we will hold more cooking classes in the future. We look forward to seeing more of you there!

“It was an absolutely first class evening. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself.”

– Guest, Hillier Horsham