The Splat Cooking Blog

Saturday lunch today was different, trying to cut costs I decided to buy a pack of puff pastry, caramelise some onions in butter and olive oil and make a caramelised onion tart with salad and leftover roast veg for lunch, made onion tart surprise for the children aka puff pastry pizza with passata, ham and mozzarella.  Served this up to yelps of joy from husband and small children and everyone raved about how wonderful it was and begged me to cook  it again.  Makes a nice change, I’m so used to ‘yuk,I’m not eating that, what’s in it, don’t like the look of that, can I just have some bread, etc, etc, ‘ it was wonderful and now on the list.

Debbie Norie who helps run guides was a total star last night, she was daft enough to attempt to make chocolate roses with 30 odd guides last  night.  I helped out at the end just as the white chocolate paste was melting everywhere in hot hands in a hot kitchen, couldn’t help adding that that the reason I preferred sugarpaste!  Anyway, Debbie did a grand job and ended up with very proud guides and gorgeous roses for Mother’s Day.

I am totally in awe of Debbie as she worked as a Pastry Chef at the Connaught and then worked with Mich Turner at the Little Venice Cake Company, Debbie came along to my Cupcake Coffee Morning on Wednesday and I was sooo nervous but she’s so nice it was fine.  Well done mate!

For the past few years, probably about 4 years, we’ve been toying with the idea of setting up Splat Cooking as party plan.  When I first launched I used to go round to friends houses armed with a stack of homemade biscuits and copious amounts of icing and sprinkles to get them to decorate biscuits with the concept that they’d buy stuff too and I’d promote the workshops and parties.  It worked to a certain degree but I found that it was costing me more in icing and sprinkles than I was making, especially when a lot of guests took the mickey with  how many biscuits they iced.  Really down to bad planning on my behalf, should  have rationed them!

With the franchises launched we’ve taken another look at this as it’s the perfect model to promote the parties and workshops for new franchisees and also gives them the opportunity to sell stuff and get a foot in the door of possible schools and toddler groups.

So I did one last night and this morning.  I made cupcakes and iced them and then had the ladies making sugarpaste roses which they put on top of a cake and could either eat there and then or take home with them – hah, rationing in progress, one cake each!  It worked a treat, last night there were only 3 ladies that I know, the majority had been told by word of mouth so immediately I have 8 new customers, two of them are on the PTA of their schools and are going back to discuss having cooking clubs, at least 4 of the ladies want cupcake coffee mornings, one lady is involved with three toddler groups and took away our cards to give out at these and talk to the playgroup leaders about me or one of the team coming in to do some cooking with the children and I’ve had at least 3 workshop bookings.  All in all, a huge success.

If anyone would like a cupcake coffee morning and you’re in Bucknghamshire then call me in the office to arrange on 0870 766 8290, if you fancy running these yourself, have a school you think would like a cooking club or even feel that you’d like to work for us running cooking parties or classes then call us too, any potential franchisees reading this – IT WORKS.

Easter Baking – Tuesday 6 April 10am-1pm

Our classic Easter Baking workshop with the wonderful Kate from The Chocolate Source, we’ll be helping the children make a range of Easter goodies including hot cross buns and the traditional Easter Egg with choccies, the children can stay all day and take p art in our Italian Cookery afternoon too if you wish.

Italian Cooking – Tuesday 6 April 1.30-3.30pm

Traditional Italian Cooking including making pasta from scratch, biscotti, pesto swirls and salad and dressing  to go with it, we’ll give you 10% discount if you book your child on both courses, remember to send them with a packed lunch.

If you fancy doing some cooking with your child then come along to our Mummy and Me Cupcake Workshop on Thursday 8 April, this is an adaptation of our classic Fantasy Cupcake workshop so you can work together or on your own cakes (saves arguments)  and learn new icing and baking techniques using fresh seasonal fruit to colour and flavour the cakes and icing.  We’re also running a Fantasy Cupcake Workshop for adults on the same day, especially for teachers and other people who can’t usually get time off during the week.

My voice has just about completely gone, I’ve had a rotten cold for the past 3 days and I struggled through Cooking Club this morning but my voice has given up the goat.  Bet the guys in the office are mad, it would happen at the weekend, hah!  Maybe it will be back by Monday…..maybe they will get some peace and quiet.

Anyway, I’m feeling a little rough so it’s a good excuse to sit down on a rainy Saturday evening and watch a film…Up….it was brilliant, I cried through half of it and laughed through the rest.   Doug the dog is the star, whoever wrote the script must have a dog as their understanding of dog behaviour is fantastic…….squirrel!

If you haven’t seen it yet, go grab a copy, it’s well worth it.