Bristol Fire School in words and a few pictures...

...and Spring 2024, what classes would you like to see?

Greetings Team Fire!

I’m tapping this out from my garden office, log burner blazing (obvs) and watching the birds feeding on the food I have hung in the dead tree outside my desk window. I don’t know why it died, it was one of my favourites, a deep purple leaved Judas tree, that just failed to return to life last spring. I’m training a wisteria through its dead branches but for now it lies bare, adorned only by three bird feeders that provide me with plenty of desk-distractions from the list of jobs in hand. Winter is hitting hard in Bristol this week and I’m quietly grateful that I chose not to host a Christmas class tomorrow. I’m heading out to a gig tonight, Sleaford Mods in case you wondered, and felt like I just might not feel too chatty in the morning. Nobody needs to see Teach with a hangover….

Bristol Fire School is heading to a close for 2023, just two last Christmas classes to go and I wanted to offer out a huge thank you to all of you who have passed through my garden gate. And to apologise if you have struggled to get into a session this year. There is only one of me, and plenty of other work I need to achieve (oh, hello, new book incoming!), and I really struggle to host as many classes as I can fill. I have occasionally toyed with the idea of opening things up with guest teachers and the like but always come back to the same conclusion. That Bristol Fire School is me, it’s my expertise, my way of doing things, me passing on my years of experience in a very hands on way to small groups of nice people who hopefully go away with heads full of ideas and bellies fit for bursting. I never want it to feel like a corporate offering. I am the least corporate person I know. I swear too much for starters, am way too scruffy, and really hate anything feeling too regimented.

So as I sit here (watching the birds - there’s a robin, a coal tit, a blackbird and a chaffinch all a few metres from me, so joyous), opening up my 2024 diary I can already see the limited number of places there will be available in spring. With that in mind I was wondering what it is YOU want…

I currently run several sorts of classes - Fundamentals, where we start from the beginning, Intermediate where we move things along a little with more kit, slightly more challenging cooks, Kamado classes where the entire focus is on learning to use ceramic ovens of every hue and Wood Fired Oven classes where we only cook on wood in ‘pizza’ ovens, although not limited to pizza by any stretch of the imagination.

I have run a a few special classes - Fish and Seafood for example (there will definitely be one or two of these next year because of the new book, I have a lot of fresh-learned knowledge to share) and also Vegetarian classes, although I would say 75% of each class is veg-based anyway. I like vegetables, end of story. And also the Christmas specials which are just a lot of fun, whisky tinged and fully loaded.

But I guess I wondered if there was anything other than that you would like. Maybe an Easter class, a special Baking day or even a Taco day? Or country or region themed classes. Mediterranean BBQ? Tapas from the Fire? South East Asian grilling? Slide into the the comments with anything particular you fancy, no guarantees but would love to offer one or two slightly different things next year.

Classes are generally a Friday because people tend to travel from far and wide and Bristol is a pretty cool city to hang out in for the weekend. But a Monday could equally do on occasion, and might be a way for me to squeeze another few extra classes in. With the new book there are a few Fridays I need to be elsewhere nattering about fish matters. As a gentle reminder on the timing of things, spring dates get released to those with gift vouchers in the first week of Jan, then to my paid Substack subscribers a few days later, then go on general release mid-Jan. Classes will start mid March, and the day runs 10-4-ish.

Anyway, I’ll leave you with a few beautiful snaps from lasts weeks Christmas class, taken by Ben Luckman (@BenLuckman on instagram), a talented photographer who captured the fun of the day beautifully. It was so cold but such a joy to have everyone cooking, eating, sharing, laughing together in my garden.

And if you are a paid subscriber (thank you, thank you!!) I am currently penning some thoughts and recipes on a fire-cooked Christmas dinner - timings, how to juggle limited grill space, plus a few of the tasty traditions from our house. There’s a lot about Christmas I don’t love, but the food and traditions that surround the cooking and eating is not one of them.

Thanks Team Fire, stay cosy, remember to hug your loved ones close amid general world chaos. I will raise my glass to you all from the Sleafords mosh pit laters…

Big love,

GT x