Bakers head to Italy to share scone skills

Following hard on the heels of The Great British Bake Off, they have tapped into the demand for British afternoon teas, homemade scones, artisan jams, marmalades and Cornish clotted cream by holding baking lessons at the iconic Gritti Palace on the Grand Canal.

“We are teaching the Venetians and other guests of the hotel how to make proper scones,” said the Allans, from the hotel’s Epicurean Cookery School.

Lynne Allan, who this year won a highly-coveted Double Gold at The World’s Original Marmalade Awards and is now supplying Fortnum & Mason with her marmalade, is delighted to be showing off her British baking skills.

“Everything is done by hand,” she said. “Fruit scones, plain scones and cheese scones. We’ll also be passing on the secrets of good jam and marmalade making which goes perfectly with our scones.”

One of the favourites is likely to be a cheese scone with an Italian twist. Made with 40-month-old Parmigiano, it wowed the chefs and general manager of the Gritti.

“We Italians don’t know about cheese scones,” said Paolo Lorenzoni, who persuaded the Allans to join the cookery school. “They are absolutely delicious and we love them particularly when we can use our own Italian cheeses.”

The Allans will be holding their baking classes at the Gritti Palace Hotel in Venice on Wednesday and then on January 18, February 7, and March 14, 2017. Contact The Old Dairy in Ford on [email protected]