A Norfolk chef will be celebrating Norwich Market’s incredible food offer with a brand new cookery course which involves picking treats from underneath the colourful canopies before preparing a fresh and local feast with the ingredients. Richard Hughes’ Discover Norwich Market cookery class will involve a cook’s tour of the market where the chef, who is director of The Assembly House, will share an insider’s view on the best produce on offer from the maze of famous stalls.

“We have a store cupboard of ingredients right here on our doorstep and I want to encourage as many people as possible to go to Norwich Market and buy the freshest produce imaginable,” said Richard, whose favourite stalls include The Cheeseman (Row C) and The Norwich Providore (Row B).

“I like the fact that you’re dealing with people who really know about the product they’re selling, either because they make it or they have been dealing with the people who supply them for years.

“It drives me mad when people do a huge supermarket shop on one day of the week and end up throwing loads of food away because they’ve bought more than they need: if I was able to, I’d visit the market every day and just buy what I needed.”

The new course at the Richard Hughes Cookery School heralds the arrival of the cookery school in central Norwich – it relocates from its Brundall base at the end of December and will open at The Assembly House in January in a new, purpose-built teaching kitchen.

With a central location, Richard now has the opportunity to work directly with the market traders whose produce he has used for, in some cases, decades. “The idea of the new class is to go to the market, meet some of the stall holders and then turn the shopping into meals back at the cookery school,” he said. “It really helps you as a cook if you can see where your ingredients come from and talk to the people who know the most about them – it’s always worth having a chat with the stall holders because they have a wealth of knowledge about what they sell.”

The first Discover Norwich Market class will, hopes Richard, pave the way for a range of market-based courses which would see students visit specific stalls for fish, vegetables, meat, cheese or other ingredients in order to cook in classes that specialise in a certain style of cooking or ingredient.

“It makes sense for us to highlight the market to students, some of whom travel from all over the UK to take place in classes,” said Richard, who was the inaugural winner of The British Cookery School of the Year. “The market is the jewel in Norwich’s culinary crown. The produce is great, the service is great and the place is full of character and characters – it’s not so much ‘why would you go?’ it’s ‘why wouldn’t you?’”

The Discover Norwich Market cookery class will be held on Thursday 18th May 2017.

Richard’s Top 10 Stalls:

City Fish: A traditional fishmonger with staff who are hugely helpful and a fantastic range of locally-caught fish, including some smoked varieties. On Gentleman’s Walk.

Herbs and Spices: An Aladdin’s Cave of spices and herbs, pulses and dried nuts and fruit – a cook’s paradise. Row B.

Mike, Deb and Sons: Fantastically fresh fruit and vegetables, many of which are from a stone’s throw away. Row B.

Pickering’s: I used to visit when it was in Old Costessey, now the brilliant butcher with more than half a century of experience
is on Row E.

Norwich Providore Artisan Bread Stall: Glorious bread and pastries from Bread Source, Candi’s Chutney, honey,
Marsh Pig charcuterie: great. Row B.

The Cheeseman: Simply the best range of cheese in the city with almost 150 different varieties to choose from, including the
local stars. Row C.

Bia Kitchen: I live with two vegetarians and they swear by Bia’s breakfast baps and the range of burritos, wraps and toasties. Row B.

Lakenham Creamery: Incredibly good ice cream (the best vanilla I’ve tasted in a long day’s march) in a range of tempting flavours. Corner of Gentleman’s Walk.

City Shellfish Bar: A taste of the sea in the middle of the city and the perfect lunch-on-the-go if you’re away from your own kitchen. Gentleman’s Walk.

The Orient Express: A Tardis-like treasure trove of inspiring speciality food from Thailand, China, India, Japan, Korea
and Indonesia. Row H.