Today, like every Wednesday was theory day. It was jam packed with cakes & cheese's of the week, then a wine presentation & tasting. And after lunch a Tea lecture & Afternoon Tea demo.

Cheese's of the week were from Fermoy Cheese:

St. Gal's - hard cheese made from raw milk, lower in fat 32%, matured for 6 months
St. Bridget's - semi hard cheese made from raw milk, full in fat & takes 6-7 weeks to mature
Cáis Dubh (Black cheese)- gouda type cheese made from unpasteurised, takes a minimum of 4-6 months to mature. Coated in black plastic, hence the name.

Cakes of the week

Tunisian Orange Cake - orangey cake covered in an orange syrup!
Moroccan Orange & Almond Cake - a very moist orangey cake!

Short break with lovely nibbley bits and a wonderful cup of tea to line our stomachs!

Back to the class for wine at 11.00am! We were joined by Pascal Rossignol, The Specialist Wine Merchant, Le Caveau, Kilkenny. He comes from a family of winemakers in France and was also a sommelier so is a fountain of knowledge.

We learned a little about the wine regions in France and then tried 6 different wines. 3 from Burgundy - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Gamay and 3 from the South West of France - Gros Manseng & Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec & Merlot, & Petit Manseng.

My favourite is Alain Brumont's Gros Manseng-Sauvignon 2009 a blend of the 2 grapes. Yum yum!

Break for lunch which was Mushroom soup to start, honey glazed bacon with whiskey sauce, cabbage, swede & champ for mains & winter blackcurrant pudding or apple pie with jersey cream & tea or coffee for dessert. God I love food!

After lunch we met Sean Moran of Sip Tea who spoke to us about tea - varieties, how to make good tea & how bad tea bags are! I think Im converted - Clair I need some of your Tranquili-tea, stat (my sister makes lovely home grown herbal teas)!

Then finally on to the Afternoon Tea demo with Pam & Rory. Pam loves hearts, coloured cup cakes cases, crystalised flowers and other pretty things so she pulled out all the stops today and many a cake & meringue were made and then devoured.

I had no camera so Alex kindly passed this photo on to me.