As the Idle Rocks Hotel at St Mawes begins new cookery breaks, Packet chief reporter Emma Goodfellow gets a glimpse behind the kitchen doors to see for herself what the sessions involve.

Steve Marsh, chef patron at the welcome Idle Rocks Hotel in St Mawes, has a simple philosophy: “Keep things simple and let the food speak for itself” - and it does.

Let there be no mistake, however, that whilst the ingredients may be simple, every dish is carried out with the finesse you would expect of a two rosette restaurant well on its way to a third.

This care and attention to detail is carried through to the hotel's new cookery school, which is designed to open up the kitchen doors to guests and give them an insight into how their meals are created.

Steve, who has been head chef at the hotel for the last two and a half years and has recently taken over as general manager also, said: “A hotel is sometimes a place that people find a bit scary to come into. I'd like people to have an insight into what we do and understand our philosophy of food.”

This philosophy includes sourcing ingredients that are as fresh and local as possible, with Steve's butcher B&N Farm Foods from Launceston also growing the hotel's micro herbs and baby vegetables, fish coming from Wings of St Mawes and oysters from the Fal Estuary.

It means the menu can often change daily, to take advantage of the best produce.

All this is shared by Steve as he leads myself and his other four 'students' for the afternoon through the metal swing doors and into the hotel's kitchens.

As the chefs prepare for evening service around us, Steve ushers us into the back kitchen and introduces us to smiley pastry chef Judith, who seems delighted to be able to share her knowledge.

Our first lesson is in bread making. We watch as Judith explains the ingredients she is adding to a large mixer, before letting us feel the perfect dough consistency.

As the dough proves it's onto scones. We are again talked through the ingredients and are then allowed to get hands on, cutting the scones out with metal rings.

Pushing down the cutter with the flat of my hand over the top earns a gentle reproof from Judith, who explains that you should always push down with your fingers, as the scones rise better this way.

Despite having made scones on many occasions before, it's something I'd never realised - and was just one of the many handy tips I picked up from the two-hour session.

With the bread dough risen we are shown the technique for making perfectly circular rolls.

For our third and final lesson Steve takes us into the main kitchen, where we are given a demonstration in filleting mackerel. Having massacred many a fillet in the past it was a skill I was keen to learn, and after Steve's careful instruction I am slicing and boning like a pro.

The fish is then quickly fried off, with one of the chefs crushing some new potatoes with parsley and blanching some vegetables, and Steve whipping up an orange hollandaise sauce, to create a simple but tasty meal for us to sample in minutes.

It was clear that Steve led a skilled team of chefs, so it was great anticipation that my fiancé and I sat down to dinner in the hotel's restaurant, which was reminiscent of a cruise ship with its wood panelling and staged seating, giving every table the chance to enjoy the panoramic sea views.

We were not disappointed. Particular highlights of our meal included the amuse bouche of salmon tartare and tangy passion fruit jelly, a starter of pigeon breast on beetroot risotto - balanced perfectly to ensure the pigeon was not overpowered by the strong flavour of beetroot - and an Asian style duck main course that came with sublime spring rolls.

Dessert was a triumph, with raisin and chocolate financier - complete with chocolate encased coconut mouse - a hit with the other half, while my three squares of exquisitely moist chocolate cake, accompanied by beetroot ice cream and candied beetroot were an unlikely and entirely pleasing taste sensation.

After a night of being lulled to sleep by the gently breaking waves in the harbour below, we were greeted at reception the next morning by goody bags containing the produce we had helped create the day before - together with our aprons and jars of Roskilly's chutney and jam.

While the goodies may have been devoured before the day was up, the memories of our break are sure to remain with us for a lot longer.

  • Cookery breaks cost £50 per person, to cover two-hour session and goody bag. Sessions can cater for groups of up to eight people at a time. Book now for a Mother's Day treat with a difference.