Wild snowdrops, and other signs of spring were evident as I headed for the beautiful Gloucestershire village of Southrop. I normally aim for its 17th-century ivy clad pub, The Swan, when visiting this village, but this time I was en-route to Thyme, a new cookery school situated in the Tithe Barn of the Southrop Manor Estate.

Entering the barn proved a breathtaking experience, as it has been restored using the very finest of modern technology. Yet the essential character of this ancient barn has been preserved perfectly. No wonder it has already won awards for its restoration.

The concept for the cookery school evolved from owner Caryn Hibbert’s absolute love of the naturally beautiful surroundings and fertile countryside in which the manor is situated. Her joy in entertaining and her desire to create an enterprise with local relevance, which takes advantage of Gloucestershire’s rich agricultural and culinary traditions, motivated this enterprising scheme too.

Before upping sticks and decamping to rural Gloucestershire more than eight years ago, Caryn worked as a London-based doctor, specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology.

Her aim in moving to the country was to give her three children the benefits of rural living, which is why she and her husband Jerry bought and faithfully restored historic Southrop Manor and the many barns and outbuildings on the estate.

I was one of a dozen food writers invited to attend a session at the Thyme Cookery School – and what a fun-packed day it proved. It began, as most cookery sessions do, with a demonstration by a master chef, who in this case was James Graham, chef/proprietor of the acclaimed Allium Restaurant, in Fairford. He is fanatical about sourcing local produce.

Caryn has taken great care designing the demonstration area. Instead of showing James work through his dishes from a reflection in an overhead mirror, she has installed two massive screens, one on either side of the demonstration table. Everything James prepared was filmed throughout the session, allowing us all to see what a roux should look like and how the soufflé mix should be when ready to transfer to the oven. Gosh! – what a difference that makes, as every move is highly magnified.

I must admit this was the first time I have seen a chef walking to the demonstration table carrying a plastic bag filled with hay – the kind you buy for the guinea pig’s bedding from a pet shop.

Waving his bag of hay in the air, James announced that he was going to use it to slow-cook a leg of Southrop Hogget – a breed of large-bodied, black-faced sheep that are reared on Southrop Manor Estate’s farmland, and on grass that’s managed under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

The Hogget he used was last year’s spring lamb. He explained that this lamb was so delicious that it deserved to be cooked slowly and with care.

Cooking it wrapped in hay not only brings out the flavour, it adds a gloriously grassy taste to the dish. James said: “I see cooking as an act of transformation, but for the transformation to be a success one must maintain integrity when sourcing ingredients. The fact that this lamb is local is one of the most important things of all.”

Having never cooked anything in hay, I was delighted to discover just how easy it is. After coating the meat with oodles of butter, herbs and garlic you simply tuck it into a bed of hay that lines a large cooking pot, add hay to cover and then bake for about two hours at 220C. The secret is to leave it to rest for at least 20 minutes after cooking.

We ate one for lunch that James had cooked previously, along with the goat’s cheese twice-baked soufflés that we made in the school’s specially designed teaching kitchens under his tuition. (See today’s recipe.). Both the lamb and the soufflés were delicious.

Thyme specialises in one-day classes on topics from growing herbs and vegetables to forgotten skills like butter making. The school will also run days dedicated to single ingredients such as pepper, and there will be master classes which include lessons in the art of laying a beautiful seasonal table.

A typical course will begin at 10am and end at 4pm, following a convivial lunch enjoyed in the Tithe Barn’s new-found splendour.

I left Thyme Cookery School feeling that all was well with the world, having made new friends, eaten an excellent lunch and watched a master chef demonstrate his skills.

As Southrop is but a few miles from the edge of Oxfordshire and situated in one of the most beautiful parts of the Cotswolds, it was the perfect day out. You can find out more about Thyme by going to its website www.ThymeAtSouthrop.co.uk