Practical Flour Milling Course

Friday 11 October 2024, 9.30am - 4.30pm 

Join us to get practical experience of traditional flour milling in a small, friendly group environment.   

You’ll spend the day running the windmill under the careful supervision of traditional miller Jon Cook, getting hands-on with milling and dressing different grades and types of flour.  

Through hands-on experience, you'll learn how to safely operate a windmill – everything from starting and stopping the mill, to safely moving grain around the building. You’ll also learn about the hygiene and trading standards you need to be aware of when milling and selling flour. 

This sell-out course is back by popular demand! Places are limited and we advise early booking to secure your spot. 

Who is this course for?

This event is perfect for mill volunteers and trainee millers. It may also be of interest to more experienced millers who wish to develop their skills. 

You will learn 

By the end of the course, you will know

• How to safely operate a windmill 
• How to mill and dress different types and grades of flour 
• How to bag flour and move grain around the mill 
• The hygiene and trading standards you need to follow to sell flour 

You will need to wear

• Sturdy closed shoes to protect your feet from any falling objects  
• Reasonably tight-fitting clothes to prevent items of clothing being caught in moving machinery  
• Overalls (painters' bib or lab coats are ideal) to protect your clothes and prevent contamination of the flour      
• A hat to cover your hair, with long hair tied back   

A dust mask will be provided.

Tutor

Jonathan Cook is the owner of Fosters Mill, producing stoneground organic flours milled by wind power. He is also a former chair of the SPAB Mills Section.  

Assessment 

There is no formal assessment for this course, but we can provide a Certificate of Attendance upon request. 

Accessibility

There is ground floor level access at the mill and stairs to access the upper floor. Participants will be standing for much of the day. The course is fairly physical and there may be some lifting involved. 

We can accommodate dietary requirements if indicated on the booking form.  

Anything we can do to make this event more accessible for you? Please email millsinfo@spab.org.uk

We may take photos or videos at this event to be used in future promotion, including in print and online.

All bookings are subject to our Terms and Conditions. 

Photo credit: Karl Grevatt