Remeber that amiable chap from the River Cottage TV series, the one with the beard who did things with meat? Ray - that's the chap. He is running a Lamb and Mutton Day at the River Cottage HQ in June and another in October. The one in June has Hugh FW in attendance as well.

 The one day event is demo based but you are encouraged to take part in the demonstrations at some point. What do you get for your £225? Basicaly how to get to grips with the carcass of a whole lambe 'transforming it into a range of delicious and manageable joints, plus meat for slow cooking, lamb-burgers etc'.

Whether you keep your own sheep (or plan to), or are interested in buying whole animals direct from local small producers, this course will give you all the basic kitchen know-how for dealing with a whole lamb, along with some delicious practical recipes too.

The day starts with two carcasses, one of a locally reared lamb, and one of either hogget (a one-to-two year old lamb), or mutton, Ray and the River Cottage team will demonstrate and explain the principals and process of butchering the carcass and how to prepare the various joints, both for the freezer and for immediate cooking. This is followed by demos for the various lamb offal cuts, as well as a slow cooked lamb or mutton casserole, and spicy lamb burgers. Half way through the day, guests will sit down to a special lamb lunch featuring recipes from the course. At the end of the day, you get to take home the lamb burgers.

Slashfood's hittin' the sauce this Wednesday with Spirited Cooking, our next theme day. Get ready for a whole day of posts and recipes about cooking with beer, wine and spirits. From recipes for bourbon balls and penne alla vodka to discussions about cooking wine, Slashfood will have a real liquid lunch. As always, we also want to see what's going on in your kitchen. Comment with your own recipes and blog posts, and show us what you're working with by posting to our Flickr photo pool. Update: tag those photos with "spiritedcooking." Pop your cork and belly up to the table on Wednesday, December 21, for Slashfood's Spirited Cooking.