The Perfect Sponge at Love to Cook, Crieff
There’s something quietly magical about stepping into a cookery school and bakery thats located on the same road as chef’s own front door. At Love to Cook in Crieff, that magic comes from Sam Heeney‑Governo, an accomplished chef, pâtissier and artisan baker whose career has carried her from Scotland to Europe, to New Zealand, and now back home to Perthshire. Her new Cook School, Bakery & Pâtisserie at 16 King Street feels like the natural next chapter: intimate, elegant, and unmistakably hers.
Sam trained at Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand, graduating with distinction in pâtisserie before joining the school’s own culinary team as a pâtisserie chef‑lecturer. Her career has taken her from Portugal to Wellington, and even to Lennoxlove House, where she worked alongside the late Clarissa Dickson Wright.
With credentials like hers, and a passion for pastry and cooking that radiates from the moment you meet her, I couldn’t wait to dive into one of her classes.
I joined Sam for her Perfect Sponge masterclass, a deep dive into the Genoise, that deceptively simple French sponge that separates the casual baker from the committed. Sam teaches the way great chefs do: with precision, warmth, and an infectious belief that you can do this. She showed us how to whisk, fold, and coax air into eggs until the batter reached that glossy, ribboning stage that feels like alchemy.
Why a Genoise Sponge?
A Genoise sponge is a classic French cake made by whisking eggs and sugar to create its own natural lift, resulting in a light, airy crumb without any chemical leavening. It’s an excellent sponge to learn because once you master the technique, it becomes a versatile base for countless desserts, from layered celebration cakes to elegant pâtisserie-style creations.
A Genoise is all about technique, and starts with just a handful of ingredients - eggs, caster sugar, strong flour, vanilla essence and unsalted butter - but the magic lies in how they’re handled. You begin by gently warming the eggs and sugar over a bain‑marie (pot of simmering water), whisking until the mixture reaches blood temperature and begins to thicken. Once off the heat, it’s whisked to full volume until pale, airy, and able to form soft ribbons. The flour is then sifted in and folded with extreme care to avoid knocking out the precious air you’ve created. Finally, a little of the batter is mixed into the melted butter to lighten it before being folded back through, a step that keeps the sponge tender without deflating it. Baked quickly in a hot oven, the result is a light, springy, beautifully even sponge that forms the foundation of countless classic cakes.
Sam works with a kind of instinctive flair, the easy confidence of someone who has spent a lifetime crafting exceptional pastries until the motions feel second nature. She’s completely captivating too - you don’t dare look away in case you miss a trick. And when her creations look that beautiful, you can’t help wanting to learn every step and give your own version your absolute best.
Once baked, the workshop shifted into pâtisserie mode. Sam demonstrated how to slice, fill, and decorate the sponge, guiding us through piping fresh cream and mascapone with a confidence‑boosting calm that made even the most hesitant hands steady. Her tips, the kind you only learn after years in professional kitchens, turned a humble sponge into something genuinely elegant and I was so impressed with her piping skills that I could hardly contain myself and jumped with glee when it came time to decorate mine.
What struck me most wasn’t just the skill, but the atmosphere: relaxed, generous, and rooted in Sam’s belief that good food is something to be shared. With the bakery offering hand‑crafted sourdough, croissants, and classic French pastries daily, and a full programme of hands‑on classes, Love to Cook feels like a gift to Crieff - a place where technique meets joy, and where anyone can learn to bake something beautiful.
I’m happy to report that my sponge rose beautifully, not quite to Sam’s lofty heights, but respectably enough and I’m claiming a full victory on the cream piping and macerated strawberry filling. Let’s just say I was very grateful the top layer went on top! haha! Taste‑wise, though, I couldn’t have been happier. Great British Bake Off, here I come.
A list of class are available on www.lovetocook.uk and there is also a Masterclass coming up with internationally acclaimed pastry chef Maxine Scheckter, who joins Sam for an evening dedicated to the craft of modern pâtisserie. Hosted at Love to Cook on Saturday 16 May, the £15 masterclass celebrates Maxine’s debut book with a demonstration of Strawberry Shortcake and Speculoos Caramel Petits Gâteaux, giving guests the chance to learn her refined yet approachable techniques while taking home two pastries and the option to purchase a signed copy.
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