Charcuterie Workshops around South Africa

– September 2025 –

Every year as winter sets in, the Wickedfood Earth team hits the road, bringing hands-on charcuterie training to communities across South Africa. This September, we’re thrilled to announce our upcoming 4-venue national tour of our acclaimed 2-day Pork Charcuterie Workshop. So far we’ll be visiting:

  • 15 to 16 September – Clarens (accommodation available at St Fort Farmhouse, where the workshop will be hosted);
  • 20 to 21 September – George (accommodation available close by Avi Family Farm, where the workshop will be hosted);
  • 24 to 25 September – Robertson (accommodation available at Wellspring Farm, where the workshop will be hosted); and
  • 27 to 28 September – Stanford (accommodation available at Goodluck Farmhouse, where the workshop will be hosted).

Led by Mike, co-founder of Wickedfood Earth Farm and recognised as a Slow Food champion, these workshops are about more than just learning how to make bacon, sausage or salami. They’re a celebration of ethical, sustainable, small-scale food production – rooted in 30 years of culinary exploration, teaching, and food anthropology.

Since 2014, our country cooking school in Gauteng has become synonymous with traditional South African cured meats and European-style charcuterie. From coppa and pancetta to boerewors and biltong, we’ve perfected the craft and now share it on the road.

With over 2 000 participants trained to date, our mobile workshops are designed for farmers, foodies, chefs and hobbyists alike – anyone looking to understand where their food comes from, how to process it with respect, and how to add value.

Join us on this journey. Learn new skills. Meet like-minded people. Reconnect with real food. And savour the joy of curing your own pork from scratch.

What people are saying about our workshops:
“….. I just want to thank you for a wonderful 3 days on your farm. You guys made me feel so welcome there. All the specially prepared meals (I think I gained some weight?) and laughs and of course the great presentation of the course itself ….. I really enjoyed it and will recommend any person to attend one of your many courses. You will definitely see me there again in the future……“ – Koos
“….. for anyone wanting to start a small farm based or community butchering business, the Wickedfood Charcuterie Workshop is the best investment you can make. For a measly R3990 you get all the hands-on instruction and extensive reference material to break down, process and add value to a pig, carcass….” – Charles
“…..thank both of you for an amazing weekend. We loved the hands on experience. Mike is a brilliant and generous teacher. His experience and knowledge really shone through! And you are both excellent hosts. We now realises that we don’t need an expensive setup to process our pigs so we’ll be delving into the wonderful world of charcuterie, truly using everything except the bunghole and the oink!…” – Ian
“….thank you for a wonderfully informative course! We thoroughly enjoyed the discovery journey through the butchery and charcuterie world. It takes a great teacher to impart his knowledge with such clarity and precision, and instil enthusiasm in his pupils….” – Gwenda and Shane.
” ……we learnt about loads of different flavours and techniques…..really worth it!! We absolutely loved our hosts, Mike and Cilla, they really went out of their way to make sure we had a great experience…..” – Jesse
“….thank you both so much for an awesome weekend. We learned so many new skills!! The course was so well put together … the happiness of your animals all translates into delicious quality products. We had some bacon this morning J. VERY GOOD!! We have come home inspired and energised with a much clearer idea of where we want to be and how we are going to get there. Thank you once again!…” – Darren and Lance

 

To read What Tony Jackman of Daily Maverick wrote about our Cradock workshop, click here

 

In-depth 2-day pork charcuterie workshop – R3 995pp.

An introduction to the wonderful world of charcuterie. This hands-on 2 full day workshop, includes all ingredients and lunch on both days. In this charcuterie workshop we will introduce you to the basics of the 2 main arts of meat curing – whole muscle dry curing, how to make 2 classic pork sausages, and the basics of making salami.

Day one – Pork butchery and Whole muscle curing

  • The science and theory of whole muscle curing – extensive notes and explanation of exactly how the process works including the use of different salts, drying and smoking techniques.
  • How to break down a pig for charcuterie – hands-on demonstration of how to break down a pig carcass and the different charcuterie cuts;
  • Whole Muscle Curing – the basics of dry curing for pancetta, bacon and coppa;

Day two – Making of Sausage and Salami

  • The science and theory of making wet and dry sausage – extensive notes and explanation of exactly how the process works including salting, spicing, cultures, grinding, filling and drying.
  • The basics of making 2 perfect pork sausages –  for two very different classic pork sausages;
  • Meat fermentation and how to make salami – how spices and preservatives work, grinding, stuffing and drying. We’ll walk you through all the steps for making a classic artisan Italian style salami from scratch.

To book for the Workshop mail Cilla cilla@wickedfood.co.za (076 236-2345)