Hi all,

Days are getting shorter, and there is a definite nip in the air, perfect for juicy stews, casseroles and roasts.  The recipe section on our blog page has a wide selection of mouthwatering recipes, from venison stews, to hearty soups and sticky puddings.

Our June cooking classes programme for individuals is now live on the Wickedfood Cooking School website.  Once again we bring you a selection of mouthwatering classes from around the world, together with important kitchen skills to give you confidence while cooking.

From time to time Wickedfood Cooking School has run special  5-course dinner events.  In collaboration with Wickedfood  Earth we are once again going to be running a series of taste experiences over the next few months.  The first event is  “A taste of veld raised pork,” see details below.

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Looking for info on food?

If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

The Cooking class programmes for May and June are up on the internet, and bookings are now open. Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12, giving everyone hands-on experience and keeping the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the cooking class.

• Monday 29 April at 6pm –Classic Indian dishes (R430pp). Indian food is a diverse and extraordinary one, reflecting a complex layering of cultures through history and based on religious beliefs, geography, climate and availability of ingredients. India’s range of cuisine can amaze even a connoisseur. Different regions in India offer their own specialities with their very own taste, subtlety and aroma. The exotic tastes, hues and textures of Indian food have ensured a steady growth in popularity in the West. Join us in discovering these incredible dishes in our Indian cooking class, cooking authentic Indian dishes, including chicken mulligatawny, classic lamb buriyani, soya korma, spicy chick peas, naans and coconut pasties.

• Sunday 05 May at 4pm  – Making Bread (R430pp). Bread making is actually quite easy, once you learn some basic techniques and foolproof recipes. Baking bread is really all about technique. It’s about developing a feel for the ingredients. And you can’t do that without practising. Nothing boosts your self-confidence more than pulling a fragrant loaf of bread out of the oven. Come learn how to bake fresh bread in our Bread baking cooking class. The art of making bread, from standard white bread to pitas, flavoured focaccias and Chelsea buns.

• Monday 06 May at 6pm – Home-style Middle Eastern cooking (R430pp). A delicious combination of easy-to-prepare dishes with a strong Lebanese influence. The secret to mastering Lebanese cuisine lies in the preparation and organization of the menu and in the fact that Lebanese dishes store and reheat well. This Lebanese cooking class includes baba ghanoush, h’reesy, bean stew, Lebanese rice, Lebanese bread salad, making pita breads and rice pudding with an apricot compote.

• Monday 13 May at 6pm – Gordon Ramsay – Cooking for Friends (R430pp). This Gordon Ramsay cooking class is based on his book Cooking for Friends. Love him or hate him, he certainly knows his food. In this book, we see a very different side of him, more relaxed, cooking some best-loved versions of classic British dishes for family and friends, including Shropshire summer soup, farfalle with bacon peas and sage, braised chicken thighs, new potatoes, pea and broad bean salad, spicy cauliflower stir-fry and a peach, raspberry and ginger crumble.

• Sunday 19 May at 4pm  – Making filled pasta and accompanying sauces (R430pp). Making pasta is really easy, and fresh pasta tastes better too. Learn the secrets to making pasta from scratch in this pasta cooking class. We also include fillings and sauces for these unique pasta shapes. Dishes covered in the pasta cooking class include cheese and ham ravioli with a tomato sauce, meat filled agnolotti, spinach and ricotta tortellini, cappelletti filled with sweet potatoes and ravioli with apple and pecan nut stuffing.

A taste of veld raised pork

Most pigs and chickens, more than any other animals, are raised in large overcrowded farm factories, pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics, to grow faster.  Fortunately there are alternatives. For the past two years Wickedfood  Earth has been farming with totally free-range pigs.  Our pigs live in large low-density outdoor camps where they are encouraged to forage.  They never receive growth hormones and are only treated with antibiotics if sick.  They grow much slower than factory-raised pork, and the taste is in the meat.

At our first special  5-course dinner event, you not only get to taste this great pork, we will be sharing the secrets of how to best prepare the different parts of the pig.  This will be an interactive sit-down  dinner as opposed to a hands-on cooking class.  At the end of the evening, we will also have limited cuts of pork for sale.

When: 21 May 2013 at 6pm

Where: Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill

Cost: R250pp (drinks not supplied, please bring your own)

To Book or for more information: Tel: 076 236 2345 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

 

Cookbook of the week

 The Complete Bocuse

In his latest cookbook, Paul Bocuse shares 500 easy-to-prepare, traditional French recipes over 782 pages, many illustrated by bright photos by Jean-Charles Vaillant. These dishes can easily be made at home with fresh and widely available ingredients. …. Click here to read more.

Click Here for reviews of all our cookbooks.

Food quote of the week

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” – Lewis Grizzard

Recipe of the week

 Baked Fish

This method of baking is a great technique for any fish. We recommend either gurnard or hake. Use a whole unboned piece of fish, preferably cut from the central, thick part of the body,  towards the tail, scaled, with skin on. ….Click Here for all our recipes.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients. We’ve just launched a new and exciting class, Wickedfood Master Cook. Think Master Chef with a fun twist.