Week 2 – 08 to 14 August

Monday 08 August at 6pm – Easy to prepare Japanese (R380pp). The Japanese culinary art offers a huge diversity of food stuffs as well regional food preparations and is highly celebrated world wide for its quality and taste. The tourists to Japan find Japanese Cuisine as one of the major attractions in that country. In this cooking class learn the classic dishes from the Japanese kitchen including scattered rice sushi, prawn ball and egg knot soup, prawn and avocado salad, beef sashimi, tempura and green tea ice-cream.

Sunday 14 August at 4pm – Quick & easy 30 minute meals for entertaining (R390 pp). This Gordon Ramsey 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. We reinterpret 6 of the dishes, all easy to make in under 30 and great for entertaining friends, chilled cucumber soup; linguine with lemon, feta and basil; poached fish; quick fish curry; pork fillet stroganoff; and baked berries

Week 3 – 15 to 21 August

Monday 15 August at 6pm – North African Moroccan tagines (R380pp). The exotic flavors of North Africa reach their full expression in the cooking of Morocco. Moroccan cuisine is known for its flavorful stews, called tagines. In this cooking class we cover the following dishes, which include harira; lamb, chicken and pumpkin tagines; couscous; and coiled almond pastry.

Week 4 – 22 to 28 August

Monday 22 August at 6pm – Mexican flavours (R370pp). The history of traditional Mexican food is a long and complex one, and every bit of the complexity is reflected in the sheer variety of flavors in Mexican cuisine. Present day Mexican cuisine has evolved into something truly extraordinary. Join us in this Mexican cooking class as we blend the exotic flavours with that of the new world flavours which includes melted cheese with mushrooms, Coriander soup, Lamb in a chilli sauce, and Rice pudding.

Sunday 28 August at 4pm – Entertaining Italian style (R360pp). In this cooking class we show you some great dishes for entertaining with an Italian flair including rice croquettes, Siena bread soup, semolina gnocchi, poached chicken with a caper/egg sauce and baked pears.

Green ideas for your Home:

Green Cooking – 24 Ways to Reduce Kitchen Energy Consumption and Increase Efficiency

These tactics are part of Green Cooking, which is about reducing waste, using less energy, less water and making less noise during the cooking process. Incorporating Green Cooking principles, the average household can minimise their home’s energy consumption and save hundreds of Rands per year on utility bills.
Using the following tips, you can maximise the efficiencies of your kitchen’s appliances and refine your cooking habits to save energy, save money and “cook green.”

13. Cooking frozen foods uses more energy – thaw them out first. Thawing in the refrigerator is best because it helps the efficiency of the refrigerator, cooling it down and reducing the energy required to keep it at its working temperature.
14. Use a microwave when possible. Microwaves use between one-fifth and one-half as much energy as conventional stoves. They are most efficient at cooking small portions and for defrosting. To cook food in the microwave faster, place it on the outer edges of a rotating tray rather than in the centre, allowing more microwaves to interact with the food. Food cooks faster as the surface-to-volume ratio increases. When cooking potatoes, for example, thinner slices will cook faster than cubed or quartered sections. During warm weather when air conditioning is in use, microwaves generate less radiant heat reducing the energy load on your air conditioner.
15. Use pressure cookers. They use 50-75 percent less energy than ordinary cookware and it’s the easiest and fastest method of cooking..
16. Induction cooking uses 90% of the energy produced compared to only 55% for a gas burner and 65% for traditional electric ranges. Induction cook tops have the same instant control as gas and are the fastest of all cook top types to heat and cook food.
17. Use electric kettles to boil water. They consume half the energy needed to boil water on the stove.
18. Turn down the heat after water boils. Lightly boiling water is the same temperature as a roaring boil.
19. Toaster ovens, although generally not very well insulated are good choices for small to medium portions of food that cook relatively quickly. For baking and broiling, they use about one-third the energy of a regular oven.
20. Slow cookers also reduce energy use in cooking. Slow cookers such as crock-pots will cook an entire meal for about 17 cents worth of electricity.
21. Convection ovens consume up to one-third less energy than standard ovens. Heated air is continuously circulated by the oven’s fan, for more even heat and reduced cooking times.
22. Pressure-cooking is the easiest and fastest green cooking method. A new pressure cooker can reduce your energy consumption for cooking by more than 50%.
23. Electric skillets, like a deep griddle with walls, can steam, fry, saute, stew, bake, or roast a variety of food items – some can even double as serving dishes.
24. Soak dinnerware and cooking utensils that are heavily caked with dried food in cold water with a small amount of soap. This eliminates the need for prolonged scrubbing and using large amounts of water.

Food tip of the week:

APPLE CIDER, APPLE JUICE

Apple cider in the U.S. is the same as apple juice.

Some companies will use the term cider to refer to apple juice with no preservatives, and apple juice to juice that has been pasteurized.

Fermented apple juice which is alcoholic, is called ‘hard cider’ in the U.S.

Unfermented apple juice is called ‘apple juice’ in most other countries, and the term ‘cider’ refers to ‘hard cider’, it has been fermented and is an alcoholic beverage.

Uses and Tips
• Heat apple juice in sauce pan with cinnamon and whole cloves (optional) for a cold weather treat. Strain spices from juice before drinking.
• Blend apple juice with mashed fresh fruit, yogurt, and chopped ice to make a fruit smoothie.

Nutrition Information
• Apple Juice provides less than 100 calories per serving and is low in fat and sodium.
• One serving of apple juice provides 128% of your daily value for vitamin C.
• A ¾-cup serving of apple juice provides 1 serving from the FRUIT GROUP of the Food Guide Pyramid.

Interesting places in Joburg:

Below is a comprehensive list of food Markets in Joburg.

http://www.jhblive.com/live/review_view.jsp?review_id=30500

http://www.travel-south-africa-informed.com/south-african-sights-and-activities/markets/johannesburg-markets.html

The Wickedfood Team

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Wickedfood Cooking School runs classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking school. Cooking lessons 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 – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking courses 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. Great Team building ideas.