In this week’s newsletter we look at the how to conserve energy in the kitchen, which is typically the most used room in the house. We also look at the Glass Recycling Company of South Africa. This awesome website of the week will guide you to your closest glass recycling center – so really there are no excuse to start recycling your glass, come on South Africa!

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Wickedfood Cooking School news

Our May individual cooking class programmes are up on the internet – click on the month for the programme –  May

Wickedfood Cooking School runs classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience  and keeps the class small enough for maximum learning.

  • Week 3 – 17 to 23 May
Tuesday 18 May at 6pm – 30 minute meals (R370 pp). Learn how to prepare 6 nutritious quick and easy meals for two. Includes Honeyed stir-fry chicken, Grilled pork chops, Creamy mushroom pasta and Toasted muesli.
  • Week 4 – 24 to 30 May

Monday 24 May at 6pm – Gordon Ramsay – Cooking for Friends (R390 pp). This class is based on the Gordon Ramsey 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 broccoli blue cheese and pear soup, mushroom and barley risotto, poached fish fillets, roast rib-eye of beef, and pear and frangipane tart.

Sunday 30 May at 4pm – Thai master class 1/2 (R350 pp). Part of our Thai cooking class series, where we teach students the secrets of authentic Thai cooking. In this class dishes include Shrimp paste dipping sauce, Massaman curry, Bean salad, Stir fried egg noodles and Steamed banana cake.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

Green ideas for your kitchen? Living in today’s economy, everyone wants to save money. Saving on energy costs can be a large chunk of change when planning a budget-not to mention it can save our earth! Although building green can save money in the long run and over time, it can be more costly in the building process than standard construction. And although green products are more expensive than standard products, they are becoming more affordable. The kitchen is typically the most used room in the house, so let’s start conserving energy where we use the most energy.
Use less water. One way to be greener in the kitchen is by using less water. Low-flow faucets are available that will limited water pressure which will cut down on unnecessary water consumption. We are all familiar with the automatic faucets in public restrooms. There are similar products for homes that will only turn on when hands are under the sensor. Options for water-saving faucets include self-closing faucets, metered valve faucets, sensor faucets, and more.
Use the classic work triangle. 
The work triangle has been around for years. It is a formula that lays out the refrigerator, stove and sink within a triangle that creates an efficient work flow. In a kitchen plan, each side of the triangle should be between 2 and 3 meters. The total of all the sides should be between 3.5 and 8 meters. This ensures ease of motion between the stove, the sink and the refrigerator, which in turn can be more eco-friendly. For example, while cooking, you should be able to pull food from the refrigerator, place it on the counter and turn to the stove and sink very easily without obstructions. This will most likely mean you will have the refrigerator door open for a short amount of time. Also, the stove should be far enough from the refrigerator so the heat from the stove does not cause the refrigerator to work harder.

Add a recycling station. We always seem to designate a place in the kitchen for our trash can, but why not use some kitchen space to recycle? All it takes is one or two 40 Litre rubbish bins to cut down on the amount of rubbish that will end up at the landfill. Be creative in what containers you use to sort your recycling. Many retailers sell multiple shapes and sizes in recycling bins. You’ll be amazed at how much longer you can go without taking out the rubbish!

So there you have it… 3 ways to be greener in the kitchen. I imagine if everyone does what they can to conserve energy the earth will be a much better place for generations to come.

Awesome website of the week: The Glass Recycling Company http://www.theglassrecyclingcompany.co.za/index.html

Why it’s important to recycle your glass.

  • Glass that is not recycled is landfilled, where it remains forever
  • This adds to the huge pollution issues facing our world
  • Recycling used glass saves energy. The energy saved by recycling just one glass bottle is enough to power a 100W glass bulb for almost an hour
  • One of the main reasons to recycle glass is to save and protect the environment and for a healthy environment in general
  • The Glass Recycling Company – a not-for-profit organization – has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Environment to increase the recovery of glass for recycling

Food Joke: A preacher goes to a nursing home to meet an elderly parishioner. As he is sitting there he notices this bowl of peanuts beside her bed and takes one. As they talk, he can’t help himself and eats one after another. By the time they are through talking, the bowl is empty. He says, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I seem to have eaten all of your peanuts.” “That’s okay,” she says. “They would have just sat there. Without my teeth, all I can do is suck the chocolate off and put them back.”

The Wickedfood Team


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

Our classes 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.