Wickedfood Cooking School Newsletter 9 February
Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL
Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za
Hi all,
Because of Valentines, we dedicate this issue of our newsletter to chocolate – the ultimate book on chocolate and confectionery as, how to work with chocolates, and a quick and easy chocolate truffle recipe – enjoy.
We will be running our popular Valentines dinner – two classes – one on Sunday 13 February and the other one on Monday evening 14 February. We have very limited space still available. Click here for the more information.
The March cooking class program is now live. Apart from our regular evening and Sunday afternoon classes, we will also be running a Thursday morning course, consisting of four classes – Kitchen skills for beginners, ideal for housekeepers, newlyweds, or anyone interested in cooking with more confidence.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.
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
Cooking class programmes for the next two months are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the February and March programmes.
Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience and keeps 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.
Course for March
Thursday 03, 10, 17 & 24 March at 9am – Kitchen skills for beginners (R1 400pp for the course of 4 classes or R380 per class). If you or your staff are complete kitchen novices, then this is a course for you.
As radio personality David Batzofin said after completing the course “… Wickedfood Cooking School has turned my kitchen from a war zone into a playground.”
In these hands-on kitchen skills cooking classes for beginners, we cover the use of basic kitchen equipment as well as equip the participants with the building blocks for putting together nutritious hearty meals with confidence. The course runs for 4 consecutive weeks, 1 day per week. Subjects covered include, the use and care of kitchen equipment and ingredients. Basic cooking techniques including sauces, cooking vegetables and starches, making salad, working with mince and chicken, puddings, and sponge cake.
Classes for February
- Sunday 13 February at 4pm and Monday 14 February at 6pm – Romantic Valentines dinner, easy summer entertaining (R760 per couple). Join the staff at the Cooking School with the love of your life for a Valentines dinner with a difference. Not only will you get to enjoy a delicious 4-course dinner, but you will learn the secrets of how to cook it in a cooking class. Included in the price is a welcome glass of sparkling wine, house wine while preparing the food, and some specialist wines, complementing the food, with the meal. Space is limited to 30 students per class, so book early.
- Tuesday 22 February at 6pm – Sushi 1 – The basics of sushi making (R395pp – maximum 18, so book early) The basics of sushi making – cutting fish, making rice,
California and maki rolls, nigirizushi (finger), and hand rolls.
- Sunday 27 February at 4pm – Introduction to Indian cooking (R360pp for the class). This is a basic Indian Cooking class with an overview of ingredients for Indian cuisine and easy to cook dishes including deep-fried vegetable patties, Kashmir chicken, lentil and vegetable curry, dahl and rice pudding.
- Monday 28 February at 6pm – Home-style Middle Eastern cooking (R360pp). A delicious Middle Eastern cooking lesson offering a combination of easy to prepare dishes with a strong Lebanese influence, includes baba ghanoush, h’reesy, bean stew, Lebanese rice, Lebanese bread salad, making pita breads and rice pudding with an apricot compote.
Cookbook of the week
Working with chocolates is undergoing a renaissance. Specialist chocolate shops are springing up and at Wickedfood cooking school, chocolate cooking classes are extremely popular. Master confectioner Peter Greweling, of The Culinary Institute of America, has at last produced the bible of artisan confectionery—a comprehensive guide to the ingredients, theory, techniques, and formulas needed to create every kind of Chocolates and Confection. … Click Here for more information .
Food quote of the week
“The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living…” – Dione Lucas
On Food
Melting chocolate – click here to see a video and Chocolate recipes
Chocolate should be heated carefully to prevent it from seizing through overcooking. Melt the chocolate just before you intend to use it, as it's difficult to re-melt it successfully.
- Break the chocolate into small pieces and add to a heatproof bowl.
- Add a little boiling water to a saucepan and heat until simmering.
- Suspend the bowl over the simmering water, but do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the water. Heat the chocolate, stirring regularly, until almost completely melted, then remove from the heat; the residual heat of the bowl will melt any remaining lumps.
Recipe of the week:
These moreish chocolate truffles are extremely easy to make. Once you have mastered the art of making them, try your hand at some of the more complicated ones in the link at the end of the recipe, or in our book of the week – Chocolates and Confections. Alternatively, contact Wickedfood cooking school to find out about our chocolate cooking class.. …Click Here for the recipe.
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.