In Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape: 100 of My Favourite Indian Recipes, Gordon embarks on a culinary journey around India, discovering the breadth and depth of cooking of the country. This new cookbook from him is packed with the best recipes from his travels to India, where he had never been to until now (and perhaps too many photos of him and not enough of the food).

Accompanied by a Channel 4 film crew, Gordon takes the culinary trip to discover Indian cuisine and share this collection of over 100 of his favourite Indian dishes. The book explores Indian food from Kerala deep in the South of India with spicy coconut-based curries, to Rajasthan with creamy, flavourful dishes of the North. Along the way Gordon experiences the hugely different flavours and spices from the different regions and absorbs local cooking styles and traditions.

Not perhaps his best book and certainly not the best book on Indian cuisine, but none the less, well worth getting if you are a Ramsay fan, or do not have another book on Indian food and want some solid recipes that work.

For Gordon Ramsay recipes from the book, click here

Other Gordon Ramsay books reviewed by Wickedfood:

Gordon Ramsay’s Great British Pub Food

Cooking for Friends

Interested in buying this book? visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, they will be able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for.

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. 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 teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

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

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.

Wickedfood Cooking School is an ideal venue for corporate entertaining, whether it be team building, a relaxing way of rewarding staff, building relationships with customers, or getting to know colleagues. In anticipation of the world cup, for those who are not particularly interested in soccer, but still want to get into the spirit of things, from now until the end of July Wickedfood Cooking School has developed a unique competition cooking concept, the 2010 Wickedfood Culinary World Cup Challenge.

2010 Wickedfood Culinary World Cup Challenge

Wickedfood Cooking School has identified the 10 participating soccer teams with the most interesting cuisine and drawn up a representative 6-dish menu for each national team. The class is divided into two groups, each representing one of these national teams, and cooks the relevant menu. We supply the ingredients and recipes for each team. Apart from the fun aspect, this is also a novel way of entertaining clients, a great form of teambuilding, or ideal opportunity of assessing various staff members’ abilities to work together and solve common problems. Once all the dishes are cooked, our judging panel, will choose the winning team and then the participants sit down and enjoy the 2 respective meals they have prepared.

What is included in the price?

• A set of recipes for each participant to take home;
• All ingredients and the use of aprons to wear while cooking (we also have branded aprons for sale and with enough lead-in time can have these embroidered with company logos);
• Teas, coffees (on request) and soft drinks in the morning classes; limited white and red house wine by the glass, and soft drinks in the evening classes;
• The meal at the end. Bring only your enthusiasm.

About Wickedfood Cooking Schools

(see our website for more information)

Wickedfood Cooking School is an educational facility, offering tuition in a wide range of culinary skills to the public and corporate world in a fun, safe environment. We run classes (subject to a minimum of 12 people) throughout the year at our purpose-built cooking studios, in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week. The venue is also available for corporate and private functions – 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 these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Our first classes were run from restaurant premises in Illovo in October 2001. In May 2002, the school was moved to a purpose-built kitchen in Fourways. Our newest school opened in Sunninghill in August 2007. The school can accommodate up to 60, in hands-on classes in state-of-the-art, purpose-built, teaching kitchens and offer over 30 classes (including special halaal options) specifically for the corporate and group market.

See the Programme section on our website for a list of the wide variety of classes available.

For more information on the 2010 Wickedfood Culinary World Cup Challenge, please contact Wickedfood Cooking School - Tel: 011 234-3252.

Q: I would appreciate advice on how to prepare a whole fish in the oven

A: One of the best ways to cook a whole fish cooked on the bone along with hearty accompaniments. This recipe, inspired from Saveur, is a Portuguese-style preparation where the fish is stuffed with herbs and cooked in foil with sausage, potatoes, clams, olives, and fennel. Take the fish to the table still enclosed in its shiny wrapper, then slash it open to serve. Any white fleshed fish will work for this dish including hake, cob, cape salmon and reds. For more on cooking whole fish, join the Wickedfood Cooking School seafood cooking class, where you will learn the secrets of cooking seafood with confidence on kettlebraais and gas barbecues.

1 large bulb fennel
Salt, to taste
500g baby potatoes, halved lengthwise
4T extra-virgin olive oil
±300g chorizo , cut into 1cm-thick slices
±1,5kg whole cleaned fish
1 lemon, sliced into 1cm-thick half moons
Ground black pepper, to taste
10 sprigs thyme
10 sprigs parsley
±250g mixed olives, pitted
±12 small clams
1⁄2 cup white wine
Zest of 1 orange

1. Trim and discard stalks from fennel; reserve 10 wispy fronds. Halve fennel bulb lengthwise; slice into 1cm-thick wedges.
2. Bring 2L salted water to a boil in a large pot. Blanch fennel for 4 minutes; drain and set aside.
3. Add potatoes to boiling water; reduce heat to medium; simmer until tender, ±15 minutes. Drain potatoes; set aside.
4. Heat 2T oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook until browned, ±5 minutes. Set aside.
5. Heat oven to 220˚C.
6. Cut 4 angled slits on each side of fish, to the bone. Put a lemon slice into each slit. Line a baking sheet with a sheet of heavy-duty foil. Transfer fish to foil. Rub with oil; season with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with remaining lemon, thyme sprigs, and parsley. Arrange fennel, potatoes, sausages, olives, and clams around fish; sprinkle with remaining thyme. Drizzle with wine. Put another piece of foil over the top. Crimp edges together to form a packet.
7. Roast for 35–40 minutes. Cut into foil; carefully pull back edges. Sprinkle with zest, remaining oil, and fennel fronds.

SERVES 6

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. 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 teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

Hope you all had a pleasant Easter break. Once again we bring you a packed fortnightly newsletter. We have some great classes over the next two weeks An Italian cooking class, great Asian food and Sushi. As our classes are small, they fill up quickly, so book early to avoid disappointment. Our May programme is also now live on our website.

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.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Cooking class programmes are up on the internet – click the relevant month for the programme April and 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.

• Monday 12 April at 6pm – Easy to prepare Italian dishes (R360pp). An introduction to Italian cuisine including tomato pizza, bean and pasta soup, cannelloni, grilled fish, bean salad and lemon tart.
• Sunday 18 April at 4pm – Simply Asian with Neil Perry (R390pp). Revered as one of Australia’s foremost chefs and international TV food celebrities, Neil Perry’s first love is Asian food, with a strong Chinese leaning. In this class we explore some of his favourite dishes, taken from his book, Simply Asian. Dishes include fried sweet corn cakes, steamed fish, tangerine beef and stir-fried vegetables with noodles.
• Monday 19 April 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.

• Monday 26 April at 6pm – Outdoor Cooking – Poultry (R390 per class). Learn the secrets of outdoor cooking on Cadac kettlebraais and gas barbecues. Dishes covered in this class include whole roast juicy chicken, how to smoke a chicken in a kettlebraai, tangy tomato marinade, chicken kebabs, quick and easy bread pockets, grilled vegetables and bananas with a chocolate sauce.
• Sunday 02 May at 4pm – Easy Greek dishes for entertaining (R370pp). Dishes include fried halloumi, bean soup, moussaka, spanokopita and honey tart.

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

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.

Cookbook of the week

In Cooking from Cape to Cairo, Dorah Sitole, long time editor of True Love Magazine, has put together a mouthwatering collection of recipes drawn from around the continent.  In compiling the book she did a culinary tour of 19 African destinations. All the recipes in the book are easy to follow and most of the ingredients are easy to come by. This book offers an enlightening view into unique culinary traditions of Africa. … Click Here for more.

Click Here to see Wickedfood Cooking School’s top 10 food-related books for 2009.

On food – Pumpkins:

Pumpkins take centre stage in October, lighting up driveways and leering at us through windows in the run-up to Halloween in the Northern Hemisphere. But they’re not just pretty faces, they are a great autumn vegetable with a good shelf life. … Click Here for more information.

Food quote of the week :

“For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. “ – Edwin Way Teale

Recipe of the week:

Samp and beans

Also known as Umngqusho, it is a favourite traditional dish among the Xhosa, it is made of de-hulled dried corn and dried beans. The corn kernels are crushed or broken into pieces which are easier to cook and eat. In South Africa, dried samp and beans are sold already mixed and ready to use. Umngqusho is sometimes served with fried onions, or as a side dish with any stew that has gravy. .… Click Here for the recipe

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.