Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

Well  the World Cup Tournament is here.  For those who want to get into the spirit, but not necessarily go to the games, Wickedfood Cooking School has some exciting alternatives:

• Cooking classes for individuals- based around menus from those countries participating in the World Cup, that we feel have the most interesting culinary traditions – on Monday night, we kicked off with a delicious South African cooking class which was fully subscribed … click here for more information on other cooking classes available during the Soccer World Cup.
• Cooking classes for a group of friends – Wickedfood Cooking School has identified the 10 participating soccer teams with the most interesting cuisine and drawn up a representative 6-dish menu cooking class for each national team. Bring a group of 12 or 24 friends for fun night out @ R390pp and we will give you one place per twelve people free ie book for 12 and pay for 11.   Contact the school for more details.
• 2010 Culinary World Cup Challenge – a great way for your company to entertain staff or clients, or do a teambuilding cooking class with a difference, during the Soccer World Cup period.  Click here or Contact the school for more details.

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, we have some great cooking classes to coincide with the Soccer World Cup – see above, or click the relevant month for the June and July programme .

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 21 June at 6pm – Flavours of Brazil (R380 pp). Brazilian cooking class, showcasing the country’s unique flavours including savoury pumpkin soup, Feijoada, fried Brazilian-style greens, rice cooked with onion, toasted manioc flour and an orange flan.
• Sunday 27June at 4pm – Classic Japanese dishes (R380pp). Classic Japanese cooking class with dishes from the Japanese kitchen including yakitori grilled chicken, tofu and vegetable soup, poached fish with miso, chicken cakes, spinach rolls with bonito flakes and caramelised sweet potatoes.
• Monday 28 June at 6pm – Classic French cooking (R370pp). French cooking class, an introduction to French cuisine including cheese soufflé, potato and leek soup, coq au vin, potato gratin, and tarte tatin.
• Monday 05 July at 6pm – Cooked in Africa (R380pp). Justin Bonello has become a cult hero in the South African culinary world. Through his quirky television series, and accompanying book, Cooked In Africa, he has taken a bunch of friends on a culinary road trip through southern Africa.  We’ve taken a few of the recipes from the series and re-interpreted them to create a delicious South African cooking class.

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

Delia Smith – Complete How To Cook

In 2009 Delia’s How to Cook was released as a single book of over 700 pages, with 350 recipes and step-by-step photography, covering every technique you will ever need from how to boil an egg to Risotto Carbonara. Truly a great book for both a beginner and someone who wants to brush up on both basics and more involved cooking. … Click Here for more.

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

Food quote of the week :

“My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, … unless there are three other people.” – Orson Welles

Recipe of the week:

Mixed Grill with Apricot Barbecue Glaze

Every day during the |Football World Cup Delia Smith will add a recipe that reflects the cuisine of one of the teams playing. This is her take on the braai. The sauce is suitable for all meats – lamb cutlets, pork ribs or chicken.

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, SUNNINGHILL

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

Hi all,

By the time you read the next newsletter,  the world cup will have started.  To get you into the spirit of things, over the next two months, Wickedfood Cooking School will be running some cooking classes for individuals based around menus from those countries participating in the World Cup that we feel have the most interesting culinary traditions.  we start with the delicious South African cooking class, followed by Brazil, and Japan over the next three weeks.

We have also developed our own 2010 Culinary World Cup, a great way for your company to entertain staff or clients, or do teambuilding with a difference, during the Soccer World Cup period. Contact the school for more details.

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.

Great advertising opportunity

Did you know that how that our website and blog receive around 10,000 hits per month.  The Wickedfood Cooking School website and blog pages are  great places to advertise to reach your target market.  Click here to find out more.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

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

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.

• Sunday 06 June at 4pm – Making pasta, basic shapes and sauces (R370pp). Pasta cooking class, using different pasta shapes, make sauces, and make pasta – farfalle with chicken and cherry tomatoes, salad Florentine, gorgonzola cream sauce, cheese and tomato filled cannelloni, and delicious sweet noodle cake.

• Sunday 13 June at 4pm – Vegetarian Indian (R360pp). Authentic Indian cooking class making vegetarian dishes including curd cheese with spinach, chickpeas and mushroom curry, fragrant rice with soya, spicy brown lentils, savoury pancakes, coconut chutney and coconut milk pudding.

• Monday 14 June at 6pm – South African – A Taste of the Cape (R380pp). South African cooking class with a strong Cape Malay flavour, showcasing the unique flavours that have become synonymous with South African cuisine including savoury chicken pies, smoorsnoek, lamb slow braised, tomato bredie, sousboontjies, yellow rice and milk tart.
• Monday 21 June at 6pm – Flavours of Brazil (R380 pp). Brazilian cooking class, showcasing the countries unique flavours including savoury pumpkin soup, Feijoada, fried Brazilian-style greens, rice cooked with onion, toasted manioc flour and an orange flan
• Sunday 27June at 4pm – Classic Japanese dishes (R380pp). Classic Japanese cooking class with dishes from the Japanese kitchen including yakitori grilled chicken, tofu and vegetable soup, poached fish with miso, chicken cakes, spinach rolls with bonito flakes and caramelised sweet potatoes.

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

Fruit and Nuts

Every once in awhile a really remarkable cookbook crosses the Wickedfood Cooking School review desk.  Fruit and Nuts is such a book.  Although  not a cookbook, it is an extremely informative and comprehensive guide to growing and using more than 300 species of fruits and nuts. … Click Here for more.

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

On food

What does the word organic mean on the lable?

Is organic food really better for us or is it just a con? Take a closer look behind the label.

Organic agriculture is defined as a system of farming based on principles of human, animal and environmental health. At its core, organic farming is about avoiding the use of agro-chemicals to minimise damage to the environment and wildlife. But the jury’s still out on whether it does the climate any good. … Click Here for more information.

Food quote of the week :

“All mushrooms are edible – once.” - Anonymous

Did you know?

Mushrooms are not universally adored. Some people are not keen on the taste or texture of funghi, while others suffer from an irrational fear of mushrooms, called mycophobia. Perhaps the fear isn’t so irrational – although fatal poisoning from mushrooms is rare, some of the most poisonous and most delicious species belong to the same genus.

Recipe of the week:

Sausage and mushroom sauce for pasta

A delicious pasta sauce is quick and easy to make.  It is a firm favourite in Wickedfood Cooking School’s pasta cooking classes. .… 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.

SUNNINGHILL>> information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

BOKSBURG>> information & bookings (011) 823-5365 boksburg@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

I hope everyone enjoyed the lovely long weekend and all the Women had a good two days’ rest while their men did the work. I would also like to congratulate the Springboks on a fantastic win over the Australians. This week the WickedFood Chefs went on a Meat and Sausage making course, a lot was learn’t and we will be looking into some very interesting classes in the near future. This week also sees some really interesting classes coming at both schools,  so keep your eyes peeled.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Our August individual cooking class programme is up on the Internet – click the relevant school for the August programme Sunninghill / Boksburg.

Class highlights for the next two weeks include:

• Sunday 16 August at 4pm – All you wanted to know about… Outdoor Cooking (R390pp). Part of the master class series. Our head instructor will give an in-depth hands-on demonstration on what can be achieved on a Kettlebraai and gas BBQ. Students will learn the secrets of cooking fish on an open flame, chicken on a rotisserie, leg of lamb in a closed Kettlebraai, perfect roast veg on a braai and crème caramels on a gas BBQ.
• Monday 17 August at 6pm – Spicy Thai (R370pp). In this class dishes include minced pork northern style, spicy chicken soup, deep-fried fish in a garlic sauce, sweet and sour vegetables, stir-fried noodles and sweet rice pudding.
• Sunday 23 August at 4pm – Easy to prepare Spanish dishes (R380pp). Classic easy-to-prepare Spanish dishes including chicken livers, stuffed tomatoes, white gazpacho, fish stew, virgin paella, and chocolate pudding.
• Monday 24 August at 6pm – Home cooking – Dinner for two (R195pp). Learn to cook a healthy homestyle dinner for two, and take the fruits of your labour home to enjoy with your partner. These are quick classes starting promptly at 6pm and lasting 1 hour. You will get to make a main dish, with veg and a starch.
• Sunday 30 August at 4pm – Jamie’s Ministry of Food – The perfect roast and accompaniments (R350pp). We consider Jamie Oliver’s latest book his best. It is a perfect book for any beginner. Each month we take six recipes from the book and re-interpret them, with plenty of tips along the way. Learning the secrets to two classic roasts with all the trimmings. Dishes include roast chicken with winter root vegetables covered with a mouthwatering gravy, the perfect Sunday roast beef with crispy potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and a creamy horseradish sauce.

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

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill

August individual class programme….. click here

Wickedfood Cooking School, Boksburg

August individual class programme….. click here

A Day at elBulli – an insight into the ideas, methods and creativity of Ferran Adrià – An exclusive look behind the scenes at elBulli, voted ‘Best Restaurant in the World’ for the last three years, and into the mind of Ferran Adrià, the most creative chef working today.
With two million requests for reservations every year, it is notoriously difficult to get a table there. This book opens the doors to everyone and reveals the inner workings of the kitchen and the gastronomic innovations that have helped create the spectacular food. Illustrated with over 1,000 colour photographs, the book includes recipes and innovative inserts explaining the creative methods and food philosophy, the reservations policy, the history of elBulli and the life of Ferran Adrià.

Aimed at all food enthusiasts as well as industry professionals, the book starts with daybreak at 6.15 am, then shows visits to the local markets to source ingredients, Ferran’s arrival at the workshop, his morning creative experimentation session, the arrival of the rest of the brigade at 2.30 pm to begin the mise-en-place for the evening, the daily tasks of the front of house team, and the arrival of the first guests for dinner from 7.45 pm until the last guests’ departure by 2.00 am.
With its innovative structure and striking design, A Day at elBulli provides a fascinating insight into the rare and magical experience of eating at elBulli.

The Chefs:

Ferran Adrià is recognized as the best chef in the world. His legendary talent, creativity and gastronomic innovations have inspired chefs and food-lovers around the world for many years, and make elBulli what it is today.
Albert Adrià shares the same passion for food and creativity as his older brother Ferran. He specializes in the world of pastry and is creative director of the elBulli workshop, where the pioneering culinary techniques that inform the spectacular thirty-course menu are developed.
Juli Soler joined elBulli as restaurant manager in 1981. He quickly brought the front of house service to a standard never seen before in Spain, and it is characterized by his warmth, generosity and professionalism.

Interesting facts:

An average tasting meal of 28-35 dishes comprising of cocktails, snacks, tapas-dishes, avant-desserts, desserts and morphines  at elBulli will cost 200 euros (±R 2305).

There are between 60-70 staff working at elBulli, this means there are more staff than guests at any given time.

elBulli is only open for six months of the year, for the other six they are in the workshop developing new ideas and dishes for the next six months.