NEXT MASTERCLASS - Wednesday 23rd November from 11am till 2pm. $130pp includes 3 courses, wine, recipes and a special little gift - max 6 guests. Venue located in Mt Eden.
The first course, an Italian risotto dish, is a real favourite of mine. During my training in Milan I made risottos, to order, for the guests – and learnt the true secrets behind a great Italian risotto. It’s easy to be told to ensure the white wine is completely evaporated, or not to stir the rice is one thing but to see the precise colour of the rice as it cooks is another, ensuring that cooking at home is a breeze. Being able to talk through the stages and show step by step the key points and exactly what to look for – I think took away a lot of the mystery around what is essentially a very simple dish. The focus was very clearly placed on cooking the risotto perfectly and finishing it with the correct amounts of olive oil and parmesan cheese…. Even the regular risotto cooks were surprised with the techniques I taught them. Moving onto the main course of the Ladies Lunch, Pan-Seared fish. One technique I often get asked about is how to fry fish properly, so this dish featured pan-fried snapper with a cauliflower puree. One of my guests explained how she always had trouble with the fish sticking to the pan, as well as the fact that logistically serving perfect fish for 8 guests is a nightmare with just one large frying pan. This was an opportunity to good to miss, I invited her come round to my side of the stove and cook the snapper herself. This hands-on practical experience and confidence gained from cooking a few portions from scratch gave the guests a deeper experience, and they left with the confidence to tackle it themselves at home, masterfully! This crispy golden edged snapper was served with a cloud-like snow puree of cauliflower and a warm salad of rocket, leek ribbons and shiitake mushrooms. This was followed by the making of a “parfait”, or French light creamy frozen ice-cream. What I love about this sweet is there is no ice-cream machine required to get that delicious texture. Once the sabayon was whisked up and cooled I folded in my home-made honey, from the bee hive in my garden, and then poured into the desired mould and allowed to freeze. An hour had quickly passed and it was time to sit down to a lovely fresh citrusy chardonnay by Te Mata. The table was set with menus, white linen napkins and bowl of fresh garden camellias. A clinking of glasses and a chorus of cheers – and we were underway for our lunchtime culinary feast. The Italian risotto was topped with king prawns; the fresh snapper accompanied by leeks and perfumed shiitake mushrooms; and finally the parfait of honey was served with slightly acidic mandarins, nutty caramelised praline and a drizzle of liquid honey. As well as being incredible fun for everyone involved, it created a relaxed environment in which everyone was able to ask any sort of question and discuss problems and challenges cooking at home, or hosting special dinner parties. Sitting down to enjoy the finished product in a lovely setting with beautiful wines, finished off a very unique cooking class in a perfect way! NEXT MASTERCLASS - Wednesday 23rd November from 11am till 2pm. $130pp includes 3 courses, wine, recipes and a special little gift - max 6 guests. Venue located in Mt Eden. Excellence celebrated!
http://orakingsalmon.co.nz/blog/events/the-odyssey-lunch-the-nelson-club-nelson/ These days there are so many chefs writing books, creating television programmes and publishing menus on all sorts of media platforms that New Zealanders are certainly spoilt for choice.
But I bring something slightly different to the table – years and years of training and experience with some of the world’s top chefs in Europe, and a drive to bring those techniques back here and apply them to the wonderful bounty of produce from this beautiful country. It’s something I did for over a decade at my award-winning restaurant in Herne Bay, Vinnies. I also brought that experience to bear as a consultant chef for Air New Zealand, where I created menus for business class guests that showcased the best of the country’s food and wine to perfection. To this day I am regularly involved in tasting, judging, and assessing food as a consultant, and also through my work judging the NZ Food Awards, the OraKing Salmon Awards, the Bachelor of Culinary Arts at AUT, the Gordon Ramsey Scholarship, and in work for the NZ Nutrition Foundation. I was also the chef ambassador to the Prime Minister’s China delegation during his trip to Shanghai in April 2009, and to NZ Tourism’s Rugby World Cup venture in Tokyo in October 2009. As well as having been a presenter on TVOne’s Good Morning show, and I continue to be a feature food writer for the New Zealand Herald’s Bite magazine. My radio work includes interviews on RNZ and co-hosting/presenting on Radio Live. I’m also a regular teacher at Milly’s Cook School in a series called Master Classes, where I teach what I consider to be the essentials to a great meal. This work is a reduced essence of all my years in top kitchens overseas – but in a much more relaxed and fun environment! I’ve taught classes on seafood, sauces, and meat so far this year, and the next class is pastry on October 5th – click here to book. Consultancy and freelance food styling rounds out these projects, and there’s plenty more in the pipeline. Look out for these news plans coming soon:
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Author - Geoff ScottAcclaimed Chef, Consultant and Food Writer Archives
September 2020
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