Week 2 Term 3 – 8 June 2026

Why methods?

We teach techniques, not recipes – because techniques are the building blocks of great cooking.  All our chefs are either trade qualified or Le Cordon Bleu trained, and we teach the way we were taught – using a ‘see it, do it’ model.  This means that for most classes our chef instructors use ‘running demos’ where they show you the skill and then you copy it – with assistance from your instructor as needed.   And in our express classes you will cook at the same time as the chef, following their lead.   We will give you an ingredients list and a method for each class, but you do not have to use it.

Our chefs will explain patiently and walk you through each class.   And if your dish doesn’t work out, that is OK – we run most classes 3 or 4 times a week so you can always come and try again!  Failure is part of learning.

Use these methods below to practice at home.

Krautkrapfen (Bavarian cabbage and bacon rolls) (v – replace bacon with dried forest mushrooms)

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • Large bowl
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan with lid or foil to cover.
  • Rolling pin
  • Baking tray lined with baking paper
  • Extra sheet of baking paper
  • Spatula

Ingredients

Bread dough

  • 150g self raising flour plus a little extra for dusting
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ tsp instant yeast
  • 2 tbsp water

Filling

  • 350g sauerkraut
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • ½ small onion
  • 50g bacon
  • 2 juniper berries
  • 125ml beer (not dark beer)
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • Neutral vegetable oil
  • Small handful chives
  • Salt and pepper 

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180C.
  2. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  3. Mix dough:
    a. Mix all dough ingredients until combined and knead until dough forms a ball.
    b. Add a little extra water if needed.
    c. Allow to sit while making filling.
  4. Make filling
    a. Dice bacon.
    b. Slice onion thinly.
    c. Fry bacon in its own fat until a little crispy.
    d. Add onions and fry until translucent.
    e. Add fennel, juniper berries and beer.
    f. Add sauerkraut and simmer for 20 minutes covered on low heat.
    g. Set aside in a bowl to cool.
    h. Wipe out frypan.
  5. While filling is simmering and cooling, roll out dough:
    a. Dust bench.
    b. Roll out dough onto baking paper into a thin rectangle using rolling pin.
  6. Fill dough:
    a. Place filling on edge closest to you, leaving a 2 cm gap and the bottom and a 5 cm gap on either side.
    b. Roll up and pinch seam together.
    c. Cut into 4 cm wide rolls.
  7. Fry and bake rolls
    a. Heat oil in frypan.
    b. Add rolls and fry.
    c. Place onto lined baking tray.
    d. Bake for 30 minutes.
    e. Add wine or stock on the frypan and boil, scraping the bottom.
    f. Add tomato and thyme and cook 2 minutes.
    g. Add olives, capers and basil and cook for 1 minute.
  8. Plate and sprinkle with chives.
  9. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives

Kabeljau mi Senfsauce – Cod in mustard sauce with mashed potato (v – replace fish with steamed cauliflower and roasted capsicum)

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • Baking tray lined with baking paper
  • Whisk
  • Paper towel x 2

Ingredients

  • 180g cod fillet (or other white fish)
  • Handful greens (beans/broccoli/similar)500g potatoes
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
  • 200g potatoes
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Fat pinch white pepper
  • 2 tbsp butter for mash
  • 2 tbsp (40ml) milk for mash
  • 1 tsp flour
  • 2 tsp butter for fish
  • 5 tbsp milk for fish
  • 5 tbsp cream for fish
  • 2 tsp hot mustard
  • Small handful fresh dill
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Pinch nutmeg
  • Pinch paprika
  • ¼ lemon
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 220C.
  2. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  3. Cook greens in stock until barely done, set aside to cool.
  4. Prepare and cook potatoes:
    a. Wash if necessary, peel if desired.
    b. Macedoine potatoes (cut into 1cm cubes).
    c. Put potatoes into saucepan with stock (plus if needed extra water) to just cover.
    d. Bring to boil then simmer until a fork goes through them easily (about 10 mins).
  5. While potatoes are cooking, prepare sauce for fish:
    a. Finely chop dill.
    b. Grease lined baking tray.
    c. Melt half the remaining butter in frypan, add flour and cook until it smells nutty and is lightly browned.
    d. Whisk in milk and cream and simmer until raw flour taste has disappeared – stir continually.
    e. Add mustard, Worcestershire, nutmeg and dill.
    f. Season to taste.
  6. Cook fish:
    a. Season fish fillets.
    b. Place in baking tray.
    c. Cover with sauce.
    d. Sprinkle with paprika.
    e. Bake in oven 15 minutes.
    f. Add beans to reheat for final 5 minutes.
  7. Mash potatoes
    a. Heat milk to about 60 degrees (hot but not painful when tested with finger).
    b. Drain potatoes – reserve cooking stock in jug.
    c. Put potatoes in bowl.
    d. Add cold butter, hot milk, and salt and pepper to taste.
    e. Mash until soft. Add some reserved stock if needed – potatoes should be moderately loose and should not fully hold shape.
  8. Plate:
    a. Place mash on warmed plate.
    b. Fish to side (use an offset spatula to lift).
    c. Place beans.
    d. Lemon to garnish.
  9. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Mouclade (mussels with shallots, garlic and saffron)

Sally learned to make this dish in France in the early 2000s.  It is an oldie but a goodie.

1 x 2l container

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Large saucepan with lid
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • 2 bowls
  • Whisk
  • Sieve/strainer
  • Spatula

Ingredients

  • 350g mussels, scrubbed
  • ½ large golden shallot
  • 5 tbsp white wine
  • Pinch saffron strands
  • 10g butter
  • ½ small stick celery
  • ¼ tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • 3 tbsp fish or vegetable stock
  • ½ small bay leaf
  • ½ egg yolk
  • 5 tbsp double cream
  • ¼ lemon
  • Small handful parsley
  • Pinch of smoked paprika
  • Large slice of sourdough
  • 1 tbsp EVOO
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare mussels by removing beard.
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    a. Finely dice shallot.
    b. Finely dice celery.
    c. Mince half the garlic.
    d. Very finely chop parsley
  4. Saute shallots and steam mussels:
    a. In the saucepan, heat wine.
    b. Add one third of the shallots and bring to the boil.
    c. Add mussels and cover. Boil for 1 minute and shake the pan once.
    d. Remove mussels and discard any that remain closed.
    e. Strain cooking liquid into bowl.
    f. Add saffron to liquid, season and set aside.
    g. Rinse saucepan.
  5. Make liquid base:
    a. Melt butter in saucepan.
    b. Add remaining shallots and celery and sweat until softened (do not brown).
    c. Add fennel seeds and half the garlic and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
    d. Add:
      i. Saffron liquid
      ii. Stock
      iii. Bay leaf
      iv. Smoked paprika
    e. Bring to boil and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
  1. While liquid is simmering, put bread in oven to toast (or use a toaster). If using oven, drizzle with EVOO first. If using toaster, drizzle with EVOO when toasted.  Rub with remaining garlic clove.
  2. Make liaison and add:
    a. Whisk egg yolk with cream in a bowl until fully combined.
    b. Whisk in a ladleful of hot saffron liquid.
    c. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon.
    d. Whisk liaison back into the sauce.
    e. Taste for seasoning.
  3. Cook sauce: cook at the lowest setting for 10 minutes until thickened – do not boil. 
  4. Taste for seasoning.
  5. Add mussels, remaining garlic and most of the parsley and reheat.
  6. Plate into a bowl, bread on the side. Top with remaining parsley.
  7. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Barra with Provencale tomatoes and herbed pilaf rice (v – replace fish with celeriac)

1 x 650ml container

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Small saucepan with lid
  • Frypan
  • Small metal tray or bowl
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • Spatula

Ingredients

Fish

  • 180g barramundi fillet
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp EVOO

Rice pilaf

  • 2 tsp EVOO
  • 10g butter
  • ½ small onion
  • 50g long grain rice
  • 90ml vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 small bay leaf
  • Large

Tomato and olive base

  • 30ml white wine or fish stock
  • 1 small ripe tomato
  • Fat pinch thyme
  • 4 Kalamata olives, pitted
  • ½ tbsp capers
  • 4 leaves basil
  • 1 tsp pine nuts
  • Salt and pepper 

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 180C.
  2. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  3. Prepare vegetables:
    a. Deseed, peel and dice tomatoes.
    b. Finely dice onion.
    c. Finely slice basil.
    d. Finely chop remaining herbs.
    e. Rinse capers and chop roughly if large.
  4. Cook rice:
    a. Rinse rice until water runs clear.
    b. Heat 2 tsp EVOO and 10g butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
    c. Fry rice and onion in butter and oil until the rice starts to smell nutty.
    d. Season, add stock and bay leaf, bring to boil. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid. Put in the oven and cook at 180C until rice is soft (about 10 minutes).
    e. Remove from oven and leave to stand covered for 5 minutes.
    1. Remove bay leaf and test for seasoning.
  5. Fry fish:
    a. Cut into 3 slices.
    b. Season and dust with flour.
    c. Heat oil in frypan until very hot, swirl to coat base of pan.
    d. Add fish and cook on high until fish flakes in the centre of the thickest fillet.
    e. Keep warm on tray/in bowl.
  6. Make tomato and olive base:
    a. Add wine or stock on the frypan and boil, scraping the bottom.
    b. Add tomato and thyme and cook 2 minutes.
    c. Add olives, capers and basil and cook for 1 minute.
  7. Plate:
    a. Add herbs to rice, stir and place rice down.
    b. Fish down.
    c. Sauce over fish.
    d. Garnish with pine nuts.
  8. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives

Intermediate French – Onion tart with green leaves and vinaigrette

Try adding sauteed middle bacon, or make this tart with leeks for a variation called ‘flamiche’.

1 x 1 l airtight container

1 x 350ml container

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan with lid
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • Whisk
  • Spatula
  • Jug
  • Bowl
  • Offset spatula
  • Pie tin
  • Baking weights
  • Rolling pin
  • Clingwrap

Ingredients 

Pastry

  • 50g plain flour
  • 25g cold butter
  • 2 tsp iced water
  • Fat pinch salt

Filling

  • 15g butter
  • 250g red onion
  • 1 egg
  • 60ml double cream
  • Fat pinch nutmeg

Green leaves and vinaigrette

  • Handful green leaves
  • 1 tsp EVOO
  • ¼ tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • ¼ golden shallot
  • ¼ small anchovy fillet (optional)
  • Salt and pepper 

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Preheat oven to 180C.
  3. Make and chill pastry:
    a. Rub butter int flour until it looks like breadcrumbs or sand.
    b. Add water a little at a time and knead to form a dough.
    c. Form into a flat disc, wrap in clingwrap.
    d. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
  4. Make and chill onions for filling:
    a. Peel and finely slice onions.
    b. Melt butter.
    c. Add onions and salt, cover and cook very gently, stirring often, until white parts are golden.
    d. Set aside to chill.
  5. Prepare custard base:
    a. In a jug, beat egg and cream. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
  6. Blind bake tart shell:
    a. Roll out dough.
    b. Line pie tin.
    c. Cover with foil and add baking weights.
    d. Bake 10 mins.
    e. Remove foil.
    f. Bake until pastry has a little colour.
  7. While tart shell is blind baking, make vinaigrette:
    a. Pour oil into bowl.
    b. Add mustard and salt.
    c. Add anchovy if using, and crush.
    d. Add vinegar, shallot and a good grind of black pepper.
    e. Whisk.
    f. Set aside.
  8. Make tart:
    a. Place half the onions in base and add half the egg custard.
    b. Add remaining onions and add remaining custard, do not overfill.
  9. Bake tart for 40 minutes until custard is set.
  10. Clean down.
  11. In the last 10 minutes of baking, make green salad by adding greens to dressing in bowl and tossing until thoroughly coated.
  12. Plate:
    a. Dressed salad to one side of plate.
    b. Decant tart and place on other side, cutting in half if desired.
  13. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Intermediate French – Bitter Chocolate Mousse

1 x 350ml bowl or serving container

1 x 650ml airtight container

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Cutting board with paper towel
  • Knife
  • Whisk
  • Spatula
  • 3 bowls
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Offset spatula
  • Tuile mould
  • Rolling pin
  • Small ziplock bag or small piece cling wrap

Ingredients 

Mousse

  • 60g 70% cocoa dark chocolate
  • 15ml water
  • 2 tsp Cointreau or brandy
  • 2 tsp unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 25 ml thickened cream
  • Fat pinch cream of tartar
  • 2 heaped tsp caster sugar

Tuile

  • 15g 00 flour
  • 5g cocoa powder
  • 20g egg white
  • 20g icing sugar
  • 20g butter 

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Make chocolate curls – shave 5g chocolate with vegetable peeler, put into ziplock bag.
  3. Melt chocolate and enrich:
    a. Put water and chocolate into saucepan on very low heat.
    b. Melt, stirring.
    c. Whisk in liqueur and butter.
    d. Separate egg and whisk in yolk (white into clean, grease free bowl).
    e. Set aside to cool.
  4. Whip cream and fold into chocolate:
    a. Whip cream to soft peaks.
    b. Add 1/3 to chocolate mix and combine.
    c. Add remaining cream and fold in.
  5. Make meringue base:
    a. Beat egg whites until frothy.
    b. Add cream of tartar.
    c. Beat to soft peak.
    d. Add sugar.
    e. Beat to stiff beak.
  6. Add meringue to chocolate:
    a. Add 1/3 of the meringue to the chocolate mix, gently folding.
    b. Add remainder cutting in from sides and bottom until just combined.
    c. Put into serving dishes and chill 2 hours.
  7. Make tuiles
    a. Melt butter
    b. Whisk together:
      i. 15g 00 flour
      ii. 5g cocoa powder
      iii. 20g egg white
      iv. 20g icing sugar
       v. 20g melted butter

    c. Spread into tuile moulds using offset spatula, scraping off excess.
    d. Bake until no longer soft.
    e. Remove from moulds while hot and place over rolling pin to curl.
    f. Cool. Store excess in airtight container.
  1. Serve mousse topped with chocolate curls and a tuile.
  2. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.

Double Meal Prep: Toulousain Cassoulet (v – replace meat with carrot, mushroom and cauliflower) and Sauerbraten (marinated braised beef) with parsley potatoes and greens (v – replace meat with pumpkin)

This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished on the oven or stovetop or reheated in the oven at home.  Please bring:

  1. 2 x 350ml takeaway container for green beans and cooking liquid (double if cooking 4 serves/meal)
  2. 1 x 650ml container for potatoes
  3. 1 x 350ml container for Sauerbraten roux
  4. 1 x deep baking tray or casserole dish with a tightfitting lid for braised beef – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.
  5. 1 x deep baking tray or casserole dish with a tightfitting lid for cassoulet – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 serves per meal, or medium (3-4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 serves per meal.

Otherwise, you can buy ‘containers’ packs on our website for a couple of dollars each. 

Toulousain Cassoulet (v – replace meat with carrot, mushroom and cauliflower)

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Frypan
  • Saucepan with lid
  • Strainer
  • 2 large bowls
  • 1 ziplock bag

Ingredients

  • 150g dried white beans, soaked overnight
  • 200g thick French style beef sausages
  • 125g lamb shoulder
  • 125g pork shoulder
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ½ tin diced tomato
  • 100ml chicken or beef stock
  • 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • Salt and pepper 

Method

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Put breadcrumbs into ziplock bag
  3. Cook beans:
    a. Boil for 10 minutes in lightly salted water (just enough to cover).
    b. Wash in clean water, recover with water, return to heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
    c. Season and set aside.
    d. Reserve bean liquid.
  4. Cook meat:
    a. Cook sausages in the frypan until browned and pour off all but half a tablespoon of fat. Set sausages aside.
    b. Add lamb and pork, season and brown in batches. Set aside.
  5. Cook vegetables:
    a. Slice and fry onion and garlic until just soft.
    b. Add tomato and cook.
    c. Put vegetables into bowl with meat.
    d. Add stock and bring to boil.
  6. Build cassoulet:
    a. Spoon ¼ of the beans into casserole dish.
    b. Top with 1/3 of sausages, meat and vegetables.
    c. Continue layering, ending with beans.
    d. Add herbs.
    e. Pour over stock and enough bean liquid to just cover (if necessary, put liquid in container to transport home).
  7. Add cooking instructions to casserole dish (see below).
  8. Clean down bench. Wash all dishes reset bench.
  9. At home, add liquid if not already added (just to cover top layer of beans) and cook covered at 180C for 2 hours, adding more bean cooking liquid if base becomes dried than a very thick soup consistency. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and press down.  Cook for 20 minutes until breadcrumbs are browned.
  10. Serve with some bread and a green salad, if desired.

Sauerbraten (marinated braised beef) with parsley potatoes and greens (v – replace meat with pumpkin)

Equipment

  • Cooktop
  • Saucepan
  • Frying pan
  • Cutting board w paper towel
  • Chef’s knife
  • Bowl of iced water.

Ingredients

Green beans

  • Large handful green beans
  • 10g butter

Parsley potatoes

  • 6 baby potatoes
  • 20g butter
  • Handful continental parsley

Sauerbraten

  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • ½ leek
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 juniper berries
  • 2 cloves
  • 4 black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp flaked salt
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 200ml red wine
  • 80ml red wine vinegar
  • 60 ml water
  • 400g rump or chuck roast
  • 1 slice middle bacon
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 15g raisins
  • 2 gingernut biscuits
  • 2 tsp honey
  • Salt and pepper

Method 

  1. Get all ingredients and equipment.
  2. Prepare the beans and potatoes:
    a. Boil beans in salty water until cooked. Chill in iced water.  Pack into container with 10g butter. 
    b. Boil potatoes until tender. Pack into container with chopped parsley and 20g butter. 
  3. Prepare sauerbraten roux:
    a. Melt butter.
    b. Add flour, cook until it smells nutty.
    c. Add raisins, honey and crushed GingerNuts.
    d. Put in takehome container.
  4. Fry off beef and bacon:
    a. Brown outside of beef.
    b. Set aside in casserole dish.
    c. Fry bacon and add to casserole dish.
  5. Make marinade:
    a. Roughly chop all vegetables.
    b. Add vegetables, garlic, herbs and spices to saucepan.
    c. Add salt, sugar, red wine, red wine vinegar and water.
    d. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
    e. Pour mixture into casserole dish.
    f. Cover with foil/lid and note cooking instructions.
  6. Clean down, including sweeping floor, wiping and sanitising cooktop and benches, washing and drying up, and cleaning and sanitising knives.
  7. At home:
    a. Marinate the meat for at least 4 days.
    b. When ready to cook, add roux and stir then cover and cook at 150C for 3 hours (4 if making a double portion).
    c. Remove vegetables, carve roast and serve with vegetables and reheated potatoes and green beans.
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