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.
Chopped chicken salad (v – Feta)
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Cutting board with paper towel under it
- Jug for water
- Saucepan and lid
- Tongs
- Large knife
- Large bowl
- Fork
- Small tray
Ingredients
- 125 g boneless, skinless chicken breast (v – 80g feta or other soft textured, full flavoured cheese plus 5 olives)
- Half a lemon
- Bay leaf
- 5 peppercorns
- 3 to 4 lettuce leaves
- 1 cup baby spinach (about 30g)
- 6 cherry or grape tomatoes
- ½ a small cucumber (or ¼ of a large one)
- ¼ red onion
- ½ tablespoon seeds or nuts (preferably roasted)
- 15ml extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- Pinch (ie what will fit on the tip of a small spoon/knife*) dried oregano
- Pinch sugar
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board using damp paper towel.
- Fill your saucepan with water to about 2 cm from the top (use a jug) and put it on the cooktop on a high heat.
- Gather your ingredients and the rest of your equipment.
- Cut your half lemon in half so you have two wedges.
- Poach chicken – when the water is boiling, add one wedge of lemon, the bay leaf and the peppercorns (no salt). Add chicken, making sure there is at least 5cm of water above it, then immediately remove from heat (take off cooktop) and set on your bench. Set a timer on your phone for 15 minutes.
(Vege option – cut feta into cubes)
- Make the dressing – put oil, most of the juice from the other wedge of lemon, oregano, sugar, and a pinch each of salt and pepper in the jug and whisk with a fork. Taste and adjust as required.
- Chop veg as you like it. You can remove the seeds from the cucumber before slicing if you wish. You may want to finely slice the cucumber on the diagonal, and to roll up and then very finely slice the lettuce leaves (chiffonade). The spinach should not need to be chopped. The red onion is best thinly sliced. Put all veg in the large bowl.
- Wipe down your cutting board.
- Take the chicken out of the poaching water. Slice the chicken ‘across the grain’. Place on tray. (V –slice the olives and cut the feta into small cubes)
- Clean down, and run cutting board, pot and fork through the dishwasher (leave all ingredients). Wipe and put cooktop and all other equipment away. Quickly sweep your area.
- Toss your salad with the dressing and place on a plate/storage container.
- Place sliced chicken (v – olives and feta) over salad, sprinkle over seeds/nuts. Place to one side.
- Run all remaining equipment through dishwasher and scrape, clean, squeegee and sanitise bench. Put remaining equipment away.
- Enjoy dinner! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).
Notes
This poaching method for chicken works for whole chicken breasts as well. Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTinEats recommends taking breasts out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking, then putting them in the just boiled water for 20 mins for 250g breasts and 30 mins for 300g breasts. She suggests that you can leave them in the water for up to an hour – I think they are better not left for that long.
In a shared kitchen, we don’t put our fingers in communal ingredients. But if you are cooking at home, by all means use your fingers to take a pinch. A ‘pinch’ is a thumb and two fingers – a ‘big pinch’ is a thumb and 3 fingers.
Eggs 2 ways (boiled and poached)
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Saucepan
- Large spoon (preferably slotted)
- Paper towels
- Small bowl for iced water
Ingredients
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- Small container/ramekin
- 1 tbsp of white vinegar
- Iced water
Method
First, as always, tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Collect your ingredients and equipment.
Boiled eggs
- Half fill saucepan with water and bring to a rolling boil. While it is coming to the boil, get a bowl of iced water. Make a whirlpool in the boiling water to centre the yolk. Add room temperature eggs gently using the spoon and set a timer on your phone:
- For very soft boiled (gel like white) 3m
- For set white and runny yolk – 5m
- For set white and jammy yolk – 6m30s
- For hard boiled – 10m
- Keep the whirlpool going for the first minute or so.
- Remove eggs with the spoon and put into iced water for 10 minutes.
- While waiting for the eggs to cool, either cook poached eggs or clean down.
- After 10 minutes, peel the eggs.
- To make ramen eggs, put 6m30s cooked and peeled eggs in a small (snack sized) ziplock bag with 40ml/2 tblsp soy sauce, 40ml/2 tblsp mirin, 40ml/2 tblsp sake (or water) and ½ tsp sugar and marinate overnight.
Poached eggs
- Reboil the half saucepan of water. Add the vinegar and reduce heat to a simmer.
- Stir the water to make a whirlpool.
- Break two eggs into a ramekin and gently slip into the water while it is still moving.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes. When the white looks cooked, and is firm when pressed with your finger, remove with spoon.
- Serve immediately. If you don’t like the taste of vinegar, before serving you can dip quickly into a small bowl of hot salted water (salty like the sea).
- If not serving immediately, you can put straight into iced water and cool, then reheat in simmering salted water for 45 seconds before serving.
Spanish Rice with Prawns (v – Spanish Rice with Olives)
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board with paper towel under it
- Thermometer
- Jug for stock
- Veg peeler
- Frypan and lid
- Tongs
- Large bowl
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 tsp (5ml) oil
- 1 tbsp (20g) tomato paste
- ½ cup (125ml) vegetable stock
- ¼ cup (50g) medium grain rice
- Pinch smoked Spanish paprika
- 3 saffron threads
- ½ golden shallot
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 ‘side’ red capsicum
- 1 small carrot
- ¼ lemon
- Handful parsley
- 2 tbsp frozen peas
- 100 g peeled raw prawns – defrosted if frozen (v – 75g olives)
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Stabilise your cutting board with damp paper towel.
- Peel carrot, garlic and shallot. Finely chop shallot, garlic, capsicum, and carrot.
- Heat oil in a frypan over medium heat.
- Add vegetables and stir continuously for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add hot smoked paprika and tomato paste and stir to combine. Add some salt and pepper. Cook until the tomato paste starts to smell and look a bit ‘toasted’ (2 minutes approx.).
- Add vegetable stock and saffron, stir and turn heat to high.
- Chop parsley and set aside.
- When the stock is bubbling, add rice, mix to combine, put a lid on the pan and reduce heat to low so that the mix is simmering.
- Take paper towel and pat prawns dry on the cutting board, then season with salt and pepper (v – season olives with pepper).
- Clean cutting board, knife, jug and any other equipment you no longer need and put away.
- When most of the stock is absorbed into the rice (this will take about 10 minutes), layer the prawns and frozen peas on top of the rice, replace the lid and simmer on low until the prawns are cooked (no longer translucent or when they hit 57 degrees – about 5 minutes).
- Remove pan from heat. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt/pepper/lemon juice.
- Rest pan for a couple of minutes while you clean and store the cooktop.
- Serve rice (or put into storage container) and add parsley on top. Wash pan and any remaining equipment and put away. Scrape and wash bench, sanitise bench.
- Enjoy dinner! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).
French braised chicken (Chicken Fricasee) (v – Mushroom Fricasee)
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board with paper towel under it
- Thermometer
- Veg peeler
- Frypan
- Tongs
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Small tray
Ingredients
- 1 chicken thigh fillet (v – 1 large field mushroom)
- ½ golden shallot
- 1 small carrot
- 4 button mushrooms
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 stalk of thyme
- 2 tsp flour
- ¼ cup (65ml) chicken stock (v – vegetable stock)
- 1 tbsp thickened cream
- 1 tbsp (20ml) white wine
- 2 tsp unsalted butter
- Medium grain white rice to serve (chef to cook)
Method
- Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Collect your ingredients and equipment. Stabilise your cutting board with damp paper towel.
- Peel and chop shallot and carrot. Set aside.
- Peel and mince garlic. Set aside.
- Quarter button mushrooms, set aside.
- Cut chicken thigh fillet into 4 pieces (v – cut field mushroom into 4 pieces). Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat frypan over medium/low heat. Melt butter, then add chicken pieces (v – add field mushroom pieces). Cook on both sides until browned and releasing easily from the pan, about 3 minutes per side (v – 2 minutes for mushroom). Wash up cutting board while chicken is cooking.
- When chicken is cooked, remove from pan and set aside onto a tray.
- Add carrots and shallot to pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned and shallot is translucent.
- Add minced garlic, stir and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
- Add flour and mix into vegetables. Cook until flour starts to dry on bottom of pan (about 30 seconds).
- Add chicken stock (v- vegetable stock) and white wine to the pan and use a spatula or a spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan (‘deglazing’). Add cream. Add bay leaves and thyme. Stir to combine.
- Add chicken to the sauce and cook until it hits 74 degrees (use a thermometer) – about 4 to 5 more minutes.
- Remove from heat, remove bay leave and stalk of thyme (discard), check and adjust seasoning.
- Rest in the pan for 5 minutes while you clean up.
- Clean and store the cooktop. Wash equipment (except for container of parsley, frypan and spoon) and put away. Scrape and wash bench.
- Plate your fricassee with some rice (or put into storage container) and sprinkle with parsley.
- Wash remaining equipment and put away. Final wipe and sanitise bench.
- Enjoy dinner! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware).
One-pan Saffron Chicken and Rice (v- Butter beans)
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board with paper towel under it
- Thermometer
- Frypan
- Tongs
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Small tray
Ingredients
- 5 strands of saffron
- 2 tsp warm water
- 50g medium grain rice
- 2 tsp oil
- 2 tsp unsalted butter
- 1 bone-in, skin-on chicken thigh (v – 200g butter beans, 4 mushrooms)
- ¼ onion
- ¼ lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- Small handful parsley
- Small handful mint
- 1 tbsp roasted almonds
- ½ dried fig
- ½ tbsp Aleppo pepper
- 2/3 cup (160ml) water
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Collect your ingredients and equipment. Stabilise your cutting board with damp paper towel.
- Roll the saffron between your fingers and put in a ramekin with the warm water. Set aside.
- Heat half the oil in a frypan over medium-high heat. Put chicken in, skin side down, and cook without moving it until the skin releases easily from the pan and is golden and crisp – about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook the other side for 5 more minutes (set a timer on your phone). (v – Rinse beans if necessary. Fry mushrooms on high heat until browned, then add beans and reduce heat to low).
- While the chicken is cooking (v – while the beans and mushrooms are frying), roughly chop almonds and set aside. Finely chop fig and set aside. Finely chop parsley and mint and set aside. Peel and chop onion and garlic. Set aside.
- When chicken (v- beans and mushrooms) is cooked, remove from the pan on to the tray and set aside.
- Add butter to the chicken fat and oil in the pan and melt. Add onion and cook until softened and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add chopped fig, Aleppo pepper and rice to the pan and mix everything thoroughly so the rice is coated in the oil and butter mix.
- Add water and bring to a boil. Stir the rice, reduce heat to as low as possible. Add saffron water then chicken. Cover with a lid. Cook until rice is tender and chicken is cooked (74 degrees).
- Remove from the heat. Check and adjust seasoning.
- Rest with the lid on for 10 minutes while you clean up.
- Clean and store the cooktop. Wash equipment (except for herbs and chopped nuts, lemon, frypan and spoon) and put away. Scrape and wash bench.
- Plate your meal (or put into storage container) and sprinkle with herbs and nuts. Place lemon on the side.
- Wash remaining equipment and put away. Final wipe and sanitise bench.
- Enjoy dinner! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware)
Apple Crepes
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Cutting board
- Paper towel
- Chef’s knife or paring knife
- Frypan
- Spatula
- Jug
- Whisk or fork
- Tongs
- Small tray
- Small sieve
Ingredients
- 100g egg (2 large eggs)
- 100ml milk
- 50g plain flour
- 2 tbsp of caster sugar
- 20g butter
- 1 Granny Smith apple
- 1 tbsp Calvados, brandy or cognac (or other fruit liqueur like Grand Marnier or Cointreau) – optional, sub with 1 tbsp water
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp icing sugar
Method
- Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Collect your ingredients and equipment. Stabilise your cutting board with damp paper towel.
- Make the batter – Add the flour, salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar to the jug and make a well in the centre. Break the eggs into the well, add the milk and whisk in until a smooth batter is formed. Cover jug with a teatowel or clingfilm and rest batter in the fridge or on bench.
- Thinly slice the apple.
- Melt the butter in the frying pan over medium heat. Fry the apple slices until a little browned and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. When the sugar has melted, remove to a tray.
- Pour the liqueur or water, into the pan, scrape up any caramelised sugar, and pour the resulting syrup onto the tray of apple slices.
- Wipe out your pan. Put it back on the cooktop and reduce heat to medium-low.
- Add a small knob of butter and use clean paper towel to wipe it around the pan. Place a few apple slices in the bottom of the pan. Pour in enough crepe batter to lightly coat the bottom of the pan – you will need to swirl it around to cover. Once the bottom is golden, flip it over and cook for another minute or so.
- Roll up the crepes, and set aside in frypan.
- Clean and store the cooktop. Wash equipment (except for frypan, sieve and container of icing sugar) and put away. Scrape and wash bench.
- Put crepes on a serving plate or into storage container, dust with icing sugar and serve warm (if you are making this at home, add whipped cream, Greek yoghurt or ice cream, and some berries if you wish).
- Wash remaining equipment and put away. Final wipe and sanitise bench.
- Enjoy your crepes! (If eating in the dining area, please sweep up after yourself and wash and put away your dishes/cutlery/glassware)
Double meal prep: Slow cooked beef (French Daube) (v – Slow Cooked Beans)
This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished in the oven at home. If you have them, please bring 1 x casserole dish with lid and 1 x baking tray or dish – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 portions, medium (4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 portions. Otherwise, we will provide foil wrapped aluminium trays for you to take home with you.
Slow cooked beef (French Daube) (v – Slow Cooked Beans)
This recipe makes 2 portions – double it for 4 portions and extend cooking time as indicated
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Cutting board
- Paper towel
- Chef’s knife
- Frypan
- Small tray
- Tongs
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Casserole dish with lid or aluminium tray with foil
Ingredients
- 2 tsp (10g) unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp oil
- 300g chuck steak (beef shin or gravy beef will also work) (v – 400g green beans)
- 50g bacon
- Big pinch of sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 baby potatoes (v – 6 baby potatoes)
- 5 small mushrooms (swiss brown or button) (v – 10 small mushrooms)
- 2 medium carrots
- ½ tbsp plain flour
- 1 cup (250ml) red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small stalk rosemary
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Collect your ingredients and equipment. Stabilise your cutting board with damp paper towel.
- Prep your meat and vegies:
- Cut beef into cubes about 2 cm x 2 cm. (v – cut ends off beans ie ‘top and tail)
- Dice bacon.
- Peel onion and dice.
- Peel carrots and cut into quarters.
- Melt butter and oil in the frypan over medium-high heat. Add beef (v – add green beans) in a single layer, season to taste, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides (about 6 to 8 minutes or 4 minutes for beans). Remove beef (v – beans) to tray.
- Fry bacon until browned around the edges. Remove to tray.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent (about 3 to 4 minutes).
- Add tomato paste and cook until it starts to smell toasted (about 2 minutes)
- Put beef (v – beans) and the flour into pan with vegies. Add wine, sugar and herbs, increase heat, and scrape bottom of pan. When it bubbles, turn the heat off.
- Taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust if required.
- Put all remaining ingredients into casserole dish/aluminium tray. Top with the beef (v – beans) and pour over juices and vegies from the pan. Cover, note cooking times for home (step 11 below) and put in the fridge.
- Clean down bench, wipe knives and tongs and change cutting board. Clean and store your cooktop.
- At home – cook covered in a 180 degree oven for about an hour and 15 minutes (for a 4 person serve, cook for about an hour and 30 minutes). Check during cooking and top up with water or stock if needed. Remove from oven when beef is falling apart – it may need a little longer depending on the cut of beef. Adjust seasoning before serving. Serve with bread, rice or pasta if you wish.
Double meal prep: French roasted chicken (v – pumpkin)
This class involves you preparing 2 meals to be finished in the oven at home. If you have them, please bring 1 x casserole dish with lid and 1 x baking tray or dish – small (2 litre capacity) if you are cooking 2 portions, medium (4 litre capacity) if you are cooking 4 portions. Otherwise, we will provide foil wrapped aluminium trays for you to take home with you.
French roasted chicken (v – pumpkin)
Equipment
- Cooktop
- Cutting board
- Paper towel
- Chef’s knife
- Frypan
- Small tray
- Tongs
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Baking tray or aluminium tray
- Aluminium foil
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 skin-on chicken thigh cutlets (bone in) (v – 600g pumpkin and 200g chickpeas)
- 1 tbsp herbes de Provence
- ½ cup (125ml) wine
- ½ large zucchini
- ½ medium sweet potato
- ½ lemon
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 2 sprigs thyme
- Salt and pepper
- Spray oil
Method
- Tie back long hair, wash hands and wear an apron. Collect your ingredients and equipment. Stabilise your cutting board with damp paper towel.
- Prepare vegies:
- Cut zucchini into chunks.
- Cut sweet potato into 1cm dice.
- Cut onion into wedges.
- Peel garlic.
- V – cut pumpkin into large slices
- Put all vegetables and herbs into baking tray/foil tray. Add wine and season.
- Put chicken (v – pumpkin slices) on top of vegies. Salt the skin.
- Spray the underside of the foil and use it to cover the chicken. Note on foil – wipe skin dry before roasting, roast at 200 degrees for about 45 minutes (55 mins for a double portion).
- Wash equipment and put away. Scrape, wash and sanitise bench.
- At home, preheat your oven to 200 degrees, remove foil and wipe salt off skin before roasting, and roast for about 45 minutes until the skin is really crisp. If you can, about halfway through spoon some of the pan juices over the chicken.