I hosted a private workshop last night in my home kitchen, and it was fabulous. I really feel that what’s missing in today’s fast-paced, more-for-less culture is true connection.
Lets connect!
I feel we have lost our way a bit and whenever I feel ungrounded it’s usually food that brings me back to my centre. One would think that hosting a cooking demo for seven ladies — literally watching me from my kitchen counter while I cook and talk — wouldn’t be a grounding experience. But you know what? For me, it is.
It’s the connection with people, whether they are foodies or not, around food in my kitchen that I love and cherish and in a way miss as I have not hosted as many lunches or dinners recently, I think I need to change that.
How to choose a good menu
When choosing a menu for a workshop I think of my recipes that truly showcase layering of flavour – which to me is the key to fabulous tasting food. I think of seasonality, organic availability, flavours, textures and colours.
You will very rarely find me with only one dish on my plate – its far too boring for me, instead, I like all sorts of things on my plate that I can eat in combination with each other. A true ‘bietjie van alles’ girl.
I like to make a seasonal cordial to start, followed by a soup, then a few family style dishes accompanied by a dip or sauce type of dish and normally a salad too.
I like to serve toppings too, things like a good chilli oil or a seasonal chutney would do the trick – these accompaniments are usually already in my fridge. No one will ever say no to a good sourdough on the table or even better, freshly made flatbreads – most people are happy at the sight of carbs.
The workshop menu
I made a cordial of Carrots, Naartjies, Lemongrass, Turmeric and Ginger – delicious – recipe soon.
To start we had my very easy to make Spice Roasted Carrot Soup with Pumpkin Seed Rye Croutons (recipe). It’s really the type of one tray soup that I love to make.
Roasted Cauliflower & Cauliflower Korma Curry (recipe) the showstopper of the evening was def my Green Coconut Rice with Crispy Curry Leaves (recipe) converting the coriander hater to love the dish! Celebrating the small wins! I love to serve any curry with my Beetroot Raita (recipe) and I love the kinda retro red colour with the green curry leaf topping. It feels very 70’s. Lastly, for zing, I served the spread with a vibey and zesty Sweetcorn Chaat Salad with Cape Gooseberries & Crispy Sev (recipe)- a delight!
The shopping list
Here is a handy shopping list for the menu which I hope you get to make!
Join a workshop
My workshops are FREE for members (sign up), and members get first preference. You’ll find your checkout code on your Member’s Page — simply enter it at checkout on my EVENTS page.
