Back To Basics

Last saturday I attended my first cooking class at Palate Sensations! I've been looking forward to class ever since I signed up! It's an 8 week HANDS ON basic western cooking skills class, where you learn from the basics from knife skills, to making stock, braising meat techniques, creamy soups, sauces and fail-proof dinner desserts. Taught by chef Francois Merlliliod, who use to be at Flutes at the Fort, our first lesson went straight back to the foundations of chopping and de-boning.

I have this thing about chopping things up. To me, it's as therapeutic as the act of cooking itself. The finer the chopping needs to be, the more satisfying. So as you can imagine, I was enjoying myself thoroughly when we had to chop up carrots, leeks, celery, onions, tomatoes, garlic into teeny weeny bits! (All of which went into the fish stock we made and turned it into a simple "minestrone" with pan seared pacific prawns topped with strips of fresh basil)

Do you see the generous amounts of saffron? It's what gives the soup a gorgeous deep yellow colour, not to mention the taste!

There were a total of 11 of us in the class, divided into 3 groups and they are my cooking buddies for 8 weeks! A lovely couple, I think they're newly weds. The course is actually her brithday gift to him cos he thinks it's really fun to cook in the kitchen with his wife! Awww....awfully sweet :)

Oh! My very own chef and pairing knife! They come as a gift with the course and I'm loving them! Satisfyingly sharp, so sharp that they sliced through my nail even without me feeling it. Haha... thankfully my fingers were spared. Contrary to what many think, a blunt knife's actually more dangerous than a sharp one cos more force is applied trying to get your knife through what you're cutting. Invest in good knives people! It makes chopping an ease..

See how the blade goes all way round through the handle of the knife? That's the mark of a solid knife cos it's one solid piece through. oh my darlings...

Some new French terms I added to my culinary vocab:

Brunoise (broo-nwaz) - a cube-shaped item with dimensions of 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch

Julienne (ju-lee-en) - a stick-shaped item with dimensions of 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch x 2 inches

Batonnet (bah-toh-nah) - a stick-shaped item with dimensions of 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch / 2 inches

Coming week, I'll be learning creamy soups, meat and accompanying sauces. The other joy is being able to cook in a fabulous kitchen. Fully air-conditioned, it has EVERYTHING you'll need to cook with.. and I really mean everything. I think it's time to start thinking of how I want my dream kitchen to be like....

Oh by the way, Chef Francois is due to open his very own restaurant, Absinthe, in mid December, so watch out for it!