Wednesday 18 May 2011

My Big Fat Greek Cooking Class

Entelia Greek Cookery Class

Day after day I shuffle to work and back, barely taking notice of the world around me. One day, breaking the monotony, I looked up from my distracted thoughts of my running plan for the evening (schyeah right) to notice this written in a restaurant window, "Greek Cooking Classes, Enquire Within". The running schedule was benched as I popped my head inside to get the details. Greek restaurant Entelia run the lessons once a month, inviting the public into their kitchen to meet their chefs and pick up a few tips on cooking popular mezze dishes, a very confident endeavour for any restaurant for obvious reasons.

I was joined by three eager classmates on the day - a friend who had practically run across town not to miss it and a mother & daughter duo who were massive fans of Greek cuisine. The pressure was on for our welcoming chef who, very unlike his hero Gordon Ramsay, was a smiley happy chappy in the kitchen. His colleague was busily churning out the lunch orders for the folks in the restaurant, unperturbed by the obstruction four extra bodies were causing him in his little Kouzzina. As the tempting lunch orders passed me by I was getting hungrier and hungrier.

We started off with the classic Moussaka. I thought I knew how to make a Moussaka but I learned that I was kidding myself, I didn't even use egg in the béchamel, good grief! Aswell as this typical Greek dish we covered Tzatziki, Soutzukakia (Meatballs), Spinach Pie & Bekry Meze (a delicious dish of Pork in Tarragon & Brandy, yum). The chef chatted with great passion about the regional variations of the dishes and offered some handy tips on serving to dinner guests. Afterwards our diligence was rewarded with a tasting menu of the dishes we had made, washed down with some yummy greek wine. A steal at only £20 a head and a splendid way to spend a bank holiday. You'll be glad to hear that my Greek cooking has greatly improved and my first proper Moussaka has already caused food envy in the office, SUCCESS! I am a confident creator of Greek fare (maybe not in the company of ACTUAL Greeks mind).

Image: Sinéad Millea.