Saturday classes begin with croissants and a drink (the evening sessions include a rather more grown-up canape and glass of fizz) while everyone settles in.
It’s then time to don aprons and get cooking. For some parts you follow along with Alan, while for more complicated aspects he gives a demonstration first before sending you off to give it a go.
We began by making lemon Ricciarelli biscuits – the Italian equivalent of a French macaron.
Mixing ground almonds, icing sugar, lemon zest and baking powder together in a bowl, we then folded in egg whites beaten to a stiff peak and baked. The result was a chewy little number with an almost meringue-like top that went down far too easily. So easy to make, I’ll definitely be doing these again at home.
Before we got to sample them, however, there was some savoury business to attend to – not least the main star of the class, fresh egg pasta.
Despite a few processes to go through, this turned out to be far less daunting than I imagined.
Alan first showed us the process of adding eggs into a well of flour, along with a small amount of olive oil. The eggs and oil are then combined together with a fork, allowing the flour to fall into the centre gradually, to be combined. Think sand collapsing into a hole on the beach.
Before long a dough started to form, which was then kneaded to stretch the gluten.
Having all successfully replicated this, the dough was left to rest while we began the preparation for our carbonara sauce to accompany it – frying pancetta to add to eggs mixed with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Finally it was time to start creating our pasta! Taking a portion of our dough we fed this through a hand-cranked pasta machine 16 times – twice on each setting, as the dough became thinner and thinner. A fold, a cut and a sprinkle of semolina later and suddenly long strips of tagliatelle were before our eyes.
All that was left to do was cook our pasta in salted water (the salt is key – although perhaps not quite the Dead Sea levels that my daughter added in), mix with the carbonara sauce in a hot pan – but NOT over the heat – and whip up a quick bruschetta by rubbing fresh garlic over toasted sourdough and topping with chopped fresh tomato and basil.
Dinner – or rather lunch – was served.
For my daughter’s part, after some initial hesitancy (it has all the appearance of a professional kitchen setting after all) she ended up getting fully involved – to the point that at one stage I heard myself asking: “Is it my turn now?!”
If you’re looking for a fun bonding activity, away from the addictive screens, and learning new skills in the process, I would highly recommend this.
Classes coming up in the next few months include Mexican, ‘American diner’ and simple baking skills classes for adults and children, while adults only classes include Thai, Japanese and French bistro nights, as well as an introduction to seafood.
All have been developed by Alan, who is a past graduate of a Leiths diploma and went on to launch his own food brand in supermarkets, before publishing three cookbooks.
Of the courses he runs, he said: “It’s just a fun day out. You’ll learn new skills in what is hopefully a nice and supportive setting.”
Even better, you aren’t even left with the washing up at the end!
- Prices range from £85 to £150 depending on the class, and anyone who books in the next two weeks will receive a ten per cent discount with the code ‘packet’ (ends midnight November 27).
The minimum age for an adult and child class is nine, due to the nature of the space.
Photo Credit: Emma Ferguson, The Packet
