Phuoc's class....

It's all arranged, Phuoc - the lucky winner of the June free class - is going to learn all about pastry next weekend...pate sucre and puff pastry...from scratch!  Will post notes and photos for you all to check out next week.

Thank you Apromo Trading...

Thanks to the wonderful Jeff Bulkens at Apromo for the generous gift of some single origin chocolate for me to use in my classes...support of this nature helps so much on the journey. 

June winner....

I'm sorry Ilm so late with the June winner, I've been a bit busy with exams.  However the winner of June's free cooking class is Phuoc.  Well done...get in touch and let me know what kind of class you would like to do.

Lovely comments from a friend of Toni...

One of Toni's friends saw the blog and sent her the following comments, 

she writes so beautifully that I thought I would share them with you... 

What amazing desserts Ngaire created!  I wanted to dip my fingers into
the photographs and lick them....my fingers, not the pics!  Has Ngaire been
to Hanoi before?  It struck us as a chaotic city...though not quite as
chaotic as Ho Chi Minh!  The Koto restaurant is a haven of comparative
peace....more or less opposite the fabulous Temple of Literature, which
really is a cool sanctionary of calm after near death experiences on the
roads of Hanoi!  We loved the very early mornings best, before the motor
bike and traffic invasion began, wandering around the mist shrouded lake and
watching the ladies perform their slow and dignified tai chi.  Anyway, Koto
is an interesting and life changing project for the young people who work
there, Ngaire and her gastronomic creations will be a wonderful addition to
their skills.

Photos from last Sundays class...

The wonderful students...so attentive....

Jann steeping the star anise in the cream for the panna cotta
then stirring in the softened leaf gelatine.

Toni supervising Jenny make the mango sorbet.

I showed the fascinated class how to fashion those intriguing, tasty biscuits so integral to a good plated dessert.  We made a simple triangular tuille, but I discussed how they could make much more ambitious and interesting templates.





 

Unfortunately the moulds I used for this first class were too big and the panna cotta couldn't set in the time alloted...however this has been overcome now and all future panna cotta will be perfect, but you can see how the tuille sets off the dish...despite the plates.  If actually plating for a dinner party I would suggest plaing dinner plates for your dessert...give the dish some room to shine.

We also made a light summery Tropical Trifle...

Thanks again to Toni and her fabulous friends and family....

Annandale Footprints Festival 6 June...

Not a bad day considering the late change of venue, made a total of $45.60 which is not bad when it's only gold coin donation per child.  Thanks to the many generous parents who donated more though.  Apparantly the photos from the class last Sunday are in the post so I should be able to upload and share very soon.
Keep dry Sydney...total so far $1,618.15.......only $3381.85 to go!