The Michelin Star Cookery Experience

It was a gorgeous sunny day as I made the short walk from Parsons Green tube station to The Kitchen and I wondered if I wanted to be stuck in a hot kitchen for 3½ hours on such a glorious day. But I needn’t have worried, as the venue for my Michelin Star Cookery Experience was a light and airy space with open double doors to allow a fresh breeze to pass through.

There were 10 people in my class and we were greeted with a warm welcome and a complimentary drink. I had wondered what kind of people had opted to do this course and I was surprised that it was such a mixed group: there was a mother with her daughters who had been bought the experience as a gift, a young couple, and single men.

I had expected the food we would be cooking to be ostentatious and so small that you’d need a magnifying glass to see it. But instead we made simple and substantial food: chef Thierry Laborde’s philosophy – to treat good quality ingredients with a minimum of fuss – stems from his training with world-renowned chef Alain Ducasse.

There are cooking schools popping up all over the place, but The Kitchen has the selling point of being led by a Michelin star chef. Being taught by someone with such a high distinction might seem pretty daunting, but Thierry had such a relaxed nature and almost humble demeanour he immediately put the class at ease.

The Kitchen originally started off as a place where you ordered meals online, attended guided sessions to prepare the ingredients and then took the meals home to cook. The masterclasses take this idea a step further and allow you to learn a specific culinary skill or cuisine. So what did the Michelin Star Cookery Experience involve?

The information on the website promised: “This experience will enable you to cook and present a two-course meal with the same standard as an exceptional Michelin star chef”. We learned how to prepare Stuffed sea bass in a very unusual way (by creating a pocket by cutting out the backbone instead of cutting through the belly of the fish) and Thierry showed us his unique way of making a brittle caramel for a foolproof Tarte tatin. But as we all opted to take our prepared meals home to be cooked (rather than eat them at The Kitchen), we didn’t get the opportunity to learn how to plate up the dishes in the gourmet style that is synonymous with Michelin star cooking. This was a little disappointing as I was expecting to take on the challenge of stacking up food and praying it wouldn’t fall down, like a culinary version of Jenga.

Taste is the most important factor, so how did it fare? We were encouraged to taste the stuffing for the sea bass before it went into the cavity we’d made and I have to say that it was the best raw tomato and red onion I’ve tasted in a long time and it would have made a perfectly good salad. Thierry and his co-owner Natalie are passionate about the provenance and traceability of the ingredients and have personally hand-picked all their suppliers and this was evident in the freshness of the fish and the tastiness of the fruit and vegetables.

Both the sea bass and tarte tatin were put in ovenproof containers and so when I got home it was simply a case of popping them in the oven to cook. We were provided with clear cooking instructions and both dishes tasted fabulous. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to prepare a side dish for the fish as we had time to do so.

Thierry’s passion and knowledge for food is clearly evident in his teaching, which is friendly and relaxed and not so much about talking ‘at you’ but an informal two-way dialogue. The class was fun and informative, but regardless of whether we choose to take our food home or eat it on site, I would have liked to learn some presentation skills.

PROS:
• Small classes with lots of help from friendly, knowledgeable teachers
• Delicious, easy to make recipes
• You can take away the food you’ve prepared

CONS:
• We didn’t get to make the caramel for the dessert ourselves
• Didn’t get to learn how to plate up the dishes

The Kitchen offers the following types of classes:
1) Make-away sessions designed so you can make your own meals to take away: main courses start at £5.50; desserts from £4.00; side dishes from £2.50.
2) One hour classes where you learn a complete dish from scratch; from £25 per person).
3) Masterclasses that range from Candy Making to Meat Carving (£89 per person) or why not do a Canapés and Cocktails masterclass for a hen night (£139 per person).

The Kitchen, Parsons Green, 275 New Kings Road, London, SW6.
T: 0207 736 8067
www.visitthekitchen.com

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