Strawberry and raspberry season are in full swing and whether you’re doing your own socially distanced picking at a nearby farm or grabbing a punnet at your local greengrocers, our founder Claire’s got the perfect summer pudding recipe for them. For maximum taste, but minimal fuss, this raspberry and almond meringue roulade is the berry best sweet treat.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 4 egg whites (large eggs)
• 225g (10oz) caster sugar
• 50g (2 oz) flaked almonds
• 350ml double cream
• 225g raspberries

Method

• Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/GM6.
• Line a swiss roll tin (approx. 33cm x 23cm) with baking paper.
• Separate the eggs one at a time in a small bowl and add the white into a large bowl. Put the yolks to one side and use for another recipe.
• Whisk the whites using an electric whisk until stiff (if you turn the whisk off and lift out of the bowl the peak in the mixture should stay upright and not flop over).
• Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition. Continue to whisk the mixture until its back to stiff peaks and all the sugar has been added.
• Spread the mixture into the tin and smooth over with a palate knife. Sprinkle over the almonds.
• Place the tin in the oven and cook for eight minutes, then lower the temperature 160°C (140°C fan)/GM3 and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes.
• While the meringue is cooking, prepare a large piece of baking paper vertically on a work surface.
• When the cooking time is up, remove the meringue from the oven and turn it upside down onto the baking paper, so the almond side is downwards. Remove the baking paper and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
• Lightly whisk the cream into soft peaks then using a palate knife spread the cream over the roulade. Scatter over the raspberries.
• The short side of the meringue should be close to you. Make a cut 1cm from the bottom of the meringue two-thirds of the way through the meringue. Using your fingers and the paper to help you firmly squash this over to start the curl of the meringue.
• Continue to roll the meringue, using the paper to help you, try to keep the roll tight. Don’t be gentle with it, it’s meant to be cracked.
• Move the rolled meringue onto a serving dish, cut off the ends to tidy and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Tips and swaps

• Make sure the bowl you use is clean and free of any grease.
• Separate the eggs one at a time in case you break the yolk of the last one, ruining the ones you’ve already separated. The whites won’t whisk if there is any yolk in the bowl.
• Make sure the whites create stiff peaks before adding the sugar
• Don’t overwhip the cream you are adding. It needs to hold its shape well, but not get solid or grainy.
• When you roll the meringue, the filling will squidge out so put more filling at the end closest to you as it will move down as you roll. Give yourself plenty of space on the baking paper as well.
• It looks more professional if you lightly trim off the ends.
• You can use any fruit you like, just make sure they are cut up small enough – strawberries and blueberries mixed with the raspberries are nice (and look very patriotic for a UK-themed celebration), passionfruit seeds scattered over also look nice and lemon curd swirled into the cream is delicious.
• For a lighter, lower-calorie version, replace 150ml of the cream with some Greek yoghurt.
• To make this into a pavlova, only use three egg whites and 175g caster sugar. If you like your pavlova very marshmallowy in the centre, add 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp white wine vinegar in at the end with the final spoonful of sugar. Draw a circle about the size of a dinner plate on some parchment and then turn the parchment over onto a large baking tray. Spread the meringue mixture onto the circle, building it up a little bit at the sides. Only preheat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan)/GM2 and bake for one hour. Turn off the oven and leave for a further hour to dry out. You can also leave it for longer or even in the oven overnight. Fill with cream and your choice of fruit.

Wine and cocktail recommendations

Our resident wine expert, Jo Page from The Wine Word, has not one but two drinks recommendations to complement this fruity summer pudding. Check them out here.

The post A berry special dessert appeared first on The Green Apron.

Jo Page from The Wine Word says: “When it comes to a dessert wine the trick is to match the sweetness of the dessert in your wine. Otherwise the wine becomes very astringent and acidic on the palate and all the fruit flavours disappear. Having said that, the best dessert wines are high in acidity as well as sweetness and it is this balance that stops the wines becoming cloying and makes them refreshing instead.”

The sweetness in dessert wines is produced when the water content in the grape is reduced, concentrating the sugars. This can happen for several reasons – the development of botrytis cinerea also known as “noble rot”, which causes the water to evaporate and develops unique flavours of honey and apricots; the drying of grapes on the vine also known as “late harvest” or drying the grapes after picking, which creates flavours of rich dried fruit; or allowing the grapes to freeze on the vine, known as “ice wine”, which creates very pure, fresh and sweet wines.

Jo says: “Some of the world’s finest are produced using some of these techniques. They are also some of the most expensive wines, selling for thousands of pounds per half bottle!

“Fortunately, I’ve found a lovely dessert wine that is much more budget-friendly. The Rustenberg Straw wine (£9.99 Majestic) is made by drying the grapes after harvest on straw for around four weeks before fermentation. The wine has flavours and aromas of honey, marmalade, apricots and peaches, which will complement founder Claire’s roulade recipe perfectly.

If sweet wine isn’t your thing and you’d prefer a cocktail, Jo also has a raspberry Bellini recipe for you.

She says: “A Bellini is traditionally made with peach purée and sparkling wine but I think swapping the peach for raspberry makes a lovely complement for this dessert.”

Ingredients (for 6 glasses)
A punnet of raspberries
1 tbsp of sugar
75ml of Chambord or raspberry liqueur
1 bottle of sparkling wine
Whole raspberries or mint for decoration

Warm a punnet of raspberries in a pan and stir in the sugar once they’ve broken down. Pass the purée through a fine sieve to remove the seeds before stirring in the Chambord. Divide the purée between the glasses then top off with your sparkling wine – pour carefully to avoid over-fizzing! Decorate with whole raspberries and/or mint.

If you want to bring out the almond flavour instead, replace the Chambord with Amaretto or almond liqueur.

The Green Apron

You’ll find The Green Apron cooking school in Coggeshall, Essex. We’re focused on creating simple and seasonal dishes that are as natural as they are delicious, so our cooking classes are fun and hands-on and feature no hard-to-get ingredients or complicated equipment. If you’re interested in Baking, Thai, Indian and Italian dishes to match your wines and cocktails, our cooking courses have all the inspiration you need.

The post If summer was a cocktail… or a wine appeared first on The Green Apron.

Jo says: “For a BBQ steak, like Claire’s recipe, my choice would be a robust red. You want something with enough punch to match the BBQ and chimichurri flavours and plenty of acidity and tannins to complement the meat.”

Jo’s choice is an Argentinian Malbec. She says: “The Argentinians are famous for their BBQ meats and even more famous for their Malbec wine. The Malbec grape is a dark red grape, with thick skin. It needs a hot climate to ripen so is most often grown in the south of France and has been adopted by Argentina to become a ‘national variety’.

“In Argentina, the grapes are grown at a range of high altitudes. This means that they ripen in the sun during the day producing the flavours and tannins, while the cool nights help develop the acidity – to create a perfect balance.”

A Malbec wine is typically rich, dark and fruity. Young wines are purple in colour, which changes to a ruby colour as the wine matures. The aromas and flavours are of dark berries, brambles, plums and cherries with some sweet spice.

Jo adds: “For this Father’s Day, my recommendation is the Joffre Malbec ‘Expression de Terroir’, from the Mendoza region of Argentina. It’s an unoaked Malbec with plenty of body that will work well with a steak.”

The wine is produced by a family company, run by Raul Joffre and his four daughters. They gave it a French name because Raul’s grandfather was from the south of France and emigrated to Argentina in 1918.

You can buy the Joffre Malbec at local favourite Peter Watts Wines (£11.75), which is based in Coggeshall and offers free local delivery. It is also featured in a number of special cases for Father’s Day – whether you want a range of different reds, to brave the new world or to compare and contrast a variety of Malbecs, there’s a case to suit the father figures in your life.   

You’ll find monthly recommendations and food and wine pairings from Jo on our blog. To read more about Jo and The Wine Word click here.

About The Green Apron

You’ll find The Green Apron cooking school in Coggeshall, Essex. We’re focused on creating simple and seasonal dishes that are as natural as they are delicious, so our cooking classes are fun and hands-on and feature no hard-to-get ingredients or complicated equipment. If you’re interested in Baking, Thai, Indian and Italian dishes to match your wines, our cooking courses have all the inspiration you need.

The post The perfect bottle for your BBQ appeared first on The Green Apron.

With the official start of summer and Father’s Day falling on the same weekend (June 20-21), we couldn’t think of a better reason to try out our quick and easy chimichurri recipe.

Pair our favourite Argentinian sauce with barbecued steak, griddled vegetables and wine recommendations from Jo Page from The Wine Word.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 rib-eye or sirloin steaks

For the steak rub

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

For the chimichurri sauce

• 20g parsley
• ½ small red onion
• 1 large clove of garlic
• 1 red chill (leave the seeds in if you want it hot, remove for a milder sauce)
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Griddled veg

• 1 potato per person, parboiled whole and then thickly sliced
• A mixture of sliced courgette, sliced aubergine, sliced peppers, spring onions, asparagus spears and whole large mushrooms

Method

• To make your chimichurri sauce either roughly chop all ingredients and then pulse together in a mini food processor or blender, or finely chop by hand.
• Stir through the red wine vinegar and olive oil and place to one side.
• Prepare all the vegetables and brush over some of the sauce.
• Mix all the rub ingredients together. Around 30 minutes before you want to cook your steak, take out of the fridge and massage in the rub ingredients, then place to one side.
• When the barbecue is ready to cook, start with the whole field mushrooms and potatoes – give them five minutes cooking time.
• Then add the other vegetables and the steak.
• Cook the steak for 2-3 minutes each side – depending on the heat of the barbecue and the thickness of the steak.
• Wrap the steak in foil and leave to rest for five minutes while you finish cooking the vegetables.
• Serve the steak sliced with the chimichurri sauce drizzled over and the vegetables on the side.

About The Green Apron

You’ll find The Green Apron cooking school in Coggeshall, Essex. We’re focused on creating simple and seasonal dishes that are as natural as they are delicious, so our cooking classes are fun and hands-on and feature no hard-to-get ingredients or complicated equipment. If you’re interested in more recipes, our cooking courses have all the inspiration you need.

The post How to make chimichurri sauce for BBQ season appeared first on The Green Apron.

The initial panic for stockpiling saw supermarket shelves stripped bare and customers turn to online retailers. This unprecedented demand meant that many online retailers had to pause their services to catch up. Now the dust has settled and we’re in need of another restock, Jo Page at The Wine Word has rounded up who is open for business.

Jo says: “Now, more than ever, is the time to support your local wine merchant, so that they survive for the long term. Local retailers have been the quickest to adapt to change in trade, providing no contact and quick delivery. And because they know their stock, they’re always on hand to provide advice or offer alternatives if your favourite isn’t available.”

Local to The Green Apron is Peter Watts Wines. Family run for nearly 40 years, its priority is to source quality wines from smaller producers. It has an extensive selection as well as a number of ready-mixed cases available – the ‘Brave New World’ (12 bottles, £115) and ‘Pretty in Pink’ (12 bottles, £117) cases are on our shopping list. With free same-day or next-day local delivery (within 20 miles) and no minimum order, there’s every excuse to treat yourself this weekend.

If you’re a fan of English wine (and we are), there are great local options available.

Martin’s Lane Vineyard is on the River Crouch estuary – it’s almost a neighbour. It grows and produces its own wines locally, both still and sparkling and offers free delivery in Essex with a minimum order of six bottles. On our shopping list is the Chardonnay (£16.99 per bottle), which we often serve with our lunches during our The Green Apron classes. We’re also fans of the Pinot Noir ‘blanc de noirs’, a white wine made from red grapes often seen in champagne but much rarer as a still wine. Think red berry flavours and the luxury of champagne but in a still wine (£21.99 per bottle).

Further afield?

Chapel Down is now offering free delivery on all orders UK-wide. Based in Kent, it sources its fruit from across the south of England – including Essex. It has a number of good value mixed cases – the ‘Chapel Down Intro’ case will also cover your gin and beer needs (12 bottles, £150 or 6 bottles, £80) or the ‘2018 Vintage Still Wine’ case showcases the best of English still wine (6 bottles, £80). If you’ve got room, we’d also add a case of the Chardonnay 2015 (6 bottles, £90).

About The Green Apron

You’ll find The Green Apron cooking school in Coggeshall, Essex. We’re focused on creating simple and seasonal dishes that are as natural as they are delicious, so our cooking classes are fun and hands-on and feature no hard-to-get ingredients or complicated equipment. If you’re interested in Baking, Thai, Indian and Italian dishes to match your wines, our cooking courses have all the inspiration you need.

The post Why we’re drinking better in lockdown appeared first on The Green Apron.

Jo says: “The classic match for asparagus is Sauvignon Blanc as it can often have flavours of asparagus itself.

“Sauvignon Blanc is grown all around the world but generally prefers a cooler climate. This means that there are many different styles available from the refined lemon citrus and minerality of a Loire Valley Sancerre through to the grass, gooseberry and green apple of a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc.”

As not everyone likes Sauvignon Blanc, Jo shares some alternatives for you to try, as well as classic choices below.

To pair with steamed asparagus

Jo says: “If you’re having your asparagus steamed, perhaps just with butter or a light vinaigrette, I would go for a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. My first choice is the Turning Heads Sauvignon Blanc which is available at some independent wine merchants, such as Champion Wines (£12.98). As an alternative, The Ned is readily available at Majestic (£10.99) and many supermarkets. Both are classic NZ Sauvignons with gooseberries, grass, limes and refreshing acidity.

“For something different, try an English wine, especially a Bacchus. The Bacchus grape grows really well in England and, for me, typifies English wine. The style is very fresh and crisp, with aromatic flavours of stone fruits, melon and a mineral finish. Try the Chapel Down Bacchus (Waitrose, £11.24, or Chapel Down at £60 for six bottles).”

To pair with our asparagus tart recipe

Jo says: “With something richer, like our founder Claire’s asparagus and bacon tart, a fuller bodied wine will match the textures well. My classic Sauvignon choice would be a South African Sauvignon Blanc with richer, more tropical flavours but still enough acidity to cut through the richness of the dish like the De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc (Waitrose, £11.99).

“For a local wine, try Martin’s Lane Chardonnay, which we regularly serve during lunch at The Green Apron’s cooking courses. Grown and produced locally, it is a fresh, crisp Chardonnay with aromas of stone fruits as well as classic citrus flavours (£16.99 per bottle, purchased as a case of six).

“For something further afield, the Gavi di Gavi Morgassi Superior from Peter Watts Wine (£18.50) is from the north of Italy (same region as Barolo) and made from the Cortese grape. Like most Italian wines, it is perfect for enjoying with food.”

You’ll find monthly recommendations and food and wine pairings from Jo on our blog. To read more about Jo and The Wine Word click here.

About The Green Apron

You’ll find The Green Apron cooking school in Coggeshall, Essex. We’re focused on creating simple and seasonal dishes that are as natural as they are delicious, so our cooking classes are fun and hands-on and feature no hard-to-get ingredients or complicated equipment. If you’re interested in Baking, Thai, Indian and Italian dishes to match your wines, our cooking courses have all the inspiration you need.

The post Asparagus tips: wines to pair with your stems appeared first on The Green Apron.

Ingredients (serves six)

• Shortcrust pastry, either homemade (made with 100g butter to 170g plain flour, 1 egg yolk and 2 tbsp of water) or shop bought (300g)
• 300g bunch of asparagus
• 150g pancetta cubes or bacon lardons
• 2 large eggs
• 250ml double cream
• 50g gruyère or cheddar cheese, grated

Method

• First prepare the asparagus. Trim off the woody bottom by bending in half until the stalk snaps. Discard the bottom section. Slice into one-inch pieces, leaving the tip whole. Steam for approximately four minutes to partially cook. 
• Take the pastry out of the fridge 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.
• Flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll out your pastry, rolling away from you in two to three even strokes of the rolling pin. Give the pastry a quarter-turn and repeat. Keep the pastry moving to make sure it’s not sticking to your work surface and is in a circular shape – don’t be afraid to tap the edges in to get the shape you want. Use your tart tin to make sure your pastry is big enough.
• Once your pastry is the right size and no more than 5mms thick, roll the pastry over your rolling pin and place over the tart tin. Fold the edges of the pastry into the tin, pushing it down but not stretching it. Try and fold the pastry straight into the corners of the tin. Pat gently in place using your finger or a spare piece of pastry.
• Roll your rolling pin over the edges of the tin to cut to size and place in the fridge for 20 minutes, or the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200° C (180° C fan)/GM6 with a baking sheet inside. This will give your tart a strong blast of bottom heat to prevent it from having a soggy bottom.
• Line your tart tin with a piece of baking paper slightly bigger than your tin and fill with baking beans.
• Place in the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove the baking paper and return to the oven until the pastry feels sandy and there are no translucent sections left.
• While the tart is blind baking, prepare the custard. Whisk your eggs lightly in a jug with a fork to break them down, add the cream and cheese. Season well.
• Fry your bacon lardons until crisp.
• Fill the tart with the asparagus and bacon lardons, and carefully pour over the custard mixture. Place the tart back in the oven on the baking sheet.
• Cook for 30 to 35 minutes until the top of the tart has browned.

Some substitutes and delicious extras

• Scatter over some pine nuts or pumpkin seeds before cooking
• This tart is also delicious when dotted with goat’s cheese
• You can use any mix of vegetables and cheese in a tart. Some of our founder Claire’s favourites include celery and stilton; bacon and gruyere; leek and mushroom; pea, broad bean and pancetta; and wild mushrooms and sage.
• If you have more of a sweet tooth, you can use the same blind-baked tart for a variety of puddings. Claire recommends tarte au citron; a rhubarb or pear crumble, and apricot, pear or plum frangipane.
• For a tasty salad to serve alongside your tart, combine roasted butternut squash and beetroot toasted with some lamb lettuce, toasted hazelnuts and soft goat’s cheese. Make a simple salad dressing by combining ½ tsp Dijon mustard with 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar and 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.

About The Green Apron

You’ll find The Green Apron cooking school in Coggeshall, Essex. We’re focused on creating simple and seasonal dishes that are as natural as they are delicious, so our cooking classes are fun and hands-on and feature no hard-to-get ingredients or complicated equipment. If you’re interested in more recipes, our cooking courses have all the inspiration you need.

The post Asparagus season is here and so is our tart recipe appeared first on The Green Apron.

We’re all about supporting local suppliers and businesses, so if you’re a butcher offering home deliveries or have a restaurant that needs our support right now, get in touch and we’ll add you to this list. Stay safe, stay home, eat well.

Meat: Mac & Wild

Mac & Wild, who have previously fed the likes of David Beckham, have moved their much loved in-restaurant butcher counter online. Continuing to provide the finest Scottish meat, game and their very own venison haggis, Mac & Wild are delivering their produce direct from the Highlands to customers’ front doors across the UK. Each cut of meat and game is sourced from small independent, family-run producers the team trust. Meat lovers can enjoy the likes of Ayrshire middle bacon, beef sausages, a leg of Highland Hill lamb and free-range Highland chicken. All produce comes with Mac & Wild’s own cooking recommendations and details on storage and freezing. For those looking to stock up for the next few months, there’s also a Meat Survival Box.

Fish: Secret Smokehouse

East London Secret Smokehouse founder Max is known for supplying some of the best in the business including Michelin-starred chefs. Putting his training at London’s Billingsgate Seafood Training School to use he produces handcrafted, oak-smoked fish in London to the highest possible quality. For all your fishy needs, there’s same-day delivery for a small number of central London postcodes and 24-48-hour nationwide delivery. Secret Smokehouse also offers a wide range of products from whole-smoked salmon to ‘the best fish pie mix you can buy’ and smoked salmon paté that freezes extremely well.

Fruit and veg: New Covent Garden Market

London’s biggest wholesale market has switched it up and a number of its top-quality independent producers are supplying fruit and veg directly to customers through online orders and deliveries. Each one is offering reasonably priced boxes stocked with whatever’s good that week, as well as those essentials you’ve been struggling to get in the supermarkets – bread, eggs and dairy (some offer vegan substitutions, too). There’s free delivery to some London postcodes, same-day delivery in London and delivery available to the Home Counties and Brighton. Check out the long list of suppliers here.

Dairy: Fen Farm Dairy 

Suffolk-based Fen Farm Dairy have been farming the land for three generations. Thanks to their herd of happy grass-fed Montbeliarde and Friesian cows, their range includes the highly regarded Bungay raw cultured butter and creamy, white bloomy-rind Baron Bigod cheese. The only Brie-de-Meaux-style cheese made in the UK, it’s available in a whole large 3kg wheel or eight individual wedges that are ideal for freezing during lockdown. Nationwide delivery is also available.

Drinks: The Umbrella Project

The award-winning bar teams at London’s The Sun Tavern and Discount Suit Company are selling bottled cocktails, beer, cider and spirits online for customers to enjoy at home. The team have bottled three cocktails – an Old Fashioned, Negroni and Boulevardier, with each bottle containing four serves, ready to be stirred and enjoyed. Alongside cocktails, ‘Lucky Dip’ boxes of eight craft beers, chosen at random by Umbrella Brewing’s Head Brewer Matt Armitage, are also available. A free bag of ice will be supplied with every London-based order, and same-day delivery is free within a three-mile radius of Bethnal Green’s The Sun Tavern. You can also get next-day nationwide delivery via UPS. All proceeds will go towards sustaining the business and supporting staff through current hardships, as a result of Covid-19.

About The Green Apron

You’ll find The Green Apron cooking school in Coggeshall, Essex. We’re focused on creating simple and seasonal dishes that are as natural as they are delicious, so our cooking classes are fun and hands-on and feature no hard-to-get ingredients or complicated equipment. If you’re interested in joining our Thai, Indian and Italian cooking courses in the future, please get in touch.

The post Food delivery services available during lockdown appeared first on The Green Apron.

After completing Leiths International Diploma in Food and Wine, Claire realised her dream of using her qualification to create her own cookery school in 2016. For her, it’s the perfect way to pass on her knowledge and help people who are either new or nervous about cooking or who want to improve their skills or learn about a new cuisine.

Where does your love of cooking come from?

Claire says: “My nan was a fantastic pastry cook and I often cooked with her. I’ve inherited her skills with pastry – we both have very cold hands (and warm hearts). From quite a young age I remember loving making jam tarts with her or my mum, using the leftovers from the apple pie they were preparing for Sunday lunch.

“I also love the theory and science of cooking and I read a lot to learn new techniques and tips. I love experimenting to discover new ways of doing things.”

Have you always been a cook? How many years have you been cooking professionally?

“I qualified 15 years ago. I’ve always kept my hand in doing small catering events but only started up the school four years ago. I have been professionally trained in classic French cooking, so have lots of techniques and tips even experienced home cooks will find really valuable.”

What are your specialties/favourite dishes to cook?

“I love making cakes and desserts. Although it’s not so good on the waistline! One of the advantages of running the cookery school is that I get to make cakes and desserts for all our participants, and I can allow myself a thin sliver.”

What are your top tips for budding cooks?

“Cook what you love to eat and don’t be afraid of making mistakes – it’s often the best way to learn.”

What can people expect from your classes?

“I really want our class participants to learn new skills and feel inspired to get in the kitchen and try out what they have learned. It’s also really important that people have fun and enjoy the day. I work hard to make sure the environment is relaxed and welcoming as meeting potentially nine strangers at 10am in the morning can be a little intimidating for some people. I hope everyone really enjoys the food – both the cooking and the eating.”

What’s your favourite cuisine?

“I’ve always loved Italian – it’s pure comfort food. I am also a massive fan of Japanese food as well – it seems so fresh and healthy. I’ve also recently returned from China and loved the food, so I’d love to create a course focused on that.”

If you could eat only one dish, what would it be?

“Aubergine parmigiana.”

The post Claire Barham appeared first on The Green Apron.

Surprisingly,

Where does your love of cooking come from?

Padmaja says: “My love of cooking started from necessity. When I moved to the UK some 20 years back, there were no authentic Indian restaurants and it was very difficult. So, my journey started with frantic phone calls to my dad who was a great doctor but also absolutely loved cooking. My love for cooking authentic Indian dishes never stopped from then on.” 

Have you always been interested in teaching others how to cook?

“My journey and interest in cooking started 20 years back, but before that I never stepped into a kitchen. After discovering a new-found love for cooking Indian dishes, I’ve been cooking and teaching professionally for the past 12 years.”   

What are your favourite dishes to cook?

“I have many amazing favourite dishes that are authentic, simple and full of flavour. If I have to pick a couple though, they are definitely lamb curry and Hyderabadi biryani.” 

What are your top tips for budding cooks?

“Take time to learn the basics and, most importantly, don’t be afraid to experiment.”

What can people expect from your class?

“My teaching style is very hands-on and experimental. I like to incorporate and try new techniques and methods to provide my own twist on traditional Indian recipes. I offer a demonstration first for every dish I make in the class to give tips and a step-by-step method that’s easy for the students to follow.” 

What’s your favourite cuisine?

“Definitely Indian food for the heart and soul, then comes Italian and Mediterranean.” 

What’s your favourite restaurant?

“Dishoom in Covent Garden, London.”

If you could eat only one dish, what would it be?

“Lamb moussaka.” 

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