“I’ve hit refresh on my weekly cooking repertoire”
THE COOKERY SCHOOL
WHERE At The Kitchen, Cheadle Hulme, Manchester (atthekitchen.co.uk)
THE COURSE Simple Healthy Suppers (£60 for 3 hours, including tasting the food cooked in the class and drinks)
TESTER Lucy Davey
BEHIND THE SCENES The cookery school is a light, airy setting to learn from Angela (above right)
RECIPE, FOOD STYLING AND STYLING: ANGELA BOGGIANO. PHOTOGRAPH: CRAIG ROBERTSTON
THE SETTING
Angela Boggiano returned to the North five years ago after many years living in London, where she used to be delicious. magazine’s food director. For Angela, who was born and raised in Manchester, it was a return to her roots. In April last year, she opened her dream cookery school 30 minutes’ drive south of Manchester city centre.
THE WORKSTATION
The school has been open for less than a year, so the equipment is new and still sparkling – induction hobs and state-ofthe- art Fisher & Paykel ovens and fridges. This class was demonstration-based, so six of us sat around on comfortable stools with a good view of the action. For hands-on sessions, there’s a maximum of 12 people who tend to work in groups of two or three.
DO YOU NEED TO BE GOOD AT COOKING?
In a word, no. There are classes for all abilities, from beginners to advanced students, and for all ages – teenagers, children and adults. If you have an interest in learning a particular skill, such as breadmaking or desserts, get in touch and Angela will see if she can accommodate you. There are also monthly supperclubs.
WHAT I LEARNED
Angela’s fellow host was Gemma Wade (yousaytomatocooking.com) and one of the good things about the course was that they showed us how you cook the recipes in real life (in real time), rather than having all the ingredients ready prepped in bowls. I consider myself a pretty confident cook and I wasn’t sure I’d learn that much, but what I didn’t take into account is that it’s so easy to get into a cooking rut, making the same few dishes week after week. We started with some dips – a beetroot and dill houmous and a red pepper houmous, both served with toasted pittas. The key to success here is roasting the beetroot and red peppers yourself – the earthy, smoky flavours are unlike any dips you can buy. As we nibbled away, Gemma showed us how to make her black bean and broccoli burritos. She spent five years living in California and told us all about tracking down the best burritos in the Mission district of San Francisco. I was sceptical – could a veggie burrito really deliver that Mexican flavour punch? My goodness, yes! It was amazing how just a few spices can transform run-of-the-mill ingredients into something mouthwatering. Next up, harissa salmon with green lentils (opposite). I often cook salmon at home but had never thought to use rose harissa to liven it up. Best of all, this dish is so simple and can be made in 35 minutes. It was my favourite.