Our Current Classes: February and March
We open for a fun-filled year of Cooking Lessons on 3 February. All of our classes are hands-on - you actually learn to cook. We eat what we cook, so each class is also a gourmet feast!
February
Summer in Perth (or is it Paris?) (Booked Out)
Wednesday 3 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
The Cooking Professor has been looking through some great French cook books over the break and trying out some new recipes inspired by his time in Paris in 2009. Of course summer in Paris is not like summer in Perth - but the cuisine of a Parisian summer is perfect for a Perth summer! And we have the beaches, not a feature of Paris. Come and be inspired by Peter's summer menu influenced by the cuisine of France, but perfect for Perth.
Cost: $80 per student
Gourmet BBQ
Thursday 4 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
The Barbecue is a great Australian tradition for entertaining family and friends, especially in summer . Yet how often does it result in burnt snags and limp, boring salads? In this class, help is at hand! Convert your BBQ into a stress-free, gourmet experience. Sophie will take you through some fabulous recipes and give you some great tips so that your BBQs will be memorable experiences. Abandon boring and burnt BBQs forever!
Cost: $80 per student
Sunny Cocktails and Summer Canapés
Friday 5 February, 6:00pm - 9.30pm
Chef Sunny opens the Summer term with a party. Sunny's Friday sessions at The Cooking Professors Cooking School have proven to be extremely popular. Book this one quickly so that you won't be disappointed. Bring your mates and learn how to create delicious summer canapés. There may be a ceviche of white fish or baby tomato tarts. Cool down and muddle your way to a refreshing taste of tropical and summer cocktails, such as a white sangria con menta or a tropical nami borocay. A perfect way to chill with friends on the sunny side after a week's work.
Cost: $90 per student
Gourmet Dinner
Saturday 6 February, 10:30am-4pm (prep) and 7pm onwards (dinner party)
This very popular Saturday class leads to a wonderful gourmet dinner for participants and their partners or friends. The class will be taken by Riki Kaspi and begins at 10:30am and includes lunch. At about 4pm preparation ends and students go home to freshen up. At 7pm they return with their partner/friends and have a wonderful dinner party consuming the food they have prepared. Share a unique experience with your friends. Limit of 24 people, 12 cooking students and12 guests. BYO
Cost: $80 per student and $70 per guest
The Tajine (Booked Out)
Monday 8 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
Moroccan Food is one of the great cuisines of the world. In this very popular class you will explore the exotic world of the Maghreb with our spice expert, Riki Kaspi. You will learn about the use of the tajine, that conical shaped dish that delivers those wonderful flavours. The emphasis is on the subtle use of spices with meats, fish and vegetables plus traditional accompaniments to produce a marvellous concoction of aromas, tastes and colours.
Cost: $80 per student
Private function (Booked Out)
Tuesday 9 February, 6:30pm -10pm
Pasta and Risotto (Booked Out)
Wednesday 10 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
Pasta is a great standby, especially midweek. However, there is so much more to pasta than packet pasta bought at the supermarket. In this very popular class, you will learn how to make fresh pasta. You will not believe the difference that fresh pasta makes! Guided by our pasta specialist, Sophie Budd and the Cooking Professor, Peter Kenyon, you will learn when dried pasta is best and when fresh pasta is the only way to go. You will learn to make gnocchi, how to make the perfect risotto and about the different risotto rice varieties such as arborio, carnaroli and vialone nano. And of course, you will make some great sauces to match the pasta dishes. This always a very popular class, so book early to secure your place!
Cost: $80 per student
The Antipasto Platter
Thursday 11 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
One of the best parts (and there are many!) of a typical Italian meal is the antipasto platter.
The name translates to “before the meal.” The antipasto platter sharpens the appetite and raises expectations about what is to come. It is typically a wonderful array of tasty morsels, from cured meats to roasted or marinated vegetables, from fresh, ripe baby tomatoes to a selection of fabulous cheeses. In this class, chef Sophie will teach you how to put together sensational antipasti platters that are as appealing to the eye as they are to the palate.
Cost: $80 per student
Private Function (Booked Out)
Friday 12 February, 6:00pm - 9:30pm
Gourmet Dinner - My Sunny Valentine (Booked Out)
Saturday 13 February, 10:30am-4pm (prep) and 7pm onwards (dinner party)
This very popular Saturday class leads to a wonderful gourmet dinner for participants and their partners or friends. This class, on the eve of Valentine's Day, will be taken by Sunny de Ocampo. Sunny's first Gourmet Saturday late in 2009 was one of the highlight classes of that year and this one is sure to match.
Chef Sunny will present a culinary journey to all lovers of food and passionate cooks. Join in and create a labour of love in The Cooking Professor's Kitchen. Taste, feel the textures and share the flavours.
The class begins at 10:30am and includes lunch. At 4pm preparation ends and students go home to freshen up. At 7pm they return with their partner/friends and have a wonderful dinner party consuming the food they have prepared. Share a unique experience with your friends. Limit of 24 people, 12 cooking students and12 guests. BYO.
Cost: $80 per student and $70 per guest
Arabesque - Riki's Middle Eastern Experience (Booked Out)
Monday 15 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
The Levant is an exotic and ancient region that is one of the crossroads of the world. Its food, be it from Lebanon, Israel, Syria or Jordon or beyond, is influenced by both western Europe and by the countries to the east as well as by the countries of North Africa. This is the home of wonderful dips, sensational kebabs and great falafel. Riki Kaspi has traveled extensively in this exotic and exciting region and is brimming with wonderful ideas, recipes and hints to enable you to produce a great table of the delights of the Levant. Join her for the journey!
Cost: $80 per student
A Vegetarian Feast (Booked Out)
Tuesday 16 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
Vegetables are healthy! And they make for an infinite variety of wonderful tasty food. Vegetables are not just for vegetarians. This is a class for anyone who wants to add some variety to their diet beyond what can be the boring old 'meat and two.' It is, of course, perfect for vegetarians. With the Cooking Professor, Peter, you will learn to build a menu around vegetables to extend your knowledge and to impress your vegetarian and meat-eating friends alike.
Cost: $80 per student
Cordon Bloke: Basic Cooking for Blokes (and Girls, too!)
Wednesday February 17, 24, March 3 and March 10, 6:30pm -10pm
Do you live on takeaways and pizza with the occasional sausage for a change? How about a cooking class designed to help you plan, prepare and cook quick, easy and tasty meals for you and your friends? This class is aimed at teaching men the basics of cooking. Hey, you girls can come too. Quite a few have in the past, and have loved it, so don't be shy! Be warned, though, it might be just a bit blokey because those blokes of yours really do need to learn how to cook! The aim of the class is to have fun, learn some kitchen skills and gain confidence while enjoying great food. This class is run over a four week period, one class each week.
Cost: $300 per student for 4 class series; $80 for single classes subject to availability
Rick Stein's Seafood Journey (Booked Out)
Thursday 18 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
Celebrity TV chef Rick Stein's first love is seafood. And our very own Sophie Budd trained at Rick Stein's famous seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall. So, in this very special night you will learn from Sophie some of the lessons she learned at the stove of the master. The class will cover how to buy good seafood and how to prepare it as well as some stunning recipes. This will be a special night and an opportunity to gain some insights from one of the world's great seafood restaurants. Be quick, as this class is very popular and booked out very quickly the last time it was offered!
Cost: $90 per student.
Wine and Tapas
Friday 19 February, 6:00pm - 9:30pm
Wine and Tapas continues our end of the week Friday sundowner classes. Today, Sunny will guide you in the hands-on preparation of some great tapas - those fabulous small-plate snacks from Spain. As well, he will be presenting some funky whites and cutting edge reds from Riseborough Estate that he would like you to try, partnering the wines with the tapas. Our Friday sundowner classes are just the thing to expand your entertaining knowledge and have a lot of fun with new and old friends. What could be a better way of unwinding from the working week?.
Cost: $80 per student
Dads & Daughters, Mums & Sons! (Over 12s)
Saturday 20 February, 10:30am - 1:00pm
The Cooking Professor has had a large number of enquiries from young people wanting to learn to cook and from parents who want to cook with their children. Late in 2009, we instituted this class to meet your requests. It was booked out and was a raging success! In today's class, Riki will teach parents and their teenagers about cooking. This is a really great way for parents and children to get together and have fun learning new skills and eating healthy, good food. Come to the Kitchen and have fun together! The class will be in two sections: 20 February is designed for teenagers and their parents. Later, on March 13, we have scheduled a class for the younger kids and their parents (see below).
Cost $120 for a parent and child together ($30 each for extra children)
Light and Easy
Monday 22 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
All of us seem just so busy, so much so that cooking time is at a premium. However, we do want to eat good, tasty food that does not weigh us down. In this class with Riki, you will learn how to make quick meals for you, your family or your friends that are tasty and exciting but do not require a huge investment in time at the stove. With summer in full flight, the emphasis will be on light food suitable for these hot days and nights.
Cost: $80 per student
Secrets from Jamie's Kitchen
Tuesday 23 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
Would you like to get inside celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's Kitchen? Chef Sophie was a training chef at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Restaurant in Cornwall where she taught the apprentices in Jamie's style. She will be sharing her knowledge and secrets from Jamie's Kitchen with you in this class. This is a unique opportunity to get to know what goes on inside the kitchen of one of the world's most famous chefs. How is it that Jamie seems to be able to effortlessly produce great food with a minimum of fuss? Learn the tips, cook the recipes and take them home to your own table.
Cost: per student $80
Cordon Bloke: Basic Cooking (continues)
Wednesday February 24, 6:30pm - 10pm
Single classes $80 subject to availability
Easy Entertaining for Friends
Thursday 25 February, 6:30pm - 10pm
One of the real pleasures in life is entertaining your friends over lunch or dinner at home. Yet for many this is a stressful and difficult prospect. Let Sophie take the stress out of entertaining in this very popular class. Summer gives us ample opportunities for enjoying yummy food and a glass of wine with friends. Be prepared and gain confidence by learning some stylish, but easy finger food or tapas, maybe an antipasti platter and, of course, some more substantial yummy dishes. And we won't be forgetting the fruits of summer, either!
Cost: per student $80
Slow Dance - An Aphrodisiac Singles Night (20's - 30's)
Friday 26 February, 6:00pm - 9:30pm
Not into speed dating? Well then slow down and dance in The Cooking Professors Kitchen for this Friday sundowner. Dress to impress, then cook to astonish. Chef Sunny is hosting this cooking class for singles who are looking for the perfect recipe to match that perfect man or woman of your taste. Ignite your love and passion for food and wine, and then maybe ... Who knows? This class is for a lucky eight participants, 4 gents + 4 ladies, to maximise the opportunity for fun and conversation.
Cost: $100 per student
Private Function (Booked Out)
Saturday 27 February
Seductive Sweets
Monday 1 March, 6:30pm - 10pm
Cakes and desserts - they are so seductive! There are people, so the Cooking Professor is told, who turn to the desserts part of the menu first before choosing anything else, just to make sure that they leave plenty of space for their sweets fix! In this class, Riki will pander to your sweets needs. She will teach you some lovely cakes and desserts and give you some tips about how to make your cakes and desserts seductive to the eyes as well as the palate. There may even be some cupcake ideas too, as cupcakes are so popular at the moment.
Cost: $80 per student
After Work, During the Week (Two Places Left)
Tuesday 2, 9, 16 and 23 March, 6:30pm - 10pm
You have finished work and its mid-week. You want to eat well but not be a slave to the kitchen. And you don’t want to get into the rut of the same old pasta or grill. In this class, over four weeks, Peter will show you how to make quick meals for you, your family or your friends that are tasty and exciting, but do not require extra shopping or exotic ingredients beyond the pantry. You will learn how to shop, how to build a pantry and how to stock a fridge such that good eating is always at hand. You will gain some tips that allow you to make the potentially bland into a taste sensation. You will become the guru of the after work table! This is a four class series. Single class bookings open in the week of the class and will be accepted only if places are available.
Cost: $300 per student for a 4 class series. Single classes $80 subject to availability.
Cordon Bloke: Basic Cooking (continues)
Wednesday March 3, 6:30pm - 10pm
Single classes $80 subject to availability
Meet and Eat! Girls who want to meet girls...
Thursday 4 March, 6:30pm - 10pm
It is hard to meet the right person. Night clubs and pubs are so noisy and not really conducive to conversation. What could be more convivial than a fun night preparing luscious food under Sophie's guidance and then sitting down to eat what you have produced over a glass of wine in an intimate setting with some like-minded new friends? At worst, you will have a fun-filled night learning to cook good food and then relaxing over a delicious meal. And the best case scenario? Who knows? This is a special girls wanting to meet girls night for Meet and Eat.
Cost $80 per student
Sitting Duck
Friday 5 March, 6:00pm - 9:30pm
Chef Sunny loves teaching you about duck. In this class, Sunny will dispel any rumours that cooking with duck is difficult. The class will explore how to use duck to make some stunning small dishes. Be it tapas or yum cha, duck is a fantastic ingredient for tasty and stylish small dishes. And being a Friday sundowner, there will be ample opportunity to taste some wines and enjoy conversation and company with your fellow sundowner participants. End the work week well.
Cost: $80 per student
Private Function (Booked Out)
Saturday 6 March
Breakfast and Brunch
Monday 8 March, 6:30pm - 10pm
When Riki owned Riki Blake's cafe in North Perth, she had a huge following for her breakfasts and brunches. We are now so lucky having Riki sharing her secrets and recipes with you at the Cooking Professors School. In this class, Riki will teach you how to put together stunning breakfasts and brunches so that can start your entertaining early on weekends (or perhaps simply indulge you and your nearest and dearest to what many say is the most important meal of the day). Perhaps Riki's famous Shakshuka will even make an appearance on the menu?
Cost: $80 per student
After Work, During the Week (continues)
Tuesday 9 March, 6:30pm-10pm
Single classes $80 subject to availability
Cordon Bloke: Basic Cooking (concludes)
Wednesday 10 March, 6:30pm - 10pm
Single classes $80 subject to availability
Bread for Beginners
Thursday 11 March, 6:30pm - 10pm
Bread is the staff of life. It is also very rewarding to make. In this class Sophie will introduce you to the world of bread baking. You will not believe how simple it is to bake a loaf or two of the most delicious breads. As well as the basic loaf, Sophie will teach you about other breads - the selection will be drawn from breads such as fruit bread, foccacia, the baguette and fresh bread rolls. She has some wonderful old recipes to share with you. You will also prepare an antipasto platter to eat over a glass of Riseborough Estate wine with the breads we make.
Cost: $80 per person
Mezze and Tapas
Friday 12 March, 6:00pm - 9:30pm
The Cooking School's Friday sundowners continue with this ever-so-popular class. Create and taste lovely little bite-sized morsels from Spain to the Middle East and the Levant with Riki Kaspi. Mezze and tapas are the perfect snacks to have with a glass of wine after work. Also by learning to make a range of Mezze and Tapas you will be the perfect entertainer for your friends. What could be a better way of starting your cooking weekend?
Cost: $80 per person
Dads & Daughters, Mums & Sons! (Under 12s) (One parent-child space left)
Saturday 13 March, 10:30am - 1:00pm
The Cooking Professor has had a large number of enquiries from young people wanting to learn to cook and from parents who want to cook with their children. Late in 2009, we instituted this class to meet your requests. It was booked out and was a raging success! In today's class, Sophie will teach parents and their younger children about cooking. This is a really great way for parents and children to get together and have fun learning new skills and eating healthy, good food. Come to the Kitchen and have fun together! The class is in two sections: 20 February and 27 March is designed for teenagers and their parents. Later, we will scheduled another class for the younger kids and their parents if there is sufficient interest.
Cost $120 for a parent and child together ($30 each for extra children)
Not Only Tapas -Viva Barcelona!
Monday 15 March, 6:30pm to 10pm
Spanish of course! In this class, Riki will take you on a tour of the Catalan region of Spain, and in particular, the city of Barcelona. If New York never sleeps, Barcelona never even thinks about sleep. The food of Catalonia is so much more than just Tapas (great though tapas is). In this class, Riki will introduce you to some of the more interesting and different aspects of the food of the Catalan region. It is a region that covers both the mountains and the sea, and so is very diverse. This gives a tremendous scope to cooks wanting to make the best of the Mediterranean produce of Catalonia.
Cost: $80 per student
After Work, During the Week (continues)
Tuesday 16 March, 6:30pm-10pm
Cost: Single classes $80 subject to availability
Enjoying The Good Life (Four Class series)
Wednesday 17, 31 March and 7 & 21 April, 6:30pm to 10:00pm
You know a little about cooking, but you want to extend your skills to be the confident entertainer. This is the class for you! In this four week class, we will explore how to put together a Dinner Party, or maybe a Picnic, a Barbecue or a Brunch depending on what the class wants to explore. You will learn how to put together a menu, how to give it the 'wow' factor but not be a slave to the kitchen and how to make the whole function enjoyable - for you as well as your friends.
Cost: $300 per student for 4 class series; Single classes $80 subject to availability
Meet and Eat! (over 45s)
Thursday 18 March, 6:30pm-10pm
It is hard to meet the right person. Night clubs and pubs are so noisy and not really conducive to conversation. What could be more convivial than a fun night preparing luscious food with Sophie and then sitting down to eat what you have produced over a glass of wine in an intimate setting with some like-minded new friends? At worst, you will have a fun-filled night learning to cook good food and then relaxing over a delicious meal. And the best case scenario? Who knows? Tonight's class is designed for those over 45 (ish!) as we have had lots of requests from those who are still kids at heart. You blokes are very much encouraged to enrol so that we get a nice balance, as the women's places tend to book out fast!
Cost: $80 per student
Olé Paella
Friday 19 March, 6:00pm to 9:30pm
Chef Sunny's series of Friday night sun downers continues with this very popular exploration of one of Spain's greatest contributions to the world of cuisine: the oh-so-tasty paella. Take a trip to the coast of Spain right here in heart of Perth and learn how to make one of the tastiest dishes in the world from a chef who ranks the paella as one of his signature dishes. Making a paella can be just a little challenging, given the necessity of getting everything from fish and shellfish to chicken and rice to cook together. Learn to time everything to perfection from the paella master, Chef Sunny de Ocampo.
Cost: $80 per person
Gourmet Dinner (Two Places Left)
Saturday 20 March, 10:30am to 4pm (prep) and 7pm onwards (dinner party)
This Saturday class has proven to be so popular. This time Gourmet Dinner is to be taken by The Cooking Professor, Peter. The class leads to a wonderful gourmet dinner for participants and their partners or friends. The class begins at 10:30am and includes lunch. Peter will guide you in the preparation of a beautiful gourmet dinner. At 4pm preparation ends and students go home to freshen up. At 7pm they return with their partner/friends and have a wonderful dinner party consuming the food they have prepared. Share a unique experience with your friends. Limit of 24 people. BYO
Cost: $80 per student and $70 per guest
The French Bistro
Monday 22 March, 6:30pm-10pm
Paris is such a cosmopolitan city. But one of its most enduring culinary treats is the traditional Bistro. Riki spent some time working in bistros around France and one of her many passions is French Bistro food. In this class, Riki will take you on a journey through some of the timeless recipes of the French Bistro, to this day the cornerstone of classic cuisine. Be inspired by this great tradition.
Cost: $80 per person
After Work, During the Week (continues)
continues Tuesday 23 March, 6:30pm-10pm
Single classes $80 subject to availability
Enjoying The Good Life (continues)
Wednesday 24 March, 6:30pm to 10:00pm
Single classes $80 subject to availability
Seafood Without Fear
Thursday 25 March, 6:30pm - 10pm
Most of us love seafood, but for many it is a challenge to cook. In this class with Sophie, you will learn about different types of fish (including shellfish and crustaceans) and how to cook them just right. You will explore some innovative recipes to improve your confidence and repertoire as a fish cook. This is a great class to learn about the succulent world of seafood, especially with the warmer weather still with us - the perfect time for seafood.
Cost: $90 per student.
Sawadee Thai (Three class series) (Four Places Left)
Friday 26 March and 9 & 23 April 6:00pm to 9:30pm
Sunny side UP! style is the cooking of traditional Thai dishes in a Modern Australian presentation. This is a class for hot lovers and passionate eaters. Tantalize your taste buds and create modern culinary art from the Land of Smiles. Chef Sunny will empower you to create three courses of delights! Learn impressive techniques and recipes to share with your friends! Swardee Thai has proven to be very popular so chef Sunny is now presenting the course with three different menus Green, Red and Yellow. This one is the Yellow edition. You can now do three different Swadee Thai classes! Keep a look out for all three. Bring your taste buds along for this astounding ride!
Cost: $225 per student for 3 class series; Single classes $80 subject to availability
Dads & Daughters, Mums & Sons! (Over 12s)
Saturday 27 March, 10:30am-1:00pm
The Cooking Professor has had a large number of enquiries from young people wanting to learn to cook and from parents who want to cook with their children. Late in 2009, we instituted this class to meet your requests. It was booked out and was a raging success! In today's class, Riki will teach parents and their teenage children about cooking. This is a really great way for parents and children to get together and have fun learning new skills and eating healthy, good food. Come to the Kitchen and have fun together! Later, we will scheduled another class for the younger kids and their parents if there is sufficient interest.
Cost: $120 for a parent and child together ($30 each for extra children)
Riki's Mum's Turkish-inspired Delights
Monday 29 March, 6:30pm to 10pm
In 2009, Riki Kaspi taught two very special classes based on Turkish cooking from her mother's kitchen. These were so successful, that we are now offering them as a regular class in the cooking school roster. Riki was born in Israel into a multicultural environment that revolved around food. Her mother was Turkish and an intuitive cook in a tradition of intuitive cooks. Riki is continuing to learn even more from her mother's way of cooking. In this class, she will draw on this tradition and teach you the methods of Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisine to create your own recipes. This is the route to truly creative and intuitive cooking. Let Riki show you the way!
Cost: $80 per student
It's Autumn
Tuesday 30 March, 6:30pm-10pm
The best way of cooking is to use seasonal produce. Why? Because flavour is at a maximum when produce is in season. In this class you will expand your ideas for Autumn eating with Peter, the Cooking Professor. The weather is getting cooler and the rain (we hope!) has arrived. Autumn is a great time to begin to explore those comfort foods. It is a time for mushrooms, the beginning of the best time for root vegetables and a time for great meats. But it is also the time for the last of the summer fruits - the best of all possible worlds! Autumn is just right for sharing steaming plates with friends and family inside or having the last of your al fresco meals before winter sets in.
Cost: $80 per person
For the April 2010 Classes keep an eye on the Scheduled Classes Page.
To book a class, you can contact the Cooking Professor by emailing him at info@thecookingprofessor.com.au or phoning 0411 274 712 or (08) 9228 0910 or 9227 1166.