A dinner party to impress at The Avenue Cookery School
Mary Forde, a cordon bleu-trained chef, set up The Avenue Cookery School nearly two years ago; it proved such a success that she has now been joined by Diana Horsford, a former tutor at The Grange in Somerset. The school is based in the Fordes’ large family home on a leafy street in Putney and classes are held in two purpose-built, well-equipped kitchens. More like inspiring dinner parties than hard work, the evening courses suit different levels: the ‘Mashed Potato’ for basic skills; the ‘Crème Brulée’ for more advanced techniques. The full course is six weeks long, kept small and attracts a mix of men and women aged from twenty- to fortysomething. Each week you prepare a three-course meal, which you then sit down and enjoy, as well as preparing an additional dish to take home to eat later in the week. Recipes are printed in a ringbound recipe book given out on the first lesson. To maximise cooking – as well as the eating and socialising – time, ingredients are prepared in bowls so you don’t need to spend time weighing.
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Arriving straight from work I was welcomed and introduced to my cooking companions. In the kitchen Ford and Horsford, both infectiously enthusiastic, kicked off with a demonstration before the rest of us got down to the business of making a three-course supper and meal to take home, which in this case would be lasagne. As we worked in pairs, our hosts dispensed tips and ways to present the food we were preparing, sharing their inspirational breadth of knowledge and experience.
I was particularly pleased to learn how to make parmesan baskets. A simple sprinkling of grated parmesan, zapped in a hot oven for six minutes and left to cool over a ramekin, turns into an impressive-looking, small edible bowl. We filled these with salad leaves and an assortment of figs, avocado, tomato and, for those who wanted them, king prawns. Fantastic! A deceptively straightforward way to wow my next set of dinner party guests.
Chicken and mango salad, and iced Grand Marnier parfait with citrus fruits followed and, with cooking over, we decamped to the garden to enjoy our impressive three-course supper and plenty of wine.
Kathryn Miller
The Avenue Cookery School, 74 Chartfield Avenue, SW15 6HQ (020 8788 3025/www.theavenuecourses.co.uk) Putney rail or East Putney tube. Evening classes £280 for six. The Avenue runs a range of courses including a four-week Complete Cooking Course (£500 per week). There are also singles only Cooking for Crumpet evenings (£65 per evening).
