Would you like a fun night out? Do you love to eat high quality food made with the freshest of ingredients? Would you like to improve your cookery skills?

If you have answered 'yes' to any of the above then perhaps it's time you had a look at what Belfast Cookery School has to offer!

       

       The individual cooking stations. Get more information at  www.belfastcookeryschool.com

Situated in Castle Street, right in the heart of Belfast, Belfast Cookery School is run in association with Mourne Seafood Bar, a name synonymous with top quality food.

                                     

This was my second visit to Belfast Cookery School and follows hot on the heels of the McKinney's jam making workshop I attended just last week! Have a look at my blogpost for more details of that visit!

My friend 'That Belfast Girl' and I arrived promptly at 6pm, for the 'Curries of the World' class and were introduced to our chef for the evening - Stephen Jeffers. 

                               

           Head Chef Stephen Jeffers hard at work demonstrating the first of the evening's dishes. 

                                               Find him on Twitter @chef_jeffers

Stephen immediately put everyone at ease - there was no shouting or Ramsay style rants in this kitchen! He explained and demonstrated each step of the process thoroughly and when we were let loose to our individual coking stations Stephen checked our progress, giving the benefit of his many  years of experience.

                                     

                                 The lovely 'That Belfast Girl' and I, aprons on, ready to cook!

        

          

Belfast Cookery School provides the freshest of ingredients - including the biggest prawns I have ever seen!

               

During the evening we learned the techniques needed to successfully produce three dishes - Thai Fragrant Spiced Prawns, Lamb Dhansak and Lentil, chickpea and sweet potato Dahl. 

           

       

 

              Some of the ingredients for the lamb Dhansak. I love spicy food - lots of chilli for me!

          

        

                  My Lamb Dhansak steaming away - wish you could smell it - it's amazing!

       

           All that hard work deserves a little reward surely? Wine is included as part of the evening.

      

                           My completed Thai Fragrant Spiced Prawns - delicious!

Finally, just when tummies were beginning to rumble, and we could stand the fabulous aromas no longer, it was time to eat! 

                       

The food was beautiful, the atmosphere was relaxed and there was so much food that we all took a 'doggy bag' home. 'Excellent', I thought, that's tomorrow night's dinner sorted, but of course the contents of mine were immediately devoured by my teenage son who pronounced it 'totally delicious'!

I attended a Curry evening, but there are lots of different cuisines to choose from, (I'd love to try the Fish course next!) or why not book for a private party or work event and design your own course?

My opinion? Belfast Cookery School has created an original, fun and memorable night out, perfect for a special occasion, or an evening with a partner or group of friends and a great gift idea for a foodie!

An enormous thank you to Belfast Cookery School, Mourne Seafood Bar and our wonderful chef Stephen Jeffers for making this a night to remember. 

Thanks to Michael Burch for his photos of the event!

Jam making with McKinney's

I was in my element yesterday attending a jam-making workshop at Belfast Cookery School. The event was sponsored by McKinney's Sure-Set Jam Sugar with jam making demonstrated by top South African Chef and RTE1 regular Rozanne Stevens. 

                             Rozanne demonstrates the finer points of jam making.

In the extremely well-equipped surroundings of Belfast Cookery School, (www.belfastcookeryschool.com) Rozanne showed us how to make jam and relish. We also had ample opportunity to taste a wide selection of her jams, relishes and chutneys!

                               

                                    A bottle of freshly made Spiced Strawberry Relish.

Rozanne demonstrated how using McKinney's Sure-Set Jam Sugar takes the uncertainty out of jam-making. With Sure-Set Jam Sugar there's no boiling fruit for hours, anxiously testing the mixture every couple of minutes, wondering if it's ever going to set. With Sure-Set it's simple - boil for four minutes (yes you read that correctly, 4 minutes!) remove from the heat and let the mixture rest in the pot for 15 minutes before transferring to sterilised jars, and it's done!

Time for us to have a go, and off to our individual cooking stations armed with all manner of fruit and of course the Sure-Set Jam Sugar!

                                                    Don't forget the Sure-Set! 

 

                                      

                               That Belfast Girl and I had a lot of strawberries to prepare!

I was amazed by how easy it was to make gorgeous pots of jam, all perfectly set and delicious and came home inspired and eager to get started making lots and lots of jams and relishes. Guess what my friends will be getting for Christmas this year!

Thank you to all at McKinney's Sugar, Belfast Cookery School, and of course the lovely Rozanne Stevens for a fantastic day!