Deployed correctly, truffles can add an exquisite nuttiness to a dish, but in the wrong place or the wrong quantity, the fungus can either overpower a plate or disappear into the background completely.
This is why the truffle masterclass at the upmarket Mayfair restaurant Novikov is a useful corrective for aspirational amateur chefs from across the capital.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
The class, part of its seasonal calendar of cookery classes, offers hints and tips on how and where to add the ingredient so as to compliment flavour rather than obscuring or overwhelming it.
Chef Baldassare Amodio leads a group of 12 enthusiastic punters, showing us first up how to whip up perfect scrambled egg with perfect ratio of milk, butter and eggs, before explaining that the key to the whole enterprise is to whisk like a maniac as the egg mix hits the pan. A generous helping of black truffle is shaved over the top and the simple dish is complete.
The next two courses are where things get a bit more complicated – tagliatelle and ravioli.
Even if you have used a pasta machine before, Novikov’s course offers useful pointers on how to get the thickness and consistency of your dough right before you start to manipulate it into shapes and cut it to size. Also covered is how to ensure that your dough comes out in long straight sheets rather than as awkward wonky-edged pancakes.
Good advice is also on offer on the best way to make ravioli by overlapping layers of dough, before shaping and cutting so they are free of air bubbles and stuffed with just the right amount of truffle oil-infused filling.
For good measure, the four-hour course also covers off how to prepare a tasty truffle salad and dessert. But best of all, once you are done learning you can whip off your apron and enjoy a generous three-course lunch starting some of the pasta you have prepared yourself.
Novikov’s masterclasses have been wildly successful, attracting devoted repeat customers and leading to the addition of extra courses and experiences. Next up will be an excursion to Brent Eleigh Hall, where the restaurant will host its annual Summer Masterclasses on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 July. Guests will be given a tour the two-acre walled gardens picking ingredients before heading back for the three-hour tutorial – and of course a huge meal to finish off.
Cookery masterclasses, including the truffle masterclass, £95. Summer Masterclasses in Brent Eleigh Hall, £120 for one day or £160 for both; novikovrestaurant.co.uk/whatson/
(Image credit: PETER SCHIAZZA PHOTOGRAPHY 2013)
Nose-to-tail butchery day
The Cookery School, Daylesford
Held once a month at the revered culinary school in Gloucestershire, this one-day course offers meat lovers the chance to get hands-on in the kitchen while learning to use every part of the animal. With the help and guidance of some of Daylesford's expert chefs and butchers, the class covers everything from butchering and preparing your own joints of meat to choosing the best cuts from the local butcher. The team will also help you to work up an appetite by cooking the meat, with guidance on braising and roasting techniques. Lunch and refreshments are provided.
Pack your waterproofs and a sun hat for this day-long foraging and cookery class in Cornwall. Spend the morning discovering the UK's untapped source of up to 10 species of edible seaweed off the coast of West Cornwall before heading back to the Fat Hen for a three-course lunch and an afternoon creating some delicious seaweed-based dishes including laver seaweed cakes, pickled seaweed with soba noodles and even ice cream. Leave with a newfound knowledge of foraging, goodie bag of fresh seaweed and recipe cards to continue the wild cooking experience at home.
Whether you want to explore floristry as a career or impress friends at your next dinner party, the London Flower School is the place to let your creativity flourish. Its one-day Inspired by Art masterclass teaches you to create a distinctive table arrangement using flowers selected to represent the vision of a particular artist. Experts will encourage you to tap into your imagination and take inspiration from all around you, with guidance on blending colour as well as learning techniques to make a statement with flowers.
Why more and more adults are reaching for soft toys
Magazine solutions - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
Magazine printables - December 27, 2024 / January 3, 2025
