Good evening dear readers, hope you had a great weekend and you’re all pumped up for the new week! Time really flies, and it’s already mid-week! Before you know it, it’s the weekend again! How good is that? hehe A few weeks back, I was fortunate enough to be invited by PHD media agency and Bosch Home Appliances to have a Bosch Masterclass led by top chef, Ian Curley! If you’re thinking that Ian Curley looks familiar, that’s because he’s appeared on numerous TV shows – Masterchef and Conviction Kitchen (just to name a few). I was so so excited when I read that he was going to run the Masterclass, especially cause he’s the Executive chef of The European, a place I’ve been meaning to try! So glad I get to have a first-hand taste of some of the dishes they serve in the restaurant! Up close and personal! (:
We were chauffeured to the venue of the Masterclass and they transformed their showroom into a beautiful dining area! I was mesmerised by all the kitchen appliances that was around me! The state-of-th-art cooking tops, range hoods and the built in … (wait for it)… coffee machine that grinds the coffee beans and makes the froth for you all in a press of a button! Of course, I couldn’t go past the different types of ovens they had to offer! I wanted all of them! hehe
Before I share the amazing night I had, be warned that there are heaps of photos to come and mostly would make you very hungry! hehe Might need to eat after you finish reading this post! hehe But hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I did that night! Here we go! (:
We got into the kitchen (at the back of the show room) and was introduced to Chef Ian Curley! I have to say, he looks so fierce but he’s actually really nice and funny! Insisting we take nice photos of him and make him look skinny! hehe Straight after a short introduction, Chef Ian got straight down to business! He decided to cook us a pre-dinner meal of John Dory with cauliflower puree and braised witlof!
Of course, in true chefy fashion, Chef Ian filleted the Joh Dory infront of us, in the matter of minutes might I add! Just amazing!
Lucky for us, everything was prepped so we don’t have to do the chopping, but just the cooking, plating and of course, eating! hehe The best part of all!
The fish was seasoned just before it’s being cooked in a hot pan!
While the fish was pan-frying, Chef Ian started to plate the dish up : the cauliflower puree with cauliflower florets, pine nuts, muscatels and capers. I love how it could do that with his eyes closed and it still turned out looking like an art piece!
How amazing does that look? and that’s just the beginning!
To add extra oomph to the dish, bottarga was grated onto the dish! It’s Chef Ian’s current favorite ingredient at the moment! hehe I could definitely understand why! When I saw the bottarga, the only person that I thought of was the Mr, cause he LOVES fish roe! hehe
We were then split into groups to cook different dishes and lucky me was grouped with Miss D (Never Too Sweet) and Agnes (Off The Spork) to make some amazing Beef Wellingtons! By no means was this dish quick and easy, but all the components of the dish just made this dish TO-DIE-FOR! We girls definitely did a great job! hehe Although most of the hard work was already done for us. haha
We were introduced to the ingredients needed for the beef welly and look at how beautiful those eye fillets were! The rest of the ingrdients are : dijon mustard, proscuitto, salt, mushroom duxelles.
The eye fillets had to be seasoned with salt and coated with olive oil before putting into the hot pan to get sealed on both sides! It was important to oil the meat instead of the pan so that it doesn’t smoke out the kitchen! hehe A very good tip when you cook your steaks at home too! (:
Once the eye fillets are sealed (nicely golden brown too!), allow them to rest on a tray and then smear a thick layer of dijon mustard and a whole heap of mushroom duxelles!
It’s then wrapped with a beautiful piece of proscuitto and then instead of the usual puff pastry, the European uses brioche instead as it gives a lovely soft texture! The brioche was then brushed with egg yolk to give it a nice colour!
The beef wellingtons were then placed in the convection and steam oven! How awesome does that sound?? The oven has a steaming function that would bake the brioche as the usual oven function bakes/steam the beef so that it will be juicy and tender! I definitely want one!
The combi steam oven doing it’s magic for 12 minutes! While it’s baking, we went over to the other groups to have a sticky beak! hehe Boy was I glad we did, cause the smell that was filling the kitchen was making my tummy grumble!
One of the groups made crab linguini and we were just in time to taste the dish! One of the tips that were given to us was to only add the basil leaves just before serving the pasta just so it is able to have the added freshness!
Before serving, they crab linguini was topped with breadcrumbs and shaved bottarga! Love the addition of the bread crumbs. It added an element of crunch to the dish! (: So so tasty! My belly was definitely happy after I finished a whole plate!
After being satisfied by the bowl of deliciousness, my greedy belly led me to the next group. They were cooking saffron seafood paella!
The short grain rice are absorbing the goodness of the stock, capsicum, saffron and chorizo. hehe I couldn’t wait to dig in to this dish!
Especially after I saw the amount of seafood that is going into the dish! I’m sure you would want some of this too! Just at this time, the beef wellingtons were ready to come out of the oven and be plated!
While they were resting, we made the button mushroom garnish.
It was a delicious mix if button mushrooms, fresh peas, pearl onions, lettuce, brussel sprouts leaves and bacon! YUMMERS!
Within a circle of pea puree lay the button mushroom garnish, a teaspoon or two of mushroom broth and some mushroom froth. Then the beef wellingtons were sliced into half and served!
Fresh horseradish was grated onto the finished beef wellingtons just before being served! hehe How pretty does that look? So many components and trust me, everything works magically together! The eye fillets were cooked perfectly medium as well. hehe I have to say though, I do prefer the flakey puff pastry but the soft brioche was a delightful difference! hehe Just like my buttery puff! hehe
Next up, saffron seafood paella! (: Don’t you just want to dive into this pan of deliciousness?? When it was placed on our table, everyone just went “WAH” simultaneously! There was so much seafood, the rice wasn’t even visible at first look! hehe Our kind of paella. haha
We quickly snapped some shots and dugs our (clean) spoons in it! The flavours just burst in our mouths! It was so good and the seafood were all cooked really well! Plump and juicy! (:
I was already stuffed by the time I finished my wellington. So I only had a small portion! Had to leave some space for dessert! hehe For a moment, I sound like Miss D! haha
After having the paella, we were invited back into the kitchen to have some dessert! Of course, there was a sweet dessert wine to go with it – Yering Station’s Pinot Gris Cold Press! SO SO GOOD! Really need to head to the vineyard to buy some of these to stock up! I personally love sweet wine that’s why Moscato or Reisling is usually my choice of wines. hehe I took the smallest sips so that it could last longer! hehe
While we were busy enjoying our meal, the chefs were busy plating the dessert : olive oil polenta & ricotta trifle! To go with was a stick of puff pastry (YAY!) and some candied walnuts (I wanted to sneak the whole packet home haha). It was my first time having a polenta cake and I loved it! Wasn’t too sweet and added a bite to the dessert. I’ve been a huge fan of olive oil cakes of late, so this was definitely making my belly happy! hehe
I just kept digging and digging into the glass and it felt like it was never ending! At this point, I knew I was filled to the brim and definitely a happy camper!
Before the night came to a close, Chef Ian wanted to show us how easy it was to make pasta from scratch and also how quick and simple a spaghetti marina could be! He whipped out the Bosch MUM86 Professional with a pasta maker attachment and started rolling out the pasta dough that he’s made prior.
In a matter of minutes, he was able to fire up and plate an amazing bowl of spaghetti marinara! Too bad we were all really stuffed, or else I would have loved to have a taste!
I definitely had so much fun during this masterclass! All the different techniques learnt and the delicious food we got to try and attempt cooking. Definitely a night to remember! (: Thank you so much Bosch and PHD agency for this amazing opportunity! Would also like to extend my thanks and appreciation to Chef Ian Curley and his team for holding such a fun masterclass! I enjoyed every minute of it!
To make the night end on a even sweeter note, Bosch has generously given each of us a goodie bag filled with amazing gifts! One which I have been eyeing for the longest time : the stick blender! WOOOHOO! (: Now I can make soups, mayo and sauces in a whizz! Thank you so so much Bosch Home Appliances for everything and for the beautiful night! Couldn’t ask for more!
Hope you enjoyed the post! Sorry about the photo bomb hehe I’ve got the recipes of all the dishes that we tasted that night, so if you would like any of them, please feel free to drop me a comment with your email and I will send them through to you asap! (: Have a wonderful night ahead and I hope that your Thursday would be a happy one!
Always remember to cook and bake with love!
Disclaimer : I was invited to this Bosch Masterclass with Chef Ian Curley as a guest of PHD agency and Bosch Home Appliances.
