We’ve all been burned by one relationship or another but when it’s time to risk jumping back into the frying pan, there may be something tasty waiting for us at the end. So whether you’re hoping to find a way to the heart through the stomach or just a food lover, there may be a culinary class with just the right ingredients to spice up your love life. There is also a relaxed drink or two to help lubricate the way! Meet some of the chefs and cocktail connoisseurs that are willing to help.

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Meet & Eat
The Cooking Professor

Trying to meet new like-minded people is just, well…. Trying! So the Cooking Professor culinary school principal Peter Kenyon and chef Sophie Bud decided to start a set of cooking classes for single people wanting to get together for a night of food, wine and fun.

Their Meet and Eat classes for lesbians and gays are proving more popular than for heterosexual singles.

The past ‘Girls who want to meet Girls’ class booked out, at a maximum of 12 to a class.
‘Without being too pious, we’re running a bit of a service here,’ Kenyon said.

‘It’s hard to meet anyone and this to me is quite innovative and I’m quite proud of it.’

The classes are taught by Bud, who has worked with British celebrity chefs Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver.

She loves teaching Italian cooking, making fresh pasta and encourages people to be social by tasting wine during the class.

‘It is very relaxed if people don’t want to listen while I talk about bread it’s not a problem and I find people become quite chatty after a glass of wine,’ Bud said.

Couples aren’t excluded and anyone who wants to hook up with other singles can simply email the school and mention a passing fancy (beyond tiramisu) and leave the rest to fate.

‘I think (Bud) likes being a bit of a matchmaker,’ Kenyon said.

‘I keep telling people that I love weddings,’ Bud laughed. ‘But I haven’t had much feedback about whether they get together.’

The next classes are a Ready, Steady, Cook style, based on the kinds of quick ingredients people find in the kitchen cupboard.

Boys who want to meet Boys class will be held on October 22 and the Girls who want to meet Girls class will be held on October 29. Bookings can be made online at www.thecookingprofessor.com.au.

Cocktails @ Home
BamBoo

Don’t fret, the days of donning your favourite threads and hitting BamBoo’s social scene are not over.

Luxe Bar and BamBoo owner Andy Freeman says Cocktails @ Home just means you know how to throw the rockin’ after-party.

‘It was just a little idea I had – with parties, barbecues and summer coming up, people are starting to socialise at home so all we’re doing is teaching a few little tricks,’ he said.

The art of cocktail making will be taught by one of BamBoo’s most experienced bartenders, James Spencer.

‘When we gave the brief we wanted things you’ve got in the cupboard and not have to go out and find, like dragon fruit or agave nectar,’ Freeman said.

‘More like marmalade martinis and strawberry and pepper martinis. Nothing too Avant-garde, just ready to rock ‘n roll.’

BamBoo chef Christopher Wright will help you match up home-made canapés to the cocktails.

His menu includes smoked chicken and pine nut filo parcels with a caramelised capsicum and red onion salsa, coffee encrusted beef fillet with porcini mushroom jus and sourdough pumpkin scones with blueberry and quince compote.

‘The concept behind capsicum and chicken is that they are flavours that meld well together so you want to keep everything else nice and subtle,’ Wright said.

‘The cocktail is a capsicum martini and with the vodka in it is very subtle compared to normal gin so we keep it light to possibly enhance the martini itself, with the pine nuts which are very aromatic, the chicken which is smoked and the filo which is extremely light.’

Drooling yet?

Wright says the menu will appeal to those who possess a range of cooking skills, from mixing and wrapping to precision baking.

Cocktails @ Home will be held on October 23. Tickets are available online at www.bamboobamboobamboo.com.

Karma (Sutra?) Cooking
Latasha’s Kitchen

Latasha Menon’s passion for home-style cooking from South and South-East Asian regions has spiced up her life in unforseen ways.

Having spent most of her working life in an office it was just a happy accident that Menon stumbled into cooking as a career. The lack of good food near her East Perth office meant she began cooking for her co-workers until she decided to make it her full time profession. Her café, Latasha’s Kitchen, was born in 2003.

Now she is sharing her secrets to creating more colourful dishes by teaching culinary classes ranging from Indian to Malay meals.

‘My passion is teaching home style food that you won’t find in Indian restaurants and customers relate to that,’ she said.

Menon grew up in Malaysia, as the youngest of 10 children to her Indian parents.

Her parents, who were both ‘wonderful cooks’, came from the Kerala region where food is mostly vegetarian.

‘It is definitely a healthy choice of eating,’ she said.

‘I love working with the colour and seasonal growth of vegetarian dishes.’

Growing up in Malaysia also meant being exposed to Thai, Eurasian, Singaporean and Burmese food.

While Menon loves making lentil dishes, she has found that the most popular cooking courses are based on food that is very hands on, such as satays and Vietnamese spring rolls.

She welcomes the gay and lesbian community and offers private classes for couples through to full six week public courses for large groups.

‘It’s very rewarding because if a mother buys it for her son, he will take the recipe and go back to cook it for his parents so it’s creating a lot of karma,’ Menon said.

For cooking class options visit and book online at www.latashaskitchen.com.au.

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