Lights, cameras, paella!

Chef's Warehouse is a cookery school and speciality store in Cape Town

It's a cold and stormy night. Okay, it's not night-time, but it is raining buckets. The dark cloud that’s been following me evaporates as soon as I step into the warmth of Chef's Warehouse

The scent of spice and bubbling coffee hangs in the air. Rachel Nicholson, marketing manager, ushers me to the cookery school area with the promise of a cappuccino.  The last time I visited was a year ago, when Irish chef, Liam Tomlin had just opened the doors.

Liam has worked all over Europe, and most famously in Australia at Banc Restaurant in Sydney. When that stint came to an end it was back to London for the Tomlins (his wife’s name is Jan), and it was on a holiday in Cape Town that the couple decided to stay.

Today I’m here for the Pasta & Grains segment of a 20-part course, where students are taught the essential principles of cooking; from stock making to shellfish preparation.

We’re in the age of the cooking show. Across the globe people are glued to their screens when the likes of Master Chef, Hell’s Kitchen et al burst onto the plasma. We’re voyeuristic foodies. We’re hungry for knowledge.  

Stepping into this slick room feels a bit as if I’ve stepped over to the other side; into my very own cooking show. There’s Liam, in his chef’s whites, hauling a big steel pot onto the stove. He’s in an open plan kitchen, which faces the students at their tall steel tables. Mirrors fastened to the ceiling show what’s happening on the stove tops, and there’s a large red-rimmed chalkboard on the right-hand side, covered with artful drawings.

My cooking show delusion continues as Liam addresses the room: “Anyone feel like paella for breakfast?”

The four hour class will cover ten recipes, but what really makes these classes so invaluable, is Liam’s constant advice and tips throughout.

So, here goes; don’t change the channel. Grab some popcorn, sit back and relax.

Roast onion risotto
To start this dish, whole onions are roasted for two to three hours, caramelised with butter, sugar and honey.

“Take off the skin,” says Liam, “but keep the root on or it will fall apart. Once the onions are soft, the inside is scooped out, set aside and added at a later stage, the outer edge remains intact to later be used as a serving dish for the risotto.

“The two most important things about a risotto are the rice and the stock. The stock must match the flavour of the dish; an asparagus stock for an asparagus risotto or in this case an onion.

“And,” he continues, “the rice must be Arborio. The beginning process before the stock is added is important too. You break down the husks; this helps make the risotto creamy.”

Later he’ll add the caramelised onion as well as chives, spring onion and shallots. “It should have a nice onion flavour,” says Liam with a wink.

Extra tip: leftover risotto can be shaped into cakes and pan-fried for an unusual starch accompaniment.

Potato gnocchi
“Floury potatoes make the best kind of gnocchi,” says Liam. “Bake don’t boil, the former ensures there’s less moisture content.”

After this the potato flesh is scooped out of the jacket and rubbed through a drum sieve. Dough is formed by adding flour, egg yolk, Parmesan and olive oil.

“Then you knead the dough,” he continues, “roll it out, and cut into 3cm lengths.” After this step the gnocchi is cooked in salted, boiling water until they float to the top, and then refreshed in ice water.

Liam drops the gnocchi into the pan, fries till golden brown, and adds pancetta, mushrooms and Parmesan. A peasant-style dish we tuck into big bowls with silver spoons, washed down with a glasses of chenin.

Extra tip: substitute for spaghetti in your next Bolognaise.

Soft polenta
“I’m not really a fan of polenta,” says Liam pouring cream into a saucepan.  “So I make an infusion of dried cep mushrooms, herbs, cream, chicken stock and milk to cook it in.”

Once this mixture has simmered for ten minutes, Liam takes it off the heat and leaves it steep for an hour. Later he’ll simply whisk in the polenta, cook for 20 or so minutes, stirring continuously.

Extra tip: Place dried cep mushrooms with salt in a grinder, and use over roasted chicken. The same principle works with green tea and dried citrus, which is delicious with seafood.

Garlic chive spӓtzle
Spӓtzle is a type of tear-drop shaped egg pasta with origins in Germany (hotly contested), made from airy dough.

To flavour this dough, Liam’s sous chef, John van Zyl, is making a garlic chive purée. He simply blanches a few strands which are then puréed with cream and water.

After this John beats the dough with the purée in a wide silver bowl, quite furiously. “You need to incorporate as much air as possible,” Liam explains.

There are a few methods for making the tear-drop shape, either with a spӓtzle maker or the traditional way. Liam demonstrates the latter.  Holding a wide kitchen board spread with the wet dough Liam uses a sharp knife to flick the spӓtzle into the water.

Once cooked, it’s transferred to a pan to crisp up. “You have to be a good tosser,” he says with a laugh, moving the pan up and down.

Extra tip: If you don’t have a spӓtzle maker, or aren’t keen on the traditional method, simply hold a colander over a pot of boiling water and push the dough through with a plastic spatula.

Paella
“In Spain, the men make the paella for the ladies much like in England they carve the Sunday roast or here in SA they braai,” says Liam. “There are hundreds of different recipes for this dish, and most use fish stock. I find it too intense though, and I rather make a mussel stock.”

Liam pops rinsed, de-bearded mussels in a large sauce pan, and adds wine, thyme and saffron. He also throws in orange peel and chicken stock.

“Cook mussels as quickly as possible on high heat,” he tells the class. “The quicker they cook, the more tender they are.”

As Liam builds the paella the scent of saffron and seafood fills the air. Perhaps not a breakfast item, but I could sure eat this for lunch.

“This is the one dish, where a recipe will actually tell you to let a crust form on the bottom. It adds a smoky flavour,”  he tells the group crowding around the stove, smelling the pan.

“At the very end you add the prawns shell side down, and let them steam through the air holes in the rice.”

Extra tip: Go here for the full paella recipe.

We also make mango cous cous, fragrant and light; the most delicious lentils you could imagine, rich with pancetta trimmings; and squid ink pasta, as black as the night.

Before I leave, the detritus of the class around us, I sit with Liam to find out what’s next for him. Absent-mindedly tying a rogue garlic chive into a bow, he tells me about the cooking school they’ll be opening on Leopard’s Leap in Franschhoek, which will have a more hands-on approach.

“And we’re publishing our second book ,” he says. “It’s not a cheffy book, but something that people can refer to, based on this 20-part course. It takes you through all the stages; for example with duck, from confit to rillette.”

And I can’t wait to read it. That is, if I can tear myself away from the T.V

I hope you’ve enjoyed the show.

By Malu Lambert

50 New Church Street | Cape Town | +27 (0)21 422 01 28

Contact Rachel Nicholson who can email you their latest course offerings.

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