FOOD FILE:In the midst of recession, cookery schools seem to be thriving, and the latest addition to the line-up of venues where you can whip your kitchen skills into shape is a lovely, light-filled room above Donnybrook Fair, the speciality food shop on Morehampton Road, Dublin 4.
Ballymaloe-trained Monique McQuaid (above), who has a catering company as well as running cooking classes at her home in Greystones, is in charge of the kitchen, but will be drafting in regular guest chefs. The purpose-built teaching kitchen is a sleek, glossy space equipped with the latest Gaggenau appliances, and a big outdoor terrace that will be used for barbecue classes.
McQuaid is a gentle, engaging presence in the kitchen (ably assisted by Janet Gillespie and Judy Davis), and her teaching style involves lots of dialogue with her students. The flavour-packed fusion cuisine pioneered by Kiwi chef Peter Gordon is one of her favoured styles, and she also rates Italian food writer and teacher Marcella Hazan, whom she met at a course in Ballymaloe and whose instructions to peel sweet peppers prior to cooking them she still follows. Is life too short to peel a pepper? Have your say at next Saturday morning's Italian food workshop, running from 10am until 1.30pm (€75).
The spring schedule at Donnybrook Fair includes classes on Italian, Asian, fish, baking, healthy eating and cooking for coeliacs. During the Easter holidays there will be classes for teenagers and younger children, which will incorporate time spent on the shopfloor, exploring ingredients and tasting unusual foods, as well as steam-releasing outings to Herbert Park. For the full schedule of classes, or to make a booking, see www.gastromonique.com or call 087-9792107.
To be in with a chance to win a private cookery demonstration for four people at Donnybrook Fair, e-mail the answer to the following question to monique@gastromonique.com before noon next Friday, March 13th. Be sure to include your full name, address and telephone number.
At which Irish cookery school did Monique McQuaid study?