On Tuesday night we went to a cooking class conducted by Chef Luca Phillips in Alicante. We began the evening by having nice glass of red wine and an introduction to the delicious selection of mediterranean dishes we were going to prepare.

There were five dishes in total, caponata, sardines, marinated tomatoes, romesco sauce, and a shaved fennel, orange and rocket salad with lemon dressing.

We put on our cooking apron along with our name tag, washed our hands and awaited our tasks.  Each person taking part had their own work space. Chef Luca went through the preparation with us and demonstrated how to slice or cut the ingredients before we started.

The Chef then put us into small groups to prepare the food. Once we began preparing the ingredients Chef Luca would come around and ensure we were doing ok and answer any questions. Some of the preparations was more challenging than others. One group was required to de-boned the sardines and prepare them for the “sandwich”.

Shelley and I were both relived that we were  not picked for that particular job!

The chef did the majority of the stove cooking aspects which allowed us to observe and ask questions.

Once we were finished the preparation of ingredients, we combined them into the dishes. It was interesting to see how some ingredients interacted with others ingredients. The chef explained the importance of salt or acidic foods and how they worked in combination with other ingredients.

The group worked well together and the plates turned out nicely. We admired our handiwork on display prior to enjoying the fruit of our labour.

We then sampled the dishes and socialized for the next hour or so. We enjoyed the very tasty dishes and Ray even eat the sardine sandwich which was very good. Overall a very enjoyable event.

Adios y que tenga un gran día”