Last week I was invited along to the James Street South Cookery School, I was very excited about this as I'd previously attended a Cooking Demonstration here and haven eaten in James St South before I knew that the finished product would be tasty, well with me cooking it hopefully it would be tasty...
21 James St S, Belfast BT2 7GA
jamesstreetsouth.co.uk
028 9043 4310
So along with Daniel of No Limits Fitness (check him out) we headed to our 'Gentlemen's Cookery Class' - our subject; Meat Meals. After a quick exploration of the Cookery School which is fully kitted out as a professional kitchen we were introduced to our teacher for the night; Niall Mc Kenna, Chef and Proprietor of The James St South Cookery School and a few other gems within Belfast (see later on)
So it was time to start cooking - we started by taking about what makes the perfect steak, what the best cut is and how to properly season, cook and serve it. Then it was time to make our sauces, we were tackling the more straightforward Classic Peppercorn Sauce and then we moved onto to the more difficult Bearnaise Sauce; I'm happy to report that I didn't split my Bearnaise and it tasted epic!! which got me felling like...
Once our sauces were complete we moved onto the star of the show, our Peter Hannan Steaks - after picking our meat we cooked our steak to our liking, I went medium rare as I not an animal - I had to hold back when one other Gent asked how long for Extra Well Done, what a fool, I shed a tear.
As we were busy making our sauces and cooking our steaks, Niall was making the perfect Roast Chicken - I don't want to give away too much here but cooking time was minimal and taste was superb! While the steaks were cooking we prepped our veg, seasoned it and popped it in the oven - we also used this time to pick up our plates and serving dishes, it was here I felt like a proper chef, I'd cooked, prepped, tasted, seasoned and I even had my wee James St South apron on!
Once our steaks were cooked we did the most important thing, we let it rest - while our steaks rested we plated up, reheated our Pepper Sauce, carefully poured our Bearnaise into its dish and we organised our veg - once this was done we added our steaks to the plate and sat down to enjoy our creations.
This was my finished creation, proud as punch I was - tasted amazing and I didn't leave a crumb! WOW
We ate in the same room as the kitchen which was amazing because the smell of the room was incredible, with our meal we enjoyed some red wine and Chef Mc Kenna served up the chicken - I've honestly never tasted chicken like it... Dan, my partner in crime for the night actually got emotional over it!
Dan when he tasted that Roast Chicken
So what can I say about this night, it was educational, great fun, bloody tasty and I have definitely picked up some major cookery skills and self confidence. I would recommend this experience to everyone and I must admit I have already looked at my next class and I think either Classics with a Twist or Pasta and Prosecco will be my next venture!
A great night - a perfect date idea - a wonderful gift perhaps - or just a way to self improve
Here's a few more images of the cookery school to get you in the mood - now go and book and get your chef's hat on!
