Class in Clerkenwell
Eatdrinktalk - preferably not at the same time
Words: Nick Harman
Pics: Al Stuart
“Quite what the folks in the council estate next door make of it is anyone’s guess. The woman opposite in the big windowed ‘unit’ seems to have a lot of dinner parties. Almost every night there’s a crowd around her kitchen table drinking, laughing and taking part in the chopping, the dicing and the mixing. Then they all leave at around 9pm. Odd.
The fact is that these aren’t dinner parties, that much reviled 80’s idea (mostly now reviled by the people who loved them at the time) but the best kind of evening classes, ones where you’re greeted by a big jug of cocktails on arrival and where you get to eat your work as you go along. Jennifer Klinec, the host here, is a cook with loads of experience of world cooking and three or four times a week she brings it to the table for small classes of six to ten people in her Clerkenwell space. Kindly enough she invited london-eating to try one, despite our appalling table manners and the photographer’s helpful aversion to fish.
In fact the photographer assumed the cocktails were non-alcoholic and downed two big mugfuls before finding out they contained a healthy whack of cherry brandy and gin. That the pictures here are still sharp is testament to auto focus. The cocktail was the first thing we learnt the ingredients for, as it happens, and as an icebreaker it worked well. While some people come to Jennifer’s classes as pairs, many come on their own and that’s no problem at all. A shared fondness of food soon gets people talking and the class size is just enough to make it friendly and fun.
Tonight, out of the many and varied courses Jennifer offers, it was Gastro Pub cooking that was on the menu. Appropriately enough the whole gastro thing kicked off not so far away at The Eagle pub up the road where Guardian journalists from their nearby offices loved the way they could eat well and keep their consciences clean – rough tables, rough staff it was all the antithesis of capitalist fine dining. Today any pub that serves food on plates that don’t match is inclined to label itself gastro, and too many chains have emulated the idea, if not the substance and skills. So tonight’s menu focused on what made proper gastro great - simple but quality ingredients, punchy flavours, quick cooking and hearty portions.
It’s hands on and shoes off experience (the smart wooden floor demands it) with Jennifer leading the conversation and talking about good places to shop in town as she gets the dishes moving. Obviously it’s not possible to all cook on the one set of rings, but the prepping and the sampling and sniffing of ingredients is a communal thing. Jennifer is good at starting topics of conversation and her friendly yet insistent manner helps move things along nicely. Asian style salmon gravadlax with chili crème fraiche is the first thing out the traps and it goes down well, a remarkably simple dish to prepare too.
And so we went on, pretending to look at our folder of ingredients and instructions but really enjoying getting our hands floury and hovering, like expectant vultures, waiting for more food to come our way. Lamb Neck Fillets with Puy Lentils and Salsa Verde seemed a true taste of Gastro Pub, the exotic lentils and Salsa Verde nestling up nicely next to the more British flavours of the quality lamb fillets. If you haven’t tried lentils du Puy it’s a revelation, these aren’t the grey gloop of cliché hippy food, nor the salmon pink boys you see in Indian restaurants. They take a short time to cook and are rather refined and delicate. Plus they soak up flavours, in this case the pancetta they were cooked with.
As conversation stayed resolutely on foodie matters – markets, ingredients, best restaurants etc – Ricotta Gnocchi with wild mushroom ragout was prepared. Gnocchi, when I make them, are best used to steady wobbly tables (or to pelt Guardian journalists with). These made with Canadian flour (from Waitrose since you ask) turned out silky smooth and light and went well with the mushrooms to create a rib-sticking dish.
Hake on Chorizo and Parsley mash with a warm spiced dressing was a winner too. The chorizo colouring the mash and giving surprise nuggets of spiced flavour in every forkful although I wasn’t convinced of leaving the spud in lumps in the mash – I like my mash creamy. But this is all debatable and that is, after all, what makes the courses enjoyable. Other people’s experiences, tricks, likes and dislikes all come together to make it convivial.
And finally the recipe you’ll find in this newsletter, Orange Oil Olive Cake with rosewater mascarpone. A really simple dessert that tasted great and we were all impressed with the silicone bun ‘tins’. These are one of the things we have the space program to thank for, I’m still waiting for the jet packs and weekend mini-breaks on Mars, but no doubt they are in the pipeline.
This must have been the first evening meal for a long time I didn’t walk away from slightly drunk. Although Jennifer did say bringing wine was fine, I was frightened I might look like an old alcy if everyone else was virtuously drinking water. As it happened that was what everyone else thought too and we all agreed next time we’d bring a bottle.
The range of courses at eatdrinktalk is enormous, a reflection of Jennifer’s world travels and there is something for everyone, even lads’ evenings in front of the stove. A great present for the slob in your life, a treat for a loved one or a little luxury for yourself. Contact Jennifer via her website.
