Cibo was recently invited by Silvia Gardin to attend a cooking class at Casa Barilla in Sydney for the special Mother’s Day class. So with invitations in hand we headed off to Annandale for a cooking adventure. When we arrived we were greeted with a warm welcome and a glass of prosecco. There was also a wonderful selection of antipasti for everyone to enjoy. This gave us the opportunity to meet the other people and have a short chat before we started the class.
Once we were all relaxed, we were introduced to chefs Alessandro and Angelo and they invited us into the kitchen. Alessandro assured us that we were in for a great night of cooking and fun! The first course was of the evening was home-made duck prosciutto with polenta and pecorino shavings. Alessandro demonstrated how to prepare the duck, however because the duck takes 24 hours to cure, he completed the dish with a duck that he had prepared the day before. While we were all marvelling at the beautiful presentation, our entrées were presented to us and glasses were filled. It was a simple yet elegant tasting dish and great way to start the evening.
As soon as we had finished the entrée it was onto the main course which was a the Pappardelle alla Marinara with Bottarga. Alessandro and Angelo demonstrated the recipe which included the Barilla arrabiata sauce and pappardelle pasta with a selection of fresh seafood including cuttlefish, squid, mussels, clams and scampi and presented this delightful dish to the class. The demonstration was professional yet relaxed; knowledge was shared, questions were answered and we all had a good laugh too. We then moved onto our work stations and recreated the dish ourselves and then enjoyed our pasta with a glass of Italian white wine. We were really happy with the result and it was absolutely delicious. We will definitely be preparing this dish at home.
We then all gathered around while the chefs then demonstrated the final dish which was the Fondente al cioccolato con zabaione. We all then returned to our stations to make the chocolate fondants ourselves which was quite simple to prepare but again a very delicious dessert and a great finish to the evening.
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Casa Barilla and would like to thank the team for inviting us to be a part of the Mother’s Day class. Everyone in the Barilla team was extremely welcoming and inviting and this made the night a total success. The chefs in particular, imparted their knowledge in a professional yet light hearted manner and it was truly a great night out. We highly recommend the class to anyone who loves cooking and wants to learn the art of cooking Italian food. Many of the classes throughout the year are built around different regional dishes in Italy.
For more information about Casa Barilla’s upcoming cooking classes, please visit http://au.barilla.com/ Classes are priced from $90 per person – includes all food and drink during the class and presented with a bag of goodies to take home, so it is one of the best value classes around.
Casa Barilla
(02) 8585 3911
4 Annandale Street
Annandale NSW 2038
E: casabarilla@barilla.net.au
W: http://au.barilla.com/
