We just spent a lovely evening at a Migrateful Cooking School, a London organization that offers cooking classes in a wide variety of cuisines from around the world. Migrateful is a non-profit organization with a wonderful mission – to “support migrants and refugees on their journey to integration by enabling them to teach cookery classes to the general public” [per their story]. Their classes are incredibly popular – we booked tonight’s class over a month ago, and it was one of the few with available slots. After our group of 14 made four interesting dishes, we sat down to enjoy a delicious dinner:
I worked with three other partners to make Lo Han Zhai, a braised vegetable stew “made from colourful vegetables and vermicelli noodles braised in an earthy sauce. It originates from Buddhist cuisine which follows vegetarian principles and the original recipe is said to contain 18 vegetables.” We had a comfortable workspace, and the instructions and ingredients were laid out in advance. Chef Cathy – a migrant from Hong Kong – circulated from station to station to answer questions and advise on proper technique.
Our Lo Han Zhai doesn’t look like much, but it was delicious!
Pam worked with a group to make Gao Zi (Lamb and vegetable dumplings). Other groups made Ga Lei Yu Dan (Hong Kong curry fish balls), Ba Fan
(Jasmine Rice), and Yeung Ji Gum Lo (Mango Pomelo Sago pudding).
If you’re ever in London, I recommend giving Migrateful a go.
David Kotz 