The Dirty Apron


This will be an unusual review. The Dirty Apron is actually a cooking school & delicatessen (owned by Chambar & Medina), Debbie gave me a gift card for a cooking class there a while back and finally had a chance to use it!

So this post will actually be me posting a review on my own cooking skills!

EEP!

You book the class online, and choose your menu, I chose the Ultimate Seafood class.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived here is how amazing the kitchen is. Every person who takes a class here is given their own professional gas stove, prep area, & sink. The Chef instructor has his own area where he will demonstrate each dish in front of us. A very impressive setup.

After cooking your dish you take it to the communal dining table where you're given complimentry wine, bread, & dips, and you get to enjoy your meal with the other guests.


We started out with Citrus Olive oil poached Spot prawns, with pan roasted Halibut cheeks and Saffron aioli.

Not too shabby huh? The prawns were nicely poached and I learned a bit more on cooking the cheeks better with a white wine sauce. The Grape Must drizzle added a nice bit of sweetness to the dish. The Emperor is happy!

Soy & sesame Tuna tartar with roasted shiitake mushrooms on pressed avocado, topped with a yuzu foam.

The easiest dish of the night, but very tasty (if a bit too salty, need to cut back on the soy and add more mirin). This dish makes me more confident on handling raw tuna. We all received what I thought was a very small piece of tuna, but when cut up and mixed with the diced mushrooms it makes a shockingly large amount of food! I also learned a new trick with the avocado I'd never seen before!

Pan seared Arctic Char, with a Vegetable Nage
A simple dish, but it's easy to mess up! I learned a few tricks to ensure the fish stays nice a medium rare, and the vegetable nage was simple and easy to do (a little butter always does the trick!)

Overall I find this place to be wonderful special treat as a gift for yourself or to someone special, because it isn't cheap. Not even close. A class here costs $150 per person!!! So this isn't an everyday experience. I strongly recommend this for anyone who enjoys cooking, and would like to learn new skills.