Can Do Crumb - 22 Redbank, Manchester

There are many people who will tell you that carbs are the devil's work and must be avoided at all costs. Ignore them.

You need carbs in your life. I'm not going to give you a lecture on the health benefits of including a moderate amount of complex carbs in your diet, as this is an enjoyable (I hope) food blog and not some whiny vegan shite. I am, however, now going to write a post all about bread. Get over it.

When I moved out of my chaotic student house, I took a flat with the girlfriend of one of my housemates; as much as he supported this decision (well, his two favourite ladies in one place, who wouldn't?) he failed to see how this would work - 'but Sarah doesn't eat toast' he exclaimed to my future flatmate. Kat loved bread. She ate a lot of toast and I was a notorious toast dodger. He just didn't see how we'd be compatible (for posterity - we got on very well, one of the best housemates I've ever had).

Until recently, this bread aversion has always been the case, I just didn't eat a lot of bread. I had no urge, no need, no craving for buttery carbiness; I hated sandwiches (still do in most cases), would only eat toast if there was NOTHING else to eat and just didn't get why my sane, intelligent friends would find it so hard to cut out a bit of bakery for a few weeks to get in to a bridesmaids/wedding/party/delete as appropriate dress.

And then I started frequenting a local bakery and making the odd (very worthy but I persevered eating it anyways) loaf - a world of chewy crusts, delicate crumb, sour taste, the crack as the bread knife broke through the freshly baked crust... toast was soon something I was getting excited about before going to bed; I got scarily interested in flour types and even, once, contemplated making a sandwich (I didn't do it).

Can't beat a good loaf

After this awakening, I now perceive my current bread intake to be horrendous, however chatting to colleagues and friends I realise it's only horrendous in relation to the amount of bread I used to eat. I'm not going to name and shame the 'whole loaves in a day by themselves' people I know. They're northern.

A few weeks back I was invited to 22 Redbank; the funky office come bar come photo studio come space that houses The Liquorists and Tone Photography. 'Come and learn to make some bread' they said - not sure I was up for spending my Saturday night being lectured at by some Cheshire-set-WI-wifey who teaches/patronises idiots like me for a bit of pin money, whilst hubby supports the whole shebang by creaming it off the oil industry - 'there will be free food and cocktails from The Liquorists.' Oh alright then, free booze/food always gets me out of the house and my homemade bread is shocking, so I reasoned it was worth it.

Pushing open the door to 22 Redbank (guys, please fix the bell, rapping hurts my little girl hands) I was greeted by a quiet, but friendly bunch of young people with drinks in their hands, making introductions and chatting with one another. Over bounded a petite brunette in an apron with her hand thrust out warmly ('kitchen help girl,' mind thought; oh damn you first impressions/stereotypes). 'Hi, I'm Jess, I'm going to be your teacher and I'll forget your name, so you're called sweetypie.' Suddenly, I realised this was no stuffy bread making class, this might actually be fun....

Bread. Booze. Boom.

Introductions over, we all trooped downstairs, where Jess gave us a little bit of her background (talented lady) and a quick introduction to the mechanics of 'how bread works.' For people like me who need to know why something happens before we can master it, this was perfect; unpretentious, funny and very interesting, I nearly didn't notice a new cocktail being placed in my hands. Nearly.

Next we tasted a few different breads, which had been made fresh by Jess and chatted about what we liked about each, whilst learning about the different technique/ingredients required for each bake. Throughout this, Jess confidently and engagingly fielded numerous questions from novices and those wishing to learn more - why won't my bread rise, the texture is wrong when I bake, why do we need yeast.... and so on - we had a lot to ask.

And then it was our turn to have a go - as we were only there an evening, Jess instructed us on one of the easiest breads around; Irish soda bread (risen with baking soda and not yeast so no need to knead/prove/knockback/etc) (get you with your lingo - Ed).

First off 'taste this buttermilk Sarah', 'er ok;' cue the most screwed up face I have ever made and chortles all round (I was not chortling, damn my curiosity!), a quick instruction on how to make the bread and then it was all bunged in the oven. During baking time, Jess regaled us with tall bread tales and showed us different techniques to use when making a yeast based loaf. AND busted all the myths that you need expensive, fancy kit to make bread. You don't even need yeast! Just hands, flour, water and an oven.

The night was finished off by more cocktails from Jamie Jones, bartender extraordinaire and part of The Liquorists - he even made a passable Chocolate Old Fashioned - in real person's terms, this was AMAZING and should probably win awards; I still don't think you should mess with an old fashioned though. Oh and a nice wee dram of whisky that I'm not allowed to tell Jody we drank...
     

Jamie Jones doing his 'ay ees Massimo' impression

Can Do Crust isn't a night for experienced bread makers to get together and discuss the finer points of flour rising technicalities and neither is it a night for personal, solitary learning - it's a fun, sociable get together, where you learn some pretty useful skills and get pretty tipsy too. Got a birthday/meet up planned, bored of the meat market that town is, want to make some new friends? Get yourself booked on to the next one HERE.

Can Do is part of a monthly series of events organised by Tone Photographer in conjunction with The Liquorists at 22 Redbank. In the next few months they will cover Crumbs (cake), Crunch (biscuits), Cremes (custards) and Confectionery (petit fours) (lovely alliteration there) and each one is priced at £35 for 3 hours full of learning/making/taking home and a selection of cocktails.

Can Do, Tone Photographer, 22 Redbank, Manchester M4 4HF - website - twitter - facebook - shep@tonephotographer.com

Please note, I was given my ticket to this night for free, but wouldn't have written such a glowing report if I hadn't had one of the best nights out that I've had in bloody ages. I implore you to go along, you won't regret it.

Dilli Restaurant Cookery Course - Altrincham

Cookery courses - something I've always wanted to do, yet something I've never attempted. Paying £90 plus for (sometimes as little as) a half day with ten other people always seems a little over priced, just to learn a skill I already have or will never use - why learn to temper chocolate when I'll go to a chocolatier if I want something exquisite; I have no want to go into the chocolate business myself, I'd be dead by the time I'm 35.

However when an invite to learn how to make a selection of Indian foods at award-winning Altrincham restaurant Dilli, for free, popped in to my inbox I found myself strangely excited and leapt at the chance. Maybe it's because I cook a lot of Indian food, but stick to the usual basics from my stained and well-thumbed Madhur Jaffrey book. Or maybe I just like free things.

The day was run by Living Social, a newish voucher company aimed at the growing army of bargain loving Brits; their aim was to give a selection of bloggers an insight into what one of these days looks like and I think we can all agree they did just that.

Dilli’s an upmarket Indian based in the middle of busy Altrincham, after a bit of a parking issue I arrived flustered and was whisked upstairs to meet my fellow foodies and our teachers for the day. Chefs Ravi and Nayeem ran through their credentials (impressive), a brief history of Indian cookery (comprehensive) and what we would be learning (extensive).

Introduction from Chef Ravi

First things first; a mango lassi demonstration from Chef Nayeem and some wise advice about never mixing beer with lassi from Chef Ravi. Out came the glasses and we all sipped on the velvety, icy delight; bit cold for a January afternoon, but it was so thick and luscious that I’d knocked it back in no time.

Nayeem making the lassi

Whilst we were drinking Chef Nayeem demonstrated onion bhajias and his wonderful knife skills (cue much green eyes from us guys watching); whilst Chef Ravi described the difference between Southern and Northern cookery. Time to taste again and the bhajias were a revelation; crisp, flavoursome and nothing like the soggy, burnt offerings you get in most places. In the fifeteen minutes it took to make them I’d learnt so many tips and tricks relating to Indian and everyday cookery that I wondered why I hadn’t done this before.

Bhajias and two wonderful sauces

Time for us to get cracking – we were shown to our individual stations; a camping stove, a board, a knife and a spoon. There’s no official teaching kitchen at Dilli, but their improvised set up was practical, giving everyone an uninteruppted view of what was going on and underlined the fact that Indian cookery is very accessible and doesn’t require running home and shelling out on oodles of fancy gadgets that get used for the first month and then collect dust at the backs of cupboards; the skills you learn here are instantly replicable at home.

Dilli cookery class set up

For the next two hours we studiously crafted a chicken Murgh Kali Mirch (veg option was available), Dal Tarka and a Aloo Palak; Chef Nayeem was on hand at every point to make sure our sauces were thick enough and that our onions were small enough (no way near as good as his I have to say – he can even chop them without looking!). All the while, Chef Ravi wove interesting tales about the ingredients around the heady, intoxicating smells emanating from our pans; explaining the history, uses and folklore of each. Did you know that turmeric is a preservative and that if you buy lots of fresh herbs you should chop them small and freeze them in ice cubes?

Aloo palak - yum yum yum

The day was exciting, interesting and I learnt a great deal. The most amazing thing was the Chefs’ obvious care and love for the food they were helping us to create. Their added facts and tales made the day totally engaging and I felt as though I was not only learning new dishes, but also what’s behind the dishes; something you can’t always get from cookery books or recipes you pick up a long the way.

Mix of spices - if you get a cheap curry, there's no way there's this many ingredients in it

There was only one down point to the day and was that we didn’t mix the spices ourselves, the chefs popped them in our pans for us. I would have liked to get a little more hands on than chopping and stirring – I’m a practical learner so for me to remember I have to do something (we have been given recipes though so I know how much of each goes where!).

The day at Dilli was definitely well worth it and has made me reconsider the merits of cookery courses. I may not be tempering chocolate, but maybe an Italian or a Japanese course could be my next adventure?

Eating the spoils - t'boy was very pleased and said it was the best curry I've ever made

Please note I was offered this day free of charge by Living Social, however the day would have been offered at about 50% off, which makes it very affordable and very worth it.

Dilli, 60 Stamford New Road, Altrincham WA14 1EE - 0161 929 7484 - info@dilli.co.uk - Twitter - Facebook

http://www.dilli.co.uk/ http://www.livingsocial.com/