Top Adelaide chefs to host The Advertiser and TAFE SA’s L Plates cooking classes, for Tasting Australia

Wish you could make fluffy gnocchi, bake bread from scratch or fold dumplings like a pro? Here’s your chance to learn hands-on, with some of Adelaide’s best chefs.

The Salopian Inn chef Karena Armstrong will teach how to make dumplings at L Plates. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

Want to learn how to make pasta from scratch, fold dumplings or fry chicken to crisp perfection?

Join The Advertiser and delicious.SA, in conjunction with TAFE SA, for the L Plates cooking series, featuring some of the state’s best known chefs.

The fun, hands-on cooking classes run for three hours, and will be held at TAFE’s Regency International Centre on March 28. Intimate classes of just 16 people allow you to work closely with the chef, and at $85, they’re affordable, too.

Here’s a taste of what’s on offer – but be quick to buy tickets, at tastingaustralia.com.au

MORNING SESSIONS

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN

Duncan Welgemoed, Africola

Bring along your budding chef for this fun-filled class. Acclaimed chef and father-of-two Duncan Welgemoed will share three plant-based recipes that are simple to prepare but taste so good, your kids will be begging to eat their veg. Suitable for ages 6-13, one child per adult. Adults will be required to do the cutting or are welcome to bring kid-safe utensils.

GNOCH AND ROLL

Michael Quist, Borsa

Make pasta dough from scratch, then turn it into beautiful long strands of fettuccine and pappardelle to serve with your favourite sauce. Then, learn how to make perfectly fluffy gnocchi, from the correct potatoes to use, to the rolling, cutting and cooking.

KEEP CALM AND CURRY ON

Sashi Cheliah, Gaja by Sashi

MasterChef season 10 winner Sashi Cheliah first impressed the judges on the reality TV show, and now he keeps his diners happy at his own city restaurant, Gaja. Learn from the affable chef as you make two of the most popular dishes in Indian cuisine – perfectly crisp pakoras and a curry.

Opening of Sashi’s new restaurant Gaja by Sashi. Eshan Kaushal, Matthew Kalleske, Sashi Cheliah and Miles Davis. Picture: Dean Martin

PIECE OF CAKE

Quang Nguyen, Shibui

Adelaide’s own Willy Wonka will reveal his tips and tricks to plating up a beautiful dessert – cheesecake with a twist. He’ll be with you step-by-step as you create individual elements – a burnt butter crumb, fruit gel and honeycomb – then present them on a plate. Then learn how to adapt the dish to make it your own.

VEGAN VIET

Cindy & David Nguyen, Metta Sol

Whether you want to make tasty vegan food for yourself, or for a loved one, this class will equip you with a few contemporary ideas. Learn how to make dishes such as a Vietnamese spring onion pancake, “pulled” mushrooms and vermicelli noodles with lemongrass tofu.

LET’S TACO ‘BOUT IT

Daniella Guevara, La Popular Taqueria

Nothing beats handmade soft-shell tacos – learn how simple it is to make the tortillas for yourself, and a couple of delicious fillings to go inside. Then, discover how to use tortillas in different ways, such as crispy tostadas topped with fresh ceviche and salsa.

HUDA’S MIDDLE EAST

Huda Al Sultan, Sassi

Recreate the dish that put Huda Al Sultan in the top 24 of MasterChef Australia. You’ll make delicious kofta with a citrusy tahini sauce, plus a hearty vegan tagine. Enjoy it with you own handmade pita bread and labneh.

KNEAD TO KNOW

Paul Beech, TAFE

One of the most popular classes of each year’s L Plates. Learn the secrets of sourdough bread-making from Regency’s Chef Lecturer Paul Beech. This longer, five-hour session will leave plenty of time to mix, knead and shape a variety of loaves in French and Italian styles, including ciabatta, Sicilian Altamura and your own mother starter. *Note: this is a five hour class.

Duncan Welgemoed cooks with his sons Max, 9, and Alex, 6, his Africola restaurant. Picture Matt Turner

AFTERNOON SESSIONS

PAELLA PARTY

Bree May, Food According to Bree

If you’ve ever worried about how to feed your guests at a party, this class is for you. Former My Kitchen Rules winner and now caterer, Bree May, will reveal easy, cost-effective ways to feed your friends, including simple canapes and the ultimate one-pan dish, paella.

FRI-YAY, EVERY DAY

Stewart Wesson, Part Time Lover

Fried foods have moved well beyond KFC. In this class Stewart Wesson will share his secrets to creating perfectly crisp – not oily – chicken, dressed in a sriracha sauce, as well as contemporary favourites salt and pepper eggplant, and soymilk fried cauliflower.

PIZZA TOSSER

Ettore Bertonati, Madre

Get a taste of Naples with Adelaide’s famous pizzaiolo, who’s won national recognition for his pizza-making skills at McLaren Vale’s Pizzateca and now his own restaurant, Madre. Learn how to create your own “starter” dough and get the best results in your home oven.

MY THAI

Terry Intarakhamhaeng, Soi.38

Learn how to cook traditional Thai with this top 10 delicious.100 restaurant chef. You’ll begin with the crowd favourite, a zingy banana blossom salad with shredded chicken. Then, learn how to make a curry paste from scratch for an aromatic yellow curry with fish.

SEAL THE DEAL

Karena Armstrong, The Salopian Inn *Back by popular demand*

Learn how to make, roll, dress and most importantly, eat, one of the world’s most loved foods. Karena’s dumplings are just one of the reasons people continue to flock to her McLaren Vale restaurant – 2018 The Advertiser Restaurant of the Year.

SO FRENCHY, SO CHIC

Andy Thiele, Delicatessen

Master the essence of provincial France with these sophisticated, but homely, classics. Delicatessen head chef Andy Thiele will be with you step-by-step as you make your own belly-warming cassoulet and ratatouille, followed by a seasonal peach tarte tatin.

Ettore Bertonati tosses pizza dough at his restaurant Madre in Adelaide. Picture: Matt Turner