With her teenagers eschewing meat and dairy, Samantha Laurie goes in search of some new family dishes on a vegan cooking course at Avenue Cookery School in Wandsworth...
The Avenue Cookery School
The Avenue Cookery School, 3 Enterprise Way, Wandsworth, London SW18 1FZ
We’re using chickpea water to make chocolate mousse…?? Two minutes in and I’m already in highly unfamiliar waters. My cooking partner is enjoying my gawping astonishment. She knows all about the weird and wonderful qualities of aquafaba – the gloopy water in the chickpea can that takes on the foaming consistency of egg white when whisked – but for me, there’s clearly going to be a lot to learn.
I’m here because like many families, my children have returned from university with a whole new take on animal welfare. One is now veggie, the other full-on vegan. And while we don’t eat a lot of meat – I’d call myself a pescatarian or a ‘fish and chipocrite’ as the kids neatly put it – many of the old family favourites are now off the menu and I’d like to find some new dishes that everyone can enjoy.
I’m not alone – Avenue Cooking School’s five-day Vegan Cooking Class is its most popular class by far, so much so that it’s soon to expand to two weeks. It takes place in a gleaming glass-fronted kitchen in Wandsworth Town with up to 20 students at a time. Some come for the whole week (£690) or for just a day or two at a time (£150 a day). Each day the menu is different, covering techniques from bread and pastry making to curries and desserts, and on Thursday, students cook an early evening dinner party for friends and family.
I visit on day one, which begins with an introduction to knife skills, before a fast-paced romp through the day’s menu: lentil moussaka, chickpea casserole and chocolate mousse. My class is a mixed bunch – some are already vegan and want to expand their skills, most like me are simply keen to expand their plant-based cooking repertoire.
Our teacher is Richard, son of founder Diana Horsford and a fountain of knowledge about all things vegan, with a passion for telling us not just how to cook but why foods work in a certain way. He has a fascinating scientific explanation for everything from the correct order for a tomato sauce (always start with onion, then garlic, spices, puree, wine, etc) to boiling veg (anything below ground in cold water, above ground in hot).
He also knows all the best dairy substitutes. The biggest revelation is Naturali, a remarkably butter-like almond, shea and carrot spread, and I jot down his recommendation for baking – Tomor Sunflower Margarine. It’s a big advantage of such a class that you can pick up shortcuts and tips from fellow students too.
Working in pairs, we prepare our lunch as Richard flits between us, tasting and advising. One thing we all agree, vegan cooking is a whole lot easier than meat in that you don’t have to clean the board between preps. I learn how to make a proper béchamel sauce (adding nutritional yeast instead of cheese), when to sweat onions or caramelize them (it depends on the colour of the dish you’re making) and how to mix roast hazelnuts and Bournville chocolate to make a tasty homemade Nutella. I also learn to go heavier on the seasoning – everything I make gets a resounding thumbs down in the chef tasting!
It still tastes pretty good to me – and to vegan-sceptic son number three, who wolfs down the chickpea casserole I bring back home. This will certainly make it onto my family favourites. But I come away with more than just recipes – this kind of hands-on course is a culinary education in itself. I look at my notes afterwards. “Buy a sauce whisk!” “Put mushrooms in a blender for veggie mince” “Save ginger peel to make tea!” “Use baby oil to make stainless steel shine.” An invaluable stash of kitchen tips!
