Cooks can broaden their repertoire in Pat’s Kitchen

Sep 13, 2012

Photo: Pat Ward (center) of Pat's Kitchen in her home kitchen near Hartington with students l-r, Marie McKenna, Shelley Grant, Gerda Murphy and Tina McFarlane

If you’re someone like me who greatly benefits from hands-on learning, Pat's Kitchen is the place for you. Pat Ward has studied and practiced cooking both locally and internationally and offers cooking classes at her home near Hartington.

On September 8, I joined her Thai Cuisine dinner class with four other fans of Thai food also wanting to broaden their weekly dinner roster. The class included the preparation and consumption of five Thai dishes representing a typical Thai meal, beginning with appetizers of fresh Thai salad rolls, a lemongrass mushroom soup with shrimp, mango salad, a main entree of red curry chicken with coconut milk followed by a dessert of flamed bananas with rum.

Pat started by introducing us to all of the ingredients, focusing on the more exotic ingredients like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal root, chili pepper paste, fresh cilantro, fish and chili sauce, and green and red chilies. She explained where to buy the ingredients and how to store them. The fun began when we were given aprons, cutting boards and knives and began preparing the menu items, tackling each one at a time while working around a granite-topped island in the kitchen that makes a perfect central hub.

As we work, different conversations develop, all focusing of course on food. Pat keeps everything moving along and jumps in often with her expert skill, demonstrating for example how to break the whole cooked shrimps midway through their curve so that they lie flat in the rolls. She explained how to store the fresh rolls in the fridge if you want to make lots and eat them at a later date. She explained how the jasmine rice used in the main course should be rinsed in water until it runs clear to remove the excess starch. She demonstrated how to chop fresh herbs like cilantro more effectively by bunching it up in a tight ball before chopping it and then scrunching it up into a paper towel to remove the excess water. She demonstrated how to prepare the lemongrass for the soup by using just the bottom third of the stalk and slicing it open lengthwise so that it gives up its flavors more easily. She explained that a sweet white onion is the best choice for the mango salad since it offers a milder flavor when eaten raw. The most rewarding part of her class, of course, is sitting down to enjoy the bounty.

Pat provides students with print outs of all of the recipes they prepare so that they can take them home. Pat's Kitchen exudes a love of food and cooking and she says that her business is much more about sharing that love than making a buck. Upcoming this fall are a number of classes. On Sept. 15 Cooking with Quinoa; on Oct. 11 or 13 Indian Cuisine. Visit www.patskitchen.ca or call 613-374-1366