YFLO Kolkata’s ‘Elevate your Culinary Skills’ was a fun two-day culinary workshop held recently at The Kitchenette with chef, entrepreneur and author Natasha Celmi. Named ‘Buno Appetito’, the workshop was an engaging hands-on exploration of Italian cuisine for the YFLO ladies. The event witnessed the zealous participation of 50 women from diverse backgrounds, who came together and explored Italian cuisine. During the workshop, popular Italian dishes such as freshly hand-tossed pizza, gnocchi and tiramisu were prepared using simple recipes and sustainable ingredients. Glimpses:
MOODS AND MOMENTS FROM DAY ONE AND DAY TWO
A t2 CHAT WITH NATASHA ON HER NEW BOOK AND COOKING ITALIAN CUISINE:
In your new book My Mediterranean Table, what dishes did you experiment with and redefine?
In this book, I have mostly tried to focus on healthy appetizers, mains and salads from several countries like Spain, France, Italy and Greece. The dishes are mostly made from fresh and organic ingredients. Today’s youngsters want to have diversified cuisines, this book helps us to recreate exotic foods.
What do you love about Mediterranean cuisine?
It is fresh, it is healthy and easy to cook.
What are some of the misconceptions about Mediterranean cuisine that people have?
Some of the misconceptions would be that it is bland. It is not bland at all; one just has to cook it the right way. People are mostly not well versed with it, it is a bit of Italian, and a bit of Lebanese, so people just need to be well versed with it first.
What are some of the fascinating ingredients you came across while bringing this book together?
The ingredients have mostly been used keeping the Indian market in mind. I have used lots of lobia and substituted polenta with semolina, so basically, many international ingredients have been replaced with what is found in our kitchens. If you personally ask me, I love garlic, I use a lot of garlic in my cooking.
Easy tips for those who want to cook Italian at home...
I will suggest two things, first is slow-cooking, which enhances a lot of added flavours in the dishes. The second is to salt your preparations very well since we don’t use added masalas in Italian cooking, the primary flavour is derived from the salt.
Can you name some handy ingredients for cooking Italian?
Lots of these fresh ingredients are always available in our kitchens, I would suggest using lots of fresh tomatoes and garlic. I use the same tomatoes available in the local Indian markets and the dishes turn out to be great.
How has your experience of conducting this workshop been?
It was a lot of fun... very enthusiastic participants, and I moved about the entire place enjoying the whole time. Cooking always used to be a chore, but today it is a fun activity that brings us together and helps us have a great time. So yes, I thoroughly enjoyed these two days at the workshop.
THE DISHES
(L-R) Devika Aggarwal, owner of The Kitchenette and a YFLO member, Priyanka Agarwal, president, YFLO
“I have been talking to Natasha since I started The Kitchenette. Cook-the-book is a very fun event to host and hosting it with YFLO makes it all the more special. Having Natasha among us today is the best part,” said Devika Aggarwal, owner of The Kitchenette and a YFLO member.
“Ever since Natasha mentioned her new book to me, I wanted to do this with the YFLO members. With hands-on experience, I believe you learn best. I am so glad even Natasha was on board with this,” said Priyanka Agarwal, president, YFLO.