Pictures and feedback from My Father's Table workshops
Middle Eastern Extravaganza
This Spring, My Father's Table Workshops include creating an authentic Middle Eastern Extravaganza!
Participants learned how to make tabouleh, hummus, babaganoush, kibbe, kafta and labne salad. Family, friends and partners joined the feast after 3pm enjoyng the spoils of our hard day's labour.
The Extravaganza workshops are about sharing recipes, traditions, family, friends, food and love.
Many thanks & photographic credit for these beautiful images to Tee Hogan.
The next Extravaganza is scheduled for Sunday 12th October, and will be held at our picturesque Stone's Throw property in Wollombi (Hunter Valley).
In The Vineyard & Channel 7's
Sydney Weekender
In November, My Father's Table again joined with Moore Wollombi Garlic to celebrate their 2014 garlic harvest by running a garlicky cooking workshop and luncheon.
In true paddock-to-plate style, we visited the Noyce Brothers Old Byora Verdelho vineyard to hand-pick our vine leaves, then stopped in at Moore Wollombi Garlic to harvest fragrant bulbs of garlic to use in our workshop & luncheon - which was held at the stunning Blair Athol Estate Wollombi.
Mike Whitney and the team from Channel 7's Sydney Weekender filmed us over two days. The segment will go to air early in the new year! I will let you know as soon as we know the date the show will be broadcast :)
Winter Warmers
Cooking up a Winter Storm...
The Winter Warmers workshops are occuring throughout July. The aim of the workshops are of course to teach new skills, and bring new flavors to our dinner tables, but they are also a celebration of fresh, local produce.
The groups come together each week to work, laugh and talk over the prep tables, while we lovingly preprare dinner for our families. Community or group cooking is very important in many cultures. It's time that cooks use to exchange news, offer cooking shortcuts & tips and learn skills from each other. Community Cooking makes a sometimes finicky and time-consuming task something to look forward to!
Salami
During Winter, My Father's Table partners with local producer Moore Wollombi Garlic to run Artisan Salami and Sausage Making workshops. The day-long workshops take participants through all they need to know to hand-make Salami and Sausages at home.
Prime cuts of pork are blended with a balance of simple herbs and spices to create a complex flavor. Since our Sausages and Salami are made without fillers or artificial flavours, the natural goodness and taste of the ingredients shine through. The rustic minced pieces of pork are visible, ready to be savoured with nothing to hide.
As you can see by the photos, eveyone had a great time and learned some new skills!
Mezza
On the Easter long weekend, we enjoyed the company of a large group who all helped out to create and enjoy a Lebanese Feast. We prepared many authentic Lebanese Mezza dishes, which are traditionally served as starter dishes to a main meal.
It was all hands on deck to prepare and present dishes such as babaganoush, hummus, warak enab, tabouleh, kafta, kibbe, shish kabobs, toum, shankleesh, kafta-nayee, kibbe-nayee, falafel, chicken shawarma, as well as traditional and fusion-type salads.
We will be running a Mezza worshop in September 2014, to give you the skills and know-how to prepre your very own Middle Eastern Extravaganza, so check back for booking details closer to the date!
Baklawa and Honey
On Valentines weekend 2014, we got together to learn how to make one of the sweetest treats of all – Lebanese Baklawa. We had such a fun and successful day and everyone got to take home a tray of baklawa that looked and smelled amazing, and needless to say, tasted divine!
In a unique paddock to plate experience, Louise from Yengo Honey demonstrated the honey extraction process, removing honey from her working honeybee hives that she had brought along with her. Everyone had the opportunity to be involved in the extraction process; from using the “hot knife” to uncap the wax honeycomb and release the golden liquid, to chewing ambrosial honey out of a fresh piece of comb!
Toum and Falafel
Due to popular demand, in December 2013 we got together to further explore that wonderful herb GARLIC! Moore Wollombi Garlic had just brought in their inaugural harvest, and we thought a workshop would be a fantastic way to celebrate!
We first learned how to make Toum, which is a thick, white garlic paste made in a mortar & pestle, then we learned how to make Falafel from scratch. I think every person who came along experienced at least one brand new taste sensation, and there was much fun and laughter enjoyed along with yummy food.
Spring Garlic Luncheon
In October 2013 we brought a group of garlic lovers together to find out ways we could use Spring Garlic - that is young garlic that has not yet formed cloves, but has a lovely distended root bulb.
Milder than mature garlic, Natalie from Moore Wollombi Garlic introduced us to ways spring garlic could enhance our home cooking. We made Toum, the thick white garlic paste that Lebanese cuisine has made popular, and we ate a delicious light barbeque lunch, liberally using our fresh-made toum on our meal.
Held on the beautiful Moore Wollombi Garlic property over looking a lush field of growing garlic, it was a lovely afternoon of food, conversation and slow cooking.