Events are so important to us as a charity as they give us the opportunity to raise funds and awareness and tell people about the positive impact we are having as a charity.
We aim to make our events fascinating, informative and fun and we really pulled that off on November 6th when Michelle Rose, one of our very own Events Coordinators and talented chef, demonstrated her skills and shared her culinary secrets with us. 21 people attended our cookery demo day, which started with fresh coffee and home-made tahini cookies on arrival. Everyone received their own pack complete with recipes as well as information about the work of The Together Plan. Michelle, accompanied by her able assistants, showed us all how to make flaxseed and chiaseed crackers, artichoke and lemon dip, hummus and labaneh. These were our lunch hors d’oevres which we all enjoyed as we then watched Michelle cook the rest of our lunch – harissa spiced Moroccan salmon, a stunning bulgar salad and spiced roasted cauliflower with tahini. We were simply wowed as we learned how to make chocolate spheres with tahini ice cream, and caramelised walnuts with date and tahini sauce. Lunch was served with chilled white wine, an infusion of good conversation and a truly superb atmosphere.
Michelle qualified as a Food scientist and worked in the food industry for over twenty years. She worked for food manufacturers and then as a Food Product developer at Marks and Spencer where she developed many of their food products. As part of her training at Marks and Spencer, Michelle trained as a cook and has worked with many well-known chefs including; Gordon Ramsey, Albert Roux, Gary Rhodes and Heston Blumenthal. Today she is a part-time cookery teacher and full-time obsessed foodie. Michelle is now also using her skills from her past life volunteering as an Events Coordinator at The Together Plan. This role has enabled her to meet a great new team of people and pushed open new doors to enable her to learn new skills. Michelle is now researching her own family who she has discovered originated from Minsk.
We are delighted to say that Michelle has agreed to do a second cookery demo day for us in 2020. Places will be booked on a first come, first served basis.
Please enjoy Michelle’s Harissa Salmon recipe here.
