On trial | Cook like a chef… or almost!

Recognized chefs partner with local businesses to allow amateur cooks to reproduce gourmet recipes in the comfort of their homes. Our journalist took part in the experiments offered by Cook it and Menu Extra.

Iris Gagnon Paradise
The Press

Cook it: chef for a night

For the past few months, the ready-to-cook company Cook it has been offering its subscribers the possibility of ordering a box in order to make a recipe created by a Quebec chef. Marie-Fleur St-Pierre, Antonin Mousseau-Rivard, Rémy Couture or Danny Smiles have so far taken part in these “master classes”. In February, it’s the turn of Geneviève Everell, founder of Sushi à la maison. His two creations: a soy and maple tuna tataki with spicy coleslaw and a sushi dessert with speculoos cream and strawberries.

Everything arrives in a box typical of ready-to-cook companies in which the ingredients are already divided into portions and identified. In addition, there is a document explaining the steps to follow as well as the possibility of watching a video in which the chef explains her recipes in detail, with a few tips.

Both recipes are quite simple, although you don’t cook tuna tataki and sushi every day, which are sweet too. This is an opportunity, therefore, to learn new techniques.

Salty service, launched! You must first marinate the red tuna steaks for a good hour in a mixture of soy sauce and maple syrup. Meanwhile, mince the red cabbage then julienne the snow peas and carrots. All that remains is to coat the salad with the spicy mayonnaise provided. You must also prepare the mayonnaise, miso and maple syrup sauce that will accompany the tuna… Oops, maple syrup is not included. Luckily we had some in the fridge.

Back to the tuna steaks. Once they are well marinated, simply coat them with the mixture of white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds provided. Only problem, the quantity is far from sufficient for the two pieces. We find sesame seeds in our pantry to supplement.

The tataki must be cooked quickly so that the fish is seared on the outside, but still raw on the inside. By following the chef’s instructions, we succeeded and it was frankly delicious!

Dessert

As for dessert, the experience was conclusive and delighted the whole household, particularly a young sugar lover. After cooking the sushi rice (we had two servings instead of one; luckily we had the presence of mind to adjust the amount of water needed for successful cooking), it needs to be custard, then set aside. Follows the whipped cream, ideally whipped with a stand mixer, for a better result. Add a mixture previously made of speculoos spread, vanilla soy pudding, cream cheese, vanilla and coffee. We are already licking our fingers!

Thanks to video, assembling sushi becomes child’s play. We do well with our soy leaf rolls, which combine speculoos cream, white cake, crumbled speculoos biscuits and strawberries. And to add to the fun, don’t forget to dip the round pieces in the remaining whipped cream!

Most

Recipes from known and appreciated chefs, adapted to be easily made at home, and which will certainly impress the table.

The lessers

Inaccuracy in quantities and missing ingredients. From March, Cook it will abandon the videos, which is a shame, because they serve as a complement to the sometimes summary explanations provided on paper.

Good to know

Subscribers have until February 22 to order Geneviève Everell’s recipes — the boxes will be delivered during the week of February 27. From March 6, it’s the turn of chef Martin Juneau, who has chosen a recipe for roasted tofu with turmeric and fried cauliflower with Vadouvan yogurt. From April, Cook it changes its formula. The new version will offer iconic recipes from restaurants across Quebec. The first establishment to be honored will be Café Frida, in Trois-Rivières.

Extra menu: party of the kitchen

Menu Extra is a ready-to-eat gourmet meal service launched during the pandemic by two chefs (Camilo Lapointe Nascimento and Francis Blais, respectively winners of the Chiefs! and of Top Chef Canada), a sommelier (Alexis Demers) and a director and creative director (Martin C. Pariseau).

Last year, the quartet launched Leaders Live!. The idea: teach apprentice chefs to cook dishes like koulibiac salmon or coq au vin, live, with the duo of chefs.

The experience was so successful — between 200 and 300 participants each time — that a second season has just been launched, this time with a different guest conductor each month. For the first episode, Anita Feng showed participants how to make dumplings.

Sunday, 5 p.m., we open Zoom hoping to be up to the task. Fortunately, Camilo, Francis and Anita are there to guide us. A PDF document detailing the ingredients and the different steps is also available. We had received, the day before, a box containing all the elements needed to make pork dumplings with leeks and a tiger salad.

The live class is very lively! The atmosphere is relaxed and festive, and we feel that the trio of chefs have a lot of fun (we do too!). They don’t hesitate to challenge participants and joke with them. A chat also allows you to ask questions.

Not easy

Making dumplings is a task that requires patience and dexterity. Both were put to the test during this evening which stretched beyond the scheduled two hours.

First we learned how to properly knead the dough (flour and warm water are first mixed using chopsticks). Then, while our pretty elastic ball rested, Anita explained how to infuse water with ginger and green onions, and how to salt the thinly sliced ​​leek, two elements that will be used to make the stuffing.

While everything rests, chicory and melon radish are cut into juliennes while celery and coriander are minced. Here’s the salad. For the vinaigrette, a previously heated canola oil is poured over a mixture of garlic and bird’s eye chili. Wasabi and soy sauce will come into the mix.

Then we move on to stuffing. Anita teaches us how to obtain a very airy preparation, by gradually adding the liquid infusion and mixing vigorously by hand. An insider tip that we now have.

The trickiest and most difficult step follows. After separating the dough into four sausages and dividing them into small balls, gently flatten each of them into discs of equal size, using a small rolling pin. It’s harder to do than to read.

It is after 7 p.m. and all that remains is to assemble and cook the dumplings and then make the sauce. The chefs go into second gear, leaving a few participants — including us — behind. Busy making dumplings that are a bit pretty (that too will have to be reworked), we lose a good part of the two cooking techniques demonstrated, in water and in a pan. Fortunately, the document is not far away.

After a few cold sweats, here we are. Our dumplings aren’t very pretty, but they’re good. And next time, we promise ourselves that they will be more photogenic.

Most

The feeling of closeness to the chefs and the festive atmosphere. A great way to spend your Sunday evening while learning new recipes and techniques.

The lessers

A bit of disorganization here and there. An overview of the steps to follow at the beginning of the class would be in order for more fluidity.

To know

There are still five episodes left in the second season. The next one will be broadcast on February 27, at 5 p.m., when Antonin Mousseau-Rivard will tackle the blanquette de veau. Chefs Fisun Ercan, Paul Toussaint and Danny Smiles will be next. To participate, two options: with the ingredients delivered to your door ($85, possibility of adding a bottle of wine in agreement proposed by the sommelier) or with the instructions and list of ingredients only ($20).