In recent times we’ve all become accustomed to doing things differently. Hopping into your car and taking the family out for a lovely sit-down meal is not always possible these days, with everything that needs to be taken into consideration.
In addition, we’ve had an abundance of family time since March 2020 – not that I’m complaining. But sometimes one does run out of ideas of things to do. I mean, there’s only so many times that you can watch Will Smith’s Aladdin or play Twister before you’re thoroughly bored of it. (I’m sure my kids’ opinion would differ.)
I randomly entered a competition online, as one tends to do, and forgot all about it – until I was pleasantly surprised by the unfamiliar ping of my Facebook messenger app, with a message informing me that I had won. I was thrilled! It presented a delightful, and very different, way of spending quality time with my family. Also, our session happened to coincide with South Africa’s coldest day in 10 years (23 July 2021), which made the thought of cooking warm, inviting comfort food, right in our own kitchen, all the more appealing.
What exactly did I win?
- One virtual pasta experience for 4 people (which is perfect, as we are a family of four).
- A live online cook-along session with Chef Gerhard Koekemoer, owner of Food Ink.
- All the equipment and ingredients needed for the session (note: the equipment has to be returned).
- The total value of this experience is R1800.
How does it work?
- Chef Gerhard made contact with me and we arranged a suitable date and time.
- On the set date, Chef Gerhard himself – yes, in the flesh – delivered a beautifully packed box (see below) of goodies for us to use during our session.
- We prepped everything beforehand, i.e. got out mixing bowls, pots, etc.
- We logged on at the set time and Chef Gerhard was live on the other end.
- He spent a full hour with us, taking us through exactly how to make pasta from scratch.
- The following day he returned to collect the box of items with strict instructions not to wash anything (bonus!).
- Chef Gerhard is happy to use any medium for the live session. We did ours through Google Meet.
What’s in the box?
- Pasta machine (to be returned)
- Ravioli stamp (to be returned)
- 4 Denim aprons with the Food Ink logo, to be worn during the session (to be returned)
- Packet of fresh baby spinach
- Packet of fresh basil
- 400g (2 Bags) of flour (and one packet for dusting)
- Fresh pesto, made by Chef Gerhard
- Cube of feta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Jar of tomato and basil pasta sauce
- 4 Eggs
- Detailed written instructions
The overall experience
I’m not going to lie. I was slightly apprehensive about making pasta for the first time – and in front of a chef, no less. I’m a pretty good cook, but baking is not my strong point. Yes, I know that making pasta is not baking, but the fact that there was flour and kneading involved made me nervous.
But Chef Gerhard was easy-going and he made the session so much fun.
For those of you with children, don’t worry. The session is interactive and both my kids (ages 5 and 2) participated. The younger one enjoyed the messier, dough-making portion of the cooking, while my 5-year-old enjoyed absolutely everything.
We set it up so that one parent worked with one child. With the virtual guidance of Chef Gerhard, we made the dough from scratch. He then gave us step-by-step instructions on how to set up and work the pasta machine and also exactly how to make different kinds of pasta. We made tagliatelle, spaghetti (at my son’s request) and ravioli filled with spinach and feta.
The live session was great because we could actually stop and ask questions when we weren’t sure about something, and the chef was very accommodating.
For someone who always cooks solo, this was really a wonderful time to spend bonding with my family in a space where it’s usually just me at the stove. We enjoyed it so much that we continued cooking for probably another hour after the live session had ended. I think seeing an actual end product, knowing that we literally started out with nothing more than flour and eggs, was the amazing part for us. Plus, it was delicious!
The next morning we were online, looking to buy our very own pasta making machine. And one more bonus: the ingredients we received made enough pasta to feed us dinner for two consecutive nights.
This experience is perfect for a family, a couple or an at-home double date.
A few tips for when you do your own virtual pasta experience with Food Ink
- Prep beforehand: Get your bowls, pots, water, food processor (or stick blender, in my case) and whatever else ready beforehand, because you won’t have time to do this when you’re live.
- Find a suitable place for your laptop (or whatever device you will be using) not only where you can see Chef Gerhard clearly, but also where he can see you, so that he can give you feedback.
- Be prepared for things to get messy: In a nutshell, kids and flour don’t go well together.
- If you are doing the session with younger children, try to make it earlier. (We started at 6pm for logistical reasons, but 4pm would probably have been ideal.)
- If you don’t have a dishwasher handy, be prepared to spend a bit of time washing dishes and also doing general cleaning up afterwards.
- Don’t get caught up in trying to do things perfectly. Just relax, go with the flow and enjoy the experience. We certainly did.
More about Food Ink
Currently, this experience is only available to residents in Gauteng, although Chef Gerhard has indicated that he is in the process of doing a roll-out in Cape Town and possibly Durban as well.
Food Ink has a range of products and services for all food lovers. From selling jams and oils, right up to coming to cook in your own home, Chef Gerhard and Food Ink does it all. Be sure to check out their website for a range of other options for virtual experiences and more.
Contact Chef Gerhard Koekemoer at Food Ink on foodinkinfo@gmail.com.
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