Vegetarian Friendly Turkmen Cookery Class with Maral|Training Class |LONDON

Our new batch of talented Migrateful Chefs are graduating soon and they are now ready to hold practice cookery classes all throughout August!

This particular training class will be led by Chef Maral from Turkmenistan at the Migrateful Cookery School in Clerkenwell, London.

This will be the first time she will teach the paying public a Family Style Cookery Class, a fun, laid-back homestyle cooking experience. Here, you will learn to prepare different dishes and then enjoy them with people who, like you, fuel our mission of supporting refugee and migrant chefs on their journey to integration. It’s a cookery class with a conscience, like they say!

In this class, you will be grouped with other participants and prepare dishes together as a team. Think of Chef Maral as the head of the family! She will take care of dividing the class into groups, and each group will be responsible for creating one of the dishes. Of course, you are welcome and encouraged to move around during the class to learn about the other dishes being prepared. Throughout the evening, Chef Maral will share stories about her food and culture, and explain how to prepare each of the dishes so you come away with some new cooking tricks and inspiration from Turkmenistan. You will also be emailed the recipes after the class.

Please note that these are training sessions where we will be testing the dishes, how the class runs and the quantities in the recipes. Think of it like a technical rehearsal at the theatre. This means it may run for longer than a normal class and involve some stop, starting. Our chef training team will also be present to monitor and observe along with volunteers who will help run the class.

At the end of the class, we will ask the participants for feedback, which will be valuable for our chef-in-training’s learning and development especially when they start teaching normal classes.

Maral is part of our new chef cohort and she is currently working with our Chef Development Team to finalise her recipes she will be teaching in her classes. We have provided a sample of dishes which may be included in this class but will confirm closer to the time of the class, including allergen information. If you have specific dietary requirements, please wait until the allergen information has been released to book into this class.

A sample menu of the dishes that will be taught includes:

• Manti (Turkmen dumplings with herby yoghurt dip)
• Chureak (Puffed Bread)
• Beetroot Salad
• Bademjan (Aubergine Salad)
• Kelem Dolma(Stuffed Cabbage)
• Fig Jam with Ricotta

This menu contains meat (lamb) but is vegetarian friendly (5/6 dishes are meat-free) . Allergens include: To be confirmed.

Please let us know if you have any specific dietary requirements so our team is aware ahead of the class but kindly note that we will not be substituting any ingredients to accommodate dietary needs so please only book into classes that suit your dietary preferences and needs. Allergen information or this class will be released closer to the class time. Please see our Food and Allergen Policy when booking into the class for more information.

A message from our Chef Maral:

“My name is Maral. I’m from Turkmenistan and I’m excited to share my favourite traditional food with you. Turkmenistan used to be a part of the Soviet Union. It has borders with Iran and Afghanistan and shares much delicious food culture with those countries.

I started cooking at a young age with my grandmother. She was an amazing cook. I lived with her for a few years and I loved watching her cook usually early in the morning. When I moved out, that’s when I started doing things myself. Her cooking inspired me and I love to serve the recipes I learnt from her and recreate a taste of home.

Cooking is a form of meditation for me. It’s a good way to feel relaxed. Many of my recipes are prepared together with friends and family. I believe that sharing and preparing food together is a great environment to build connections. By cooking together I hope we can also create space for stories as well as creating a delicious feast that we will share together at the end. You can probably tell that I am very proud of traditional Turkmen food and my culture and I am looking forward to teaching you about it.”

We’re excited to have you in the class! Please take note of a few final reminders:

• Unlike normal classes, training classes cannot be booked using gift vouchers. We are also unable to accommodate any ticket transfers from non-training classes.
• We will not be able to cater to any dietary requirements nor substitute any ingredients to accommodate dietary needs so please only book into classes that suit your dietary preferences and needs. Please see our Food and Allergen Policy when booking into the class for more information.
• We sell Migrateful aprons that you can purchase either when booking your ticket (pick it up at the event) or before the cookery class starts at the venue. They cost £18 per apron. Please note we only accept card payments.
• We will send you a reminder email 3 days before the class takes place that will include our In-Person Class COVID-19 Policy. You can also find more information on our website and social media pages.
• This small-scale class for 12 participants is not socially distanced. For those seeking a Covid-secure cookery class, please see our events online.
• Payments made through Paypal can take up to 48 hours to have the order confirmed. To guarantee your spot in a cookery class we recommend using a debit or credit card.
• We only process refunds and ticket transfers if we are notified 7 days before the class takes place.