Food is great. That we know.

But (and here’s where I get all Jamie Oliver 2005 so frigging brace yourselves) food that shared in a place that gives much needed skills to really improve lives is where the magic happens. I’ve been watching the Community Kitchen, a social enterprise model, morph into a space that has so much potential for good, where people can “experience the benefits of cooking and eating together, regardless of finance, confidence or ability.” In the daytime they run community cookery programmes for people with mental health issues, dementia, learning disabilities and anyone that can benefit from cooking, learning life skills for well-being and sharing food together.

Behind this is Brighton and Hove Food Partnership a non-profit organisation that have worked on community food projects in the area for over a decade from community gardens, food wastage campaigns and neighbourhood meal sharing clubs.



It’s also a beautiful space available for hire and they also run cookery courses and classes, the profit from which goes straight back into the work the partnership do with masterclasses from the city’s best chefs, on-trend skills such as fermented foods and make your own charcuterie, seasonal workshops and well-being focused classes.



My cooking weak spot is baking though so a cake decorating masterclass with Kane McDowell from one of my favourite local Bakeries, Sugardough, was the one for me.



We were led through how to make a Genoise sponge and strawberry syrup, before being shown how to create a perfect semi naked cake (where the cake peaks out from the frosting). And never will I cut a tiered cake unevenly again which was worth turning up for alone.

Then the fun bit with pretty piped Italian meringue frosting and tricky chocolate writing (no evidence I’d studied typography and been a graphic designer for over 15 years AT ALL).



Dodgy type aside, I was very pleased with the cake, the kids thought I was pretty heroic when I brought it home for demolishing. It definitely has given me some confidence and skills to push decorating a bit further. Aside from learning, it was a really fun way to spend an evening and really relaxing too.

The Community Kitchen is a brilliant place for so many people in Brighton. I liked how they started the event by sitting everyone around the huge communal table for some lovely breads, dips and nibbles to break the ice and get the evening started. There were so many different people there, couples, singles, friends and a mum and her Bake-Off obsessed young son (who was having the time of his life!).

Visit events for upcoming events and to find out more about The Community Kitchen see bhfood.org.uk.



Community Kitchen113 Queen’s Road

From their popular bakery in Hove, where the magic happens, the Market Street branch was a place to sit and enjoy their efforts. What I didn't realise is that they offer more than pastries and tea with a full menu of brunch, lunch and treats, plus brunch cocktails.

I cancelled my coffee when I saw the iced drinks, I love a golden mylk (I'm convinced by the claims, ironically) so opted for the *deep breath* iced coconut milk turmeric flat white. It was delicious and I enjoyed it despite Rosie rolling her eyes at me the entire time. What can I say, Brighton got to me...hard.

Although I'm not one of those girls that goes crazy for chocolate (give me a loaf of bread), there is something about the craft of creating the stuff that I just adore. The glossiness of melted chocolate, the smell and going into premium chocolate shops with the foiled packaging and sumptuous displays is always a tactile, palpitation-inducing joy.



I think my visit to Chocoholly in Hove was the first chocolate workshop I've attended and was really good fun as well as informative. Chocolate isn't something I normally play around with much at home so just knowing a few of the basics of handling the stuff is always useful.



We were taken through the whole process from bean to bar. The bean varieties, the roasting, conching (grinding), tempering and moulding. There was just enough to keep it interesting throughout the demonstration, and then we were able to fill our own moulds and flavour them. We tasted both the roasted chocolate beans and cocoa nibs; a totally different taste experience without the usual sweetners of milk and sugar. And actually, chocolate in its raw state has an amazing amount of nutritional benefits and the intense cocoa hit means you would consume far less. So there you go, raw chocolate isn't just for the yogurt weavers amongst us.


The quality of Chocoholly products is exceptional. Being produced from fine raw products in such small quantities, the chocolates are a real treat. I love the Pollock inspired art bars, but there are plain and flavoured solid bars and truffles available too. It's a good place to pick up Vegan friendly products too. We sampled A LOT and everything was rich and decadent, a far cry from commerical chocolate.





Chocoholly offer a number of different workshops for adults, children and groups. There is also a course for those wanting to hone in their chocolate skills or looking to go into the industry.

To book classes or to buy the products visit: www.chocoholly.com, 27 Western Rd, Hove BN3 1AF.



I was a guest of Chocoholly.

We started the lesson with a spice tasting. Some were from her masala dabba, the steel tin with a number of smaller pots inside, kept close for everyday cooking. Things like mango powder, turmeric, salt, coriander and cumin seeds. Then a wide range of spices from Kirthi's next set of most used spices (and she has a further two sets!) with some more unusual spices like asafoetida, khus khus and even some Indian salt varieties I hadn't come across. We tasted them both raw and some cooked and I think I gained a much better understanding of the spices. I used to be quite proud of my collection but this made me realise I only own the tip of the iceberg! It was also fascinating to discover their healing properties too although some of my Indian friends have already forced me to eat raw fenugreek seeds and turmeric drinks in the past (they work!).



Although you can choose to learn many things, my favourite on the day was making dosa, something I adore to order in restaurants and now know how to make! Tips like adding oil to the edge during cooking to really crisp them up and how to make the dosa so paper thin was really useful. And they are so easy too, I had no problem making them for dinner later that evening on my own. Kirthi brought the batter but the recipe booklet (which included all the food cooked on the day) she left me seems very simple to follow. We filled them with a fragrant potato curry and dipped them in peanut and tamarind chutney. I was so impressed with these, and the complete dish was as good as restaurant level. Without doubt I'll be giving these a whirl from scratch and perfecting the thinness.



Tadka means tempering and is an incredibly important element of Indian cooking. (Hence the inspiration for the company name.) This tempering is nothing to do with chocolate (as we may know it), but heating spices in hot oil to wholly extract their flavour and aroma. This can be done at the beginning or end of a dish and Kirthi showed examples of both in her dishes. The peanut and tamarind chutney for the dosa had used a tadka poured over the top to finish the dish and the rice dish we cooked began by tempering the spices.

The simple sounding "Lemon Rice" dish is a little misleading as it contains two different dals, a number of spices and peanuts, all fried in oil so they are aromatic and crunchy. The sweetness of grated carrots and sourness of lemon as well as heat from fresh chilli all added dimension to a humble rice dish. As a mid-week quick meal, this would be pretty special and so good to try everyday Indian food. Most Indian recipes I normally go for are quite involved so I keep it to weekends, but simplicity with so much flavour like this dish is a great combination for time-poor people.



Kirthihad also made up a gorgeous shrikhand yogurt dessert, infused with saffron, cardamom, honey and nuts to finish off our wonderful meal. I'm not really a fan of Indian sweets so this was a great alternative.

Not only was I left with a better understanding of Indian food, and more confidence in cooking it, Kirthi also left a pot of her mum's garam masala mix, containing no less that 56 spices. A really lovely touch I thought. Although Indian Tadka is a relatively new Brighton business, you can tell this is the sort of knowledge someone has amassed over the years with a heritage rich in food culture. Kirthi's stories of growing up with the food she is so clearly passionate about is something I could really relate to with my own childhood.



Indian Tarka also offer catering for events and parties you can even have Kirthi as a personal chef for a dinner party or a special occasion for two of you. After sampling even a small selection of her food I would have no issue recommending her for that. Cookery lessons range from £30 - £80 per person depending on how many dishes you choose to learn and how many people in the class.

Learning to cook unfamiliar dishes makes for a really enjoyable afternoon, either as a one-to-one of a group of you. All you have to do is supply a list of ingredients and you are good to go.

For more information or to choose your dishes to learn and book lessons visit: www.indiantadka.co.uk

I was invited to review Indian Tadka