Gary & Danielle's Northern Exposure

To be honest we were starving so the chance to cook up a storm in a cookery school was very appealing. The hill up to the school was pretty steep but the trusty little red car got us there and we were rewarded with amazing views of Lough Foyle and the Donegal Hills.

Phillip and Nuala gave us a warm welcome and there was a friendly, relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen. Gary is not a natural when it comes to cooking but he did his best, despite sustaining a self-inflicted whack on the hand when he was trying to crack a coconut and then almost drowning the dish in fish sauce! He wouldn't have lasted a minute in Hell's Kitchen!

You can try making Thai-style Pork and Prawns in Eggnet yourself.

BACKGROUND

Phillip is a qualified chef and between him and his wife Nuala they have 25 years combined experience in catering and hospitality. The couple used to live in Sydney, Australia so the cooking style has both Mediterranean and Asian influences.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

The school offers evening classes, one day classes and themed cookery demonstrations. Normally there are six people to a class although cookery demonstrations can be larger. Participants don't have to bring anything to the classes as everything is provided from the ingredients to a clean apron. There is a private dining room and the school also offers outside catering.

COST

Evening classes are £35.00 and include ingredients, a recipe folder, supper and wine. Day classes cost £95.00 and include ingredients, a recipe folder, morning tea, lunch and wine.

BOOKING

For bookings and enquiries contact the school by email on info@mylk.co.uk

Tel. 028 7181 3712, Phillip’s mobile 07999 215118, Nuala’s mobile 07922 666893.

More details at My Little Kitchen

My Little Kitchen

Greysteel

Limavady

Co. L'Derry

BT47 3DB

Opening hours: Classes run twice a week throughout the year, on Thursday evenings from 7-9pm and on Saturdays from 10am - 4pm. Please refer to the website for further details.

SIMILAR PLACES

Discover Northern Ireland - Food www.discovernorthernireland.com/food/

Outdoor Northern Ireland www.outdoorni.com/

Discover Derry www.derryvisitor.com

Northern Ireland Tourist Board www.nitb.com

The BBC is not responsible for the content on external websites.

RECIPE - THAI STYLE PRAWNS IN EGGNET

Serves 4

Filling:

200g bean sprouts

2 prawns, peeled, de-veined and chopped

100g lean mince

4 lime leaves, finely shredded (substitute with a squeeze of lime)

1/2 cup of coriander leaves

1/2 cup of mint leaves

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced

2tbsps peanuts, roasted and crushed

200g bean sprouts

To prepare the filling:

Heat a wok or non stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil. Stir fry the pork mince and stir continuously for 2 minutes, then add the chopped prawns.

Remove from the wok/frying pan and cool slightly. Add the remaining filling ingrediients and stir through to combine.

Cucumber Relish:

200ml white vinegar

200ml white sugar

2 cucumbers, quartered lengthways and sliced

2cm ginger piece, peeled and thinly sliced

2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced

1 chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

To prepare the cucumber relish:

Prepare all the relish ingrediients and combine in a bowl and set aside. The relish is used to serve with the eggnet, however, oyster sauce or hoi sin sauce could be used instead.

Savoury Base for Filling:

100g palm sugar (substitute with 80g light brown sugar)

2 cloves of garlic

3 coriander stalks

2cm ginger piece, peeled and thinly sliced

30ml fish sauce

1 coconut, finely grated using a grater (substitute with 75g desiccated coconut)

30ml water

1tsp prawn/shrimp paste (optional)

Eggnet:

4 eggs beaten and strained - leave for 30 minutes

1 tbsp seaame oil (optional)