TOTAL Day & Mastering New Techniques

A month ago TOTAL Greek Yogurt hosted their first MasterClass. It was based at prestigious cookery school  Atelier des Chefs. The theme was Leading a Healthy Lifestyle.

A lovely brochette of food bloggers were invited. The day was an over-all success: I learnt new techniques such as making quenelles, plus I am now able to put a face on blogs I read regularly.

It turned out great though the start of the day had been rather unpromising. Expert nutritionist and state registered dietician, Hala El Shafie took the stage first. 20 minutes in her presentation she had not broken any new grounds, this was textbook stuff regurgitated to an audience of well-learnt foodies. She took the cake, not literally after-all this was supposed to be a healthy lifestyle talk,  when asking questions she went on ignoring completely the correct answers and  urging the audience to check their facts. Had she checked her audience she would have seen some pretty disgruntled faces.

But then it all picked up magnificently when blogger Phil Moore made her intervention. Phil went through a difficult time with her relationship with food. I always assumed most people had problems with nutrition but when it is really bad, nobody talked too openly about it. So it was right impressive to see that Phil had tackled the problem one step at the time, moreover she had recorded it very publicly in her blog Skinny Latte Strikes Back, and found solace and strength in her readers' support. A modern tale of battles with demons.

At midday, we went on cooking, it was like a little factory from the 1950's, everybody was having a ball at trying their best under the watchful (and amused) eye (or should it be eyes) of chef Andre Dupin

We used TOTAL Greek Yogurt to cook, make sauces and instead of cream, The trick is to use the 2% rather than the 0% to cook as you need a little fat for the sauce not to split. Some dishes were nicer than other but it is all a matter of taste because they all tasted good.

 We had a go at  

 Making  Samosas with a Minted Yoghurt Dip 

Pipping for White Chocolate Mille-feuille with Spiced Plums 

Tossing a frying-pan like chefs do for our Medallions of Pork with Gribiche

and Fennel

And much more......I learnt how to make quenelles and it is simple when you know ....make your concoction, take a tablespoon fill it with what you have prepared, put another spoon on the top of the first so that it makes a little mould, have a go at the brilliant 

Total Greek Yoghurt Tartare of Mackerel with Minted Cucumber Soup

Serves 6
Ingredients
12 fillets of mackerel
1 banana shallot
25g cornichons
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
50g 0% Total Greek Yoghurt
10g tomato ketchup
3ml Worcestershire sauce
25g capers in vinegar
For the soup
1 cucumber
A garlic clove
1/4 bunch of fresh mint
3 pinches of fine salt
10ml white wine vinegar
50g 0% Total Greek Yoghurt
Method
*Start by preparing the mackerel: fillet the fish if necessary and remove the pin bones. Remove the skin from the fish and then dice the flesh. Keep refrigerated while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
*Peel and finely dice the shallot. Chop the cornichons into small pieces. Pick the leaves from the parsley and roughly chop. Mix these chopped ingredients with the mackerel and add the capers and yoghurt.
*Mix well and the add the ketchup, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Taste the Tartare mix and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
*To make the soup: peel the cucumber and the garlic and pick the mint leaves. Place the ingredients in a blender with the salt and the white wine vinegar. Blitz for a minute to make the soup.
*Add the yogurt and pulse the mixture for 5 seconds. Check the seasoning.
*To serve: place a large quenelle of the Tartare mix in the middle of a small bowl and pour the soup around. Serve immediately.