16 Hands-On Cooking Workshop With Alce Nero

When Alce Nero Malaysia offered me a spot on The Malaysian Women's Weekly Hands-On Cooking Workshop, I was quick to respond with an affirmative.

Five minutes later, I was kicking myself and cursing over this quote by Richard Branson that had me signing up for things on the spot without thinking things through or asking for the details before I do : If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!

Whilst I was excited about going, I had a small case of the jitters because it was my first time at a hands-on workshop and I hadn't done any stove cooking in years. Years! I whip my meals up in a simple no fuss multi-purpose electric cooking pot. So I went to the workshop with my fingers crossed that I wouldn't be defeated by how-do-I-start-these-things and the fiery flames that would follow.

No such thing happened, of course. The Cooking House (where the workshop is being run) uses induction heating cooktops and blunt knives. I believe the knives were intentionally left unsharpened for safety purposes.

Hands-On Cooking Workshop With Alce Nero

The first thing we did was to register our attendance.

Registration In Progress

This is what the cooktop looks like. We were gathered in teams of five.

Cooktop

These were the dishes Chef Pei Ling taught us to prepare. Baked prawns topped with cheese, salted egg pasta and jam-filled hot cakes with poached pears. Our food presentation was amateurish but this in no way affected the taste of the food - pretty delicious! I'm going attempt cooking these at home soon. If you're on instagram, follow me at 'snoringsheep' for my food adventures.

Salted Egg Pasta, Baked Prawns and Jam-filled Hot Cakes

By the time I walked out of the workshop, I had gained new friends and a confidence that said, "I can do this stuff ..haha!" I had also totally forgotten that I was down with the cough. My itchy throat behaved during the 3 hours I was focused on the workshop.

Finally, a group picture taken by the organisers of the event. We left the cooking house with an Alce Nero goodie bag in hand.

Photo credit: Women's Weekly Facebook