Zafran - Spanish Cooking Master Class

http://zafran.com.hk/

Those of you who know me would be familiar with my foodie adventures and be well aware that I'm not a great cook.  My Instagram feed is full of restaurant meals and the very, very rare photo of a home cooked meal.

So when I get the opportunity to participate in master classes and learn something new in a kitchen, I jump at the chance.  Chope Hong Kong had partnered with the Aqua Restaurant group and Zafran Spanish restaurant to have new Chef Pere run a small group of bloggers through his famous "Black Paella".  Interestingly, the last time I'd had a masterclass, it was at Mondo Organics in Brisbane and a Spanish feast fit for a king (see post here).  

Seemingly, I am destined to improve my Spanish cuisine repertoire, which is certainly ironic living in the heart of Hong Kong.

I'd always thought that Zafran was a nightclub in the few times I wandered down Wyndham Street, but was surprised to find a funky looking basement restaurant as I descended the stairs to the Masterclass.  We were met by Zafran's new chef, hot off the boat from his native Barcelona, who seemed a little nervous to be fronted by so many food bloggers and cameras.

Bee One Third - Neighbourhood honey

http://beeonethird.com.au/

One of the things I love about blogging is that I've had some amazing opportunities come my way which have led to some super interesting situations.  So when an email arrived for me one day marked 'An invitation to something special', it was an opportunity that was way too good to pass up.

I'd recently been in Melbourne on a foodie safari and while we were wandering around, we'd come across a sustainable living 'green fair', which was pretty awesome.  There were a range of speakers on sustainable topics, but one that got us to stay still long enough to listen was about bee collectives and how cities around the world are now creating bee hives.  The speaker went on to mention that the diversity of pollen in a city far outstrips the level of pollen in farms.  Apparently there is a bee collective at Federation Square in Melbourne where the honey collected has been tested for over 200 pollen types.

Fast forward to my invitation that was too good to pass up and I was off to visit one of Brisbane's burgeoning bee collectives - Bee One Third.  The day was meticulously planned out with a group of bloggers where we would get to tour the beehives on top of the Gerard's building, before heading over to Jocelyn's Provisions for a 'deliciously honeyed' morning tea, followed by a demonstration of a honey extraction.  I was pretty excited.

E'cco - Valentines day cooking masterclass

http://www.eccobistro.com/

E'cco Bistro is one of the finest and most awarded restaurants in Queensland.  I have been many times and written about it previously (you can read the post here).  Leading up to Valentines Day, I was invited to attend a cooking masterclass by E'cco Bistro, which was an offer too good to refuse.  How often do you get the opportunity to get some instruction from a professional chef on how to prepare a three course meal?  The answer for me is never!!

The event was staged in the E'cco bar area just under the restaurant and walking into the bar area, I was a little apprehensive and did not really know what to expect.  Entering the bar there was a huge table set up with an impromptu kitchen area set up at the front.  Milling around, all looking slightly uncomfortable was a heap of men of all ages sipping on some beers and wine.