Cooking classes at Horndean Technology College took on an exotic flavour on Wednesday, 25th November when two classes of Year 9 students learned how to make authentic curries during National Curry Week with the help of Ron Reeve Butchers of Clanfield and a top Hampshire restaurateur (and member of thebestofPetersfield!).
A range of fun events was held across the country to celebrate National Curry Week, which ran from 22 to 28 November. So this was the perfect opportunity for the students to develop their life skills with a curry cook-off.
Sue Pickering, who has been spending the term teaching the students about multi-cultural cooking at Horndean Technology College, said: 'Cooking is an important life-skill and this project has given us the opportunity to show students an alternative method of cooking a curry. It is great that they can learn to create one of the country's most popular meals during National Curry Week.'
Jean and Ron of Ron Reeve Butchers in Clanfield kindly donated 10lb of top quality fresh chicken to the class, along with 10 pots of authentic Madhuban curry sauces. The students used a selection from the nationally acclaimed 'Honey Garden' range of eight different flavoured sauces, made by the award-winning Madhuban Restaurant in Liss, Hampshire.
Restaurant owner Lodue Miah, who created the sauces, and gave the College a method for using them: 'I am delighted to support National Curry Week by introducing young people to the pleasures of cooking and the taste of Asian food.'
Mr Miah based his innovative 'Honey Garden' sauce range of fresh, hand-made sauces on his own in-house repertoire. He developed them after fans complained they could not achieve the same taste at home with existing pastes and spice mixes.
An annual event since 1998, this year's National Curry Week marks the 200th anniversary of the opening of the very first Indian Restaurant in London's West End in 1809.
As well as promoting food from the Indian sub-continent, the week of fun events, promotions and record-breaking attempts also aims to raise money for charities combating malnourishment and poverty around the world. The Madhuban Restaurant, Liss will be donating to support the Curry Tree Charitable Fund during National Curry Week.
A recent poll by market researcher Mintel found that not only was curry the most popular dining-out food in the UK but was the ethnic food cooked most often at home
More information about National Curry Week events is available at
www.nationaleatingoutweek.com
Below: Alan Reeve from Ron Reeve Butchers in Clanfield with Horndean Technology College Students and Lodue Miah of Madhuban, for National Curry Week.
Left to Right: Students Bethany Fisher, Shannon Dodds, Assistant Head Andy Gray, Lodue Miah, Butcher Alan Reeve from Clanfield, Humayra Miah, Samuel Williams and Todd Libby.