Parkhurst duo fuse food and fun
PARKHURST - If exploring the world through your taste buds is your thing, foodie duo Su-Yen Thornhill and Rachel Thomas have just the ticket for you.
The Kitchen Space offers guests the chance to take in interactive demonstrations of regional Asian cuisine.
At a demonstration in a working kitchen in kitchen shop Woodhouse, Thornhill and Thomas introduced an intimate gathering of diners to the delights of Japanese home cooking.
“When you think of Japanese food, I bet you automatically think of sushi which is only natural because that seems to be the only Japanese item on offer readily in South Africa,” said Thornhill.
“We thought it only right to introduce you to some Japanese family favourites; the sort of food you can make at home.”
After an appetiser of salted edamame beans, guests were invited to slice cabbage leaves for the first course, a Japanese citrus salad.
As guests got to work, Thornhill shared something of her life story and how she and Thomas formed The Kitchen Space.
“My mother was born in Hong Kong, and my father is Scottish-South African… I’ve lived in Asia, the USA, England and South Africa,” she said.
“We started The Kitchen Space in March last year. Thomas and I initially decided we wanted to own a shop, but had nothing to sell… So we decided to sell me.”
Since then, their demonstrations have gone from strength to strength, no doubt due to the combination of the duo’s good food and highly entertaining banter.
Once the guests had all but licked their bowls clean, Thornhill explained the making and uses of dashi stock, before moving on to the next course of chicken yakitori.
Guests once again had the chance to roll up their sleeves and get to work chopping spring onion before threading it on to bamboo skewers, together with pieces of chicken.
Once cooked, the skewers were seasoned with sesame seeds and shichimi togarashi (seven spice powder).
Next on the menu was salmon teriyaki, served with rice. The final course of the evening was an udon noodle soup, made with vegetables, mushrooms and thick udon noodles.
Speaking after the demonstration Thomas said, “Every demonstration gets fully booked. We usually have them on Thursday nights, but sometimes if we have enough last minute applications, we’ll also have something on a Tuesday night.”
The Kitchen Space also hosts Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Malaysian and Korean cooking demonstrations.
Details: www.thekitchenspace.co.za
