Last week I visited the cooking atelier of Yves Mattagne in Brussels together with all Okura chefs. Of course the purpose of our visit was not to learn how to cook. We were very interested in seeing how they organize culinary workshops, because that is what we are going to do in our Culinary Center Taste of Okura as of December.

What we learned form the workshops of Yves Mattagne is that the element ‘fun’ is very important in a workshop. The atmosphere should be informal and relaxing. This is definitely what our workshops will be like. The workshop in Brussels consisted of the making of a gastronomic menu, a brunch and a carrousel called ‘tour du monde’. When participating in a ‘tour du monde’ guests are welcomed in the bar with a aperitif. Then they visit the cooking atelier where they receive an explanation about the different buffets and the group will be divided into smaller groups, each group has its own cooking table. When one menu is finished, the groups switch cooking tables which results in the fact that every guests has in the end worked on every menu.

When making a gastronomic menu, amuses were made and consumed with fine wine pairings during the work in the kitchen. Afterwards all guests were expected in the dining area, and each group finalized a dish and served them with the perfect wines pairings.

These different types of workshops gave us lots of inspiration for our own culinary center. At this moment we are busy with finalizing the workshops we will offer. The workshops will give you to possibility to work with the recipes of Okura’s chefs yourself. Of course we can also offer workshops tailored to your personal wishes and areas of interest.

Are you interested in the latest developments of Taste of Okura? Please visit the website of Okura for more information. We are looking forward to welcoming you in December in Taste of Okura!

Culinary regards, Onno Kokmeijer