October 2022 Amigo of The Month

Say a big hello to October’s Amigo of The Month, Eric, who really shined through during his time at The Avenue where he attended our 1 Week Intermediate Course in August. 🧑🏻‍🍳

When we asked Eric his favourite thing to cook, he told us that ‘Growing up in a Chinese-American household, I learned how to make all sorts of savoury dishes both from Asia and also Midwest America. One of the most complex-tasting dishes I’ve made is a Taiwanese-inspired braised short rib. It simmers for a long time and is absolutely packed with every flavour an omnivore craves. I’ve also made it with shiitake mushrooms, so this isn’t just for meat lovers!’ Please share this with us Eric🤤!!

He told us his favourite dish at The Avenue was ‘A very large Battenberg cake. Diana tasked me and Leslie (my fellow American) with making one and the only time I’d ever seen one was on a Great British Bake Off episode! It was such a triumph to make it, and even though it wasn’t perfect, broke me out of my comfort zone. It was by far one of the more beautiful things I’ve ever baked.’

We asked Eric his biggest cooking successes and failures and he said ‘my biggest fail was trying to deglaze a pan that had lots of seasoning and flavour on it. Without any prior knowledge of how to do so, I dumped red wine into the pan which promptly caught flame and I smelt burnt hair for the rest of the evening!’ 😂

And his biggest success? ‘One of my favourite dishes is rice porridge (pronounced “juk” in Cantonese) that is loaded with ginger, and it’s versatile enough that you can put mostly anything on top. A staple for most people in Hong Kong, this porridge recipe is something I’ve given to friends who have serious digestion issues. It’s helped restore every one of them back to health and I consider that a wild success.’ Sounds like a good recipe to have on hand!

He told us that ‘If Diana would care to see my sarcastic and very energetic self again, I would love to take another 1 or 2 Week Course, where the instructors can fully bully me into being a better chef.’ We’d of course welcome you back!

Any final comments? – ‘I cannot state how much I enjoyed my time in the Avenue. Every instructor was so kind and helpful, while also being very real about the areas that I needed to improve my skills. It was a spontaneous thing for me, living in Washington DC, to simply book a flight to London for a long week, but I can assure you all that it was worth it!’ We love to hear this feedback ☺️

Thanks Eric, for being October’s Amigo of The Month! 💚