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Community house’s Garden to Plate seasonal cooking class inspires budding chefs

By Gabriel Garcia

Feb 9, 2024

Satisfied: Some of the Cobram Community House staff and volunteers of the Garden to Plate classes, with their freshly made ciabatta bread with slow-roasted tomatoes, homemade ricotta and salsa verde. Photo by Contributed

The staff and volunteers at Cobram Community House have hosted their inaugural Garden to Plate seasonal cooking class, part of the organisation’s Learn Local series of courses.

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The fully booked multi-week course began on Wednesday, January 31 and saw 10 participants prepare freshly made ciabatta bread with slow-roasted tomatoes, homemade ricotta and salsa verde.

For dessert, participants made poached pears with sweet homemade ricotta.

CCH chief executive Christine Osborne said the lessons were about championing fresh food and ingredients, learning and having fun.

“Participants will use the freshest seasonal ingredients to create a range of mouthwatering dishes — both sweet and savoury,” she said.

“They will discover new recipes, learn cooking skills and safe food practices while having fun and making new friends.”

With the idea of fresh options at the forefront, class menus are designed weekly and based on the availability of ingredients.

The course emphasises the importance of learning to grow and cook food to reduce cost-of-living pressures.

“Learning skills to cook with food that you can grow yourself or can access locally can help reduce the cost of living,” Ms Osborne said.

“Fruit and vegetables in season are cheaper, so using these can make meals more affordable.”

According to the CCH staff at the first Wednesday Garden to Plate session, feedback was immensely positive, with some participants inspired to start their own vegetable patch.

With the current course fully booked, Ms Osborne said those wishing to undertake the semester two course should book early.

Ms Osborne said CCH staff were proud to arrange these lessons.

“Cobram Community House is proud to deliver these courses; they play an important role in engaging and supporting our community,” she said.

“We have highly skilled and professional trainers who provide a friendly and welcoming space to learn, and we believe in the value of education and the importance of encouraging all ages and abilities.”

The Garden to Plate sessions aren’t the only cooking courses set to take place at CCH, with more kitchen-based courses coming up, including a pickles, jams and preserves masterclass, barista class, food handling class and a six-day hospitality boot camp.

CCH will also be hosting numerous digital skills classes throughout 2024.

For more information regarding bookings for classes, including the Garden to Plate courses, you can ring CCH on 5872 2224 or follow them on Facebook.