An afternoon with Jean-Georges

I surprised my husband with tickets to see a cooking demonstration on the weekend with acclaimed French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, at his restaurant in Shanghai. He cooked a four-course lunch, talking us through each recipe. Appetites whetted, we then took our seats in the dining room to eat all the dishes.

Although it was not hands-on at all, the session was very informative. Jean-Georges was a charming host, very down to earth and personable. His recipes are relatively easy, but can involve a few processes and ingredients, but he did offer suggestions for alternative ingredients and ideas to modify his recipes to suit different tastes.

His dishes are French but with an Asian twist. I didn't get a photo of the first course, but it was a playful take on sushi - kingfish sashimi with chipotle mayonnaise on top of crispy sushi rice. I loved it.

My favourite was the main course of seared prawns, cucumber noodles with an avocado and chilli-garlic emulsion. Pretty much all my favourite ingredients.

The dessert was simply stunning to look at.  His take on a sunflower - but made from meringue, pastry cream and fresh passionfruit. It was almost too pretty to eat - and veeeeery sweet.