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Qype issues praise for the Angela Malik Cook School Feb 2010 
9 March 2010
DJ Stoney - London 5 stars
Angela Malik is rarity in celebrity chefs, a part of the action rather than just a name. Angela's recent excellent review by journalist (and winner of celeb Come Dine With Me) Toby Young who had Angela cater for his guests www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/a... has raised her profile just at the point she brings 'New Favours of The East' to the West (London). I went along to her Dim Sum & Gyoza course organised by Qype to sample a flavour of a variety of Asian cuisines she prepares and teaches. I left home in North London and headed to her school, I was there in 25 minutes. Other reviews have spoken of problems of their journey but the Acton Central on the Overground is literally next door so make a connection with the (almost) orbital route round Richmond-Stratford, so take this path and you'll be cooking in no time. The school is combo shop fronted delicatessen that is a foodies paradise with the bold ANGELA MALIK sign that suggested to me that I was in for a treat. I was greeted by samples of Angela's tasty perception shifting fresh 'pestos' with crudites and crackers. I tasted the fragrant fresh dips made out of ginger, coriander and spices and realised if this was called a curry or chutney's they'd be used with Indian curries only. However their association with Indian food is limited, these pestos are versatile, just like their Italian namesake. A multi-use 'pesto' was a dip and can be used a crusty marinade for a pork loin (we tried this: delicious and succulent). Angela also cooked her coriander based pesto with tiger prawns (soaked in tamarind water) and coconut milk for an almost instant prawn green curry- this IS proper fast food! I'd recommend heading to her Acton shop or foodie paradise Borough Market on Saturday to hunt out these versatile pestos. I worked for an ad agency on a pitch for Heinz, I learnt that Heinz ketchup satisfies your 5 taste senses, however I've never thought about my cooking bringing in this flavour theory. Other reviews have commented on Angela's 5 taste senses theory- interesting and relevant. Without a doubt you'll utilise what you'll hear about your own cooking and replacing ingredients you don't have with a flavour group food. Darn! Got no tamarind? The main part of the teaching lesson was not Indian but Japanese (gyoza) and Chinese (dim sum). During the creation of dim sum, (I made a dumpling that looked like an envelope) I hid it behind a bottle. Angela came over to me to check my skills and spotted the strange shape dumpling hiding and questioned whether this was a samosa-dim sum? I commented, 'yes, this is a nu-fusion-pan-Asian creation' and that I'd happily co-brand these Eastern fusion accidents long as I get half the profits ; ) However, I went away full, happy and made my Sunday lunch guests some gyoza's two days ago to test my skills. My guests were delighted, and so was I. Highly Recommended. 
2 March 2010
almostwitty - London 4 stars
Of all the things available just off the Uxbridge Road - cheap Chinese buffets, obscure bingo parlours and many a pizza joint, you don't expect to find a place for gastronomes. But Angela Malik's shop and cookery school seems to fit the bill. The shop itself is stuffed full of intriguing titbits, yumsies and quirky ingredients all designed to persuade you to get out your wallet - and then there's the kitchen just behind the shop, which simultaneously looks industrial and welcoming. The chefs on hand - Angela, Geoff, George - were all incredibly friendly in guiding us through the mysteries of the kitchen, what goes into making the taste sensation of the tongue and of course top quick tips for cooking. Don't overcook pork. I was there thanks to Qype for a session on how to make dim sum - I'd had some prior experience from my Dad - but the expert knowledge and guidance from Angela's team created much tastier dim sum while still somehow retaining that home-cooked feel. We also had some samples of her delicious range of Indian pestos - I haven't been a huge fan of 'Indian' food up till now but I might just have to explore the true Indian palette in a bit more detail. Now I just need to pop back to get some more ... groceries...  1 March 2010
Omnivore - London 5 stars
If ever there was a reason to head to deepest Acton on a rainy February night, it’s to learn Asian cookery from a Scottish-Indian former fraud investigator – Angela Malik -who really knows her onions. I headed to her cookery school recently to try my hand at making dim sum. To be honest I was a little sceptical as I have done a raft of cookery classes while travelling through Asia, and they amounted to not much more than a demonstration, with fiddly, obscure ingredients. So this cookery school was a revelation. First of all, we were welcomed with wine and homemade dips and chutneys. Then we heard from Leiths-trained Angela about her ‘five tastes’ philosophy. She bases her creations around hot, sweet, salty, sour and umami flavours - and believes the combination of these make a balanced and delicious meal that ‘sings in the mouth’. But there were many more revelations and insider tips we learnt about perfecting the art of Asian cooking. Angela urged us to venture beyond familiar mass-market brands such as Pataks, for instance, saying: “It’s never been east of Greece.” She also reminded us about the origin of chilli; it’s nothing to do with Asian cuisine culture but from Mexico. Equally, for the hot element of your dish, you could use black pepper, ginger, garlic, wasabi or cumin. Geoff, Angela’s lovely assistant, showed us how easy it is to make a fragrant and tender loin of pork by sealing it, smothering it in their own ‘pesto’ and roasting it for just 45 minutes. When it came to preparing and cooking our own dim sum and gyoza, instructions were clear, guidance plentiful and the results…sublime.  27 February 2010
Epicurienne - London 4 stars
Like the other Qype Ninjas who've reviewed the Angela Malik Cookery School, I also attended the Qype Dim Sum Cookery Lesson event there this week. I work in West London so thought it would be a doddle to get to, but was proved wrong. I took a tube and bus to get to the School and then had to walk down a long, dark street to get there. On the way home I took the Overground, which is directly opposite the school, so if you decide to come to a class here, definitely try to work the Overground into your journey plan. Tube and bus routes are not exactly straightforward, and having lived in London for 15 years, I really can say that. I arrived late, but so did several others, who, like me, had left work early to get to class, which started at 6pm. In truth, this is far too early for Day Job Qypers if we are to be there on time, and others at the event held the same opinion. The shopfront was warm, welcoming and filled with shelves of familiar Asian ingredients, along with some Angela Malik brand goods, namely her pestos and chutneys. The teaching kitchen was down the back, a long room with plenty of light and a long, central work station. Everything looked clean and practical, and following an excellent introduction, taste discussion and demonstrations by Angela and her trusty resident chef, Geoff, we broke into groups to have a crack at making our own Dim Sum. Well, I definitely need to practise; I won't be opening a Ping Pong anytime soon, but I can say that the ingredients and instructions worked beautifully, and although Angela was visibly torn in all directions whilst trying to help us, advise us, stop us from ruining good food etc, Geoff was an able backstop for her, calm and courteous and emminently skilled in his own right. Meanwhile, George, also from the school, topped up our wine glasses with such subtletly throughout the evening that it seemed as if they refilled themselves by magic. In spite of thoroughly enjoying my Angela Malik Cookery School experience, the location is too out of the way for me, so although I'd be more than interested in her market and foodie tours, I doubt I'll be attending her school in Acton. Having said that, if she opened a second schoolroom somewhere closer to where I live or work, I would definitely consider taking one or two more of her classes, because the information and technique were imparted in such a positive manner.
26 February 2010
Meike B - London 5 stars
Chinese is my least favourite Asian cuisine, but I have always been intrigued by dim sum. Last night's class offered a wonderful introduction, and so much more.
26 February 2010
Penguinette - London 4 stars
I also attended last night's QYPE event and really enjoyed discovering Angela's lovely little cook school. As regards the location, I am inclined to agree with Toby Young (whom Angela cooked for recently: a celebration dinner for 11 people) that Acton Central is the Marylebone High Street equivalent in Acton. It is located away from the usual high street tat and is developing a more independent retail character of its own. Well worth checking out! The prescence of Angela's cook school there is certainly key to this. Fellow reviewers have said nearly all I want to say. However, I want to commend George especially who is sooo warm, friendly and solicitous. I would love to find out what he likes cooking and it would be nice if George shows us his "stuff"!! One feeling I got during my first half an hour inside the shop/school was that here is a concept fairly similar to Recipease where the shop combines food retail and cooking facilities for both the cook school and retail production. Unlike Recipease, where money was probably not an issue, Angela's school is independently run by a passionate entrepreneur and although it is smaller and less impressively fitted out, I applaud her unreservedly and encourage others to support her business. It is so much more personal and attentive being taught by the chef patron herself! Angela is a foodie of the world and presents a wide variety of world cuisine - hence it was "dim sum" for us last night. She is also influenced by Jean-Geroges Vongerichten with whom she completed a "stage" while training to become a chef. Vongerichten's "fusion" approach to French and South East Asian cookery has clearly made a big impression on Angela. Now, fusion cuisine is a tricky topic. To make it an art form, one necessarily needs to understand the intrinsic goodness of any ingredients from anywhere in the world and be able to use them to their best effects/combination in order to create something magical. This Angela and Geoff did brilliantly when they demonstrated a tender, delicious fusion style roast loin of pork dish using one of Angela's Indian pestos as the marinade (and primarily a flavouring paste) and accompanied by an inspired salsa verde-type sauce made with coriander, mint, chillies and lemon juice. The dish of itself is not Indian, but more Southern European. However, the artful deployment of ingredients more typical in Indian cooking created something very special in its own right. That's when fusion cuisine is done well. Dim sum ,or "yum cha" as it is more often called in Oz - both are Cantonese terms, is a passion at Angela's cook school. "Dim sum" refers to the food items generically and "yum cha" literally means "drink tea" which is the act of drinking tea and eating dim sum. Angela demonstrated siu mai and Northern Chinese "gau xi"; both were really easy to make and Angela's note on the five tastes and generosity of seasoning were helpful indeed. Our results tasted as good as restaurant products. I am looking forward to checking out Angela's Indian repertoire. Madhur Jaffrey may have a worthy successor :o) 
26 February 2010
Ian Marshall - London 5 stars
I never suspected that good old Acton (my stomping ground a couple of years ago) would ever have a place so welcoming and delightful. My previous memory of this end of Acton was a Police Warning sign on the street that told of assaults and a bar that was re-furbished to look like a strip-club, except I don’t think it was… interesting concept.. Anyhow, while I wouldn’t suggest this is the start of the “gentrification” of this West London area it is certainly a step in the right direction. So I was down there with some of the others here on a Qype night and it was a good introduction to the school. Our lesson started with an introduction to Angela’s “taste sensation” approach to cooking. In a nutshell, making sure that a balance of the five tastes should be included in every meal, and the idea that slavishly sticking to ingredients is not so necessary as long as you replace what you don’t have with something from the same group. Replace vinegar with citrus for sour or tamarind paste for sugar as examples. Not sure about replacing blue cheese with Marmite for umami but theoretically.. There was a discussion about the “fifth taste” on BBC Breakfast as well last week forcing me to ponder if the time of mystique for the fifth taste is over. You can buy tubes of umami in Selfridges man… Any-way.. we were shown the two Pestos that they sell, here in the deli section of the shop and also at Borough Market, and the Fragrant variety was used to flavour a loin of Pork that chef Geoff sealed and then roasted for a quick 45 minutes. The combination of Indian flavours with a traditional English dish worked exceptionally well and the pork was succulent and served with an awesome mint and coriander chutney. The thrust of the evening, though, and where we were able to get our hands dirty, was making Dim Sum; first the Steamed Siu Mai Dumplings, allowing us to practice our crenellation (for the nation) skills, and then the fried and steamed Gyoza. Both involved mixing the filling in a bowl and tasting (raw meat!) and generally adding more salt, then taking a dollop and wrapping and for the Siu Mai, steaming and eating. Angela, Geoff and George (who worked tirelessly and never let our glasses get empty) were friendly, informative and made the evening a lot of fun. Who would have thought it in Acton baby?
26 February 2010
Eamon - London 5 stars
Bowling through the door, the first thing that hit me was the enticing aroma, swiftly followed with clocking the wide range of desirable goods on sale and then all finely topped off by one of Angela Malik’s beautiful, beaming and welcoming smiles. (She is often to be found here on the premises and is not one of those celebrity chef types that make fewer public appearances than Lord “you haven’t seen me, right” Lucan). Now I may well be biased as my visit here last night was as part of a Qype event that I and I organised, but with that vested interest well and truly slapped on the table may I say that this was one hell of a hoot: informative, fun, interactive and the time just positively flew by. Angela, and her main man Geoff the chef, are charming, engaging and perfectly able to balance delivering instructive tuition, without being patronising, while maintaining order and keeping the lesson flowing. Speaking of balance, the combination of chat and hands on action was seamless. And all while the third member of the team, George, catered to our every whim. Now all this would be rendered academic if the end results weren't up to scratch, and though my team's dim sum dumplings fell slightly short on the aesthetic front, they were spine-tinglingly delicious; thankfully, we had been told that it's not how it looks on the outside, but what's inside that counts. And if I wasn't already spoken for, that would be my chat up line for 2010. The technique may be frighteningly simple; it’s the experience and expertise that’s most definitely worth paying for. 
26 February 2010
Charitojoy - London 5 stars
a little gem of a shop indeed.i was happy from start to end.still having reminders of the night and having a pick on the indian pesto that angela gave me. her hospitality was excellent as well as her asst chef Geoff.it was a pleasure to meet fellow Qypers for the first time and thought they were a friendly bunch so felt right in place straight away. ive taken away more knowledge and feel confident making dim sum.ive always loved dim sum but never had the opportunity to try and make it myself. angela was very passionate about what she does and you could see it in the way she delivered it. lovely place and will be visiting again to make a purchase and soon to do another lesson when i have the money!definetely a place to recommend esp to all west londoners out there who like to eat and cook at the same time! 
26 February 2010
mseasons - London 4 stars
I was lucky enough to go to the Qype event too. At first I was a little intimidated - Angela definitely knows her stuff, and I always though dimsum was difficult, but after a demonstration and a bit of practice, I got it down! Her staff, especially Geoff, were absolutely brilliant. The food was tasty, and I learned a lot. The big downside though is that the school is in Acton Central, and a total pain to get to. Not a big deal if you live nearby, though! 
25 February 2010
LMO - London 5 stars
Just back from the Qype event at the school, brilliant! Angela's passion about food is contagious and she's such a good teacher, makes cooking seem really easy, I'll keep the 5 tastes and the importance of seasoning on my mind for now on, look forward to try some of her recipes, first one on my list is a a veggie masala pesto
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