1762 STRIPPED
THE CLASS:
1762’s new spot in JLT has a new food lab offering special cooking classes. For our intimate session, we’re told that we’ll be making all of our three-course meal the “correct” Levantine way.
THE CHEF:
Jordanian Maisa’a Meqdadi was a civil engineer until four years ago, and is now a professionally trained chef. Maisa’a first got into teaching classes after hosting friends for makeshift cooking tutorials and still hosts cooking classes at her own home. She’s incredibly knowledgeable, with a skill for precision-based cooking, but the patience and personality to entertain you with Arabic myths to accompany a dish.
THE FOOD:
First up, fattoush. Chef Maisa’a has us dicing capsicum, radishes and mint like we always knew they were supposed to go in. Then we began creating a beautiful dressing out of pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and garlic. The baked kibbeh was mixed with cracked wheat kneaded so thoroughly we should have forgone the gym that morning, and was peppered with oriental sevenspice mix and pine nuts. But suckers for anything doused in cream, our favourite was the umm ali – a delicious mess of almonds, dried apricots, flaky pastry, vanilla and cinnamon, drowning in condensed milk and cream.
THE VERDICT:
This was our absolute favourite cooking class. The organisation and preparation was seamless, and the fact that we got to sit down together at the end for a three-course meal was just a bonus. The only thing that worries us now is that no restaurant fattoush will ever stack up again.
The One building, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, Wed 10.30am, Dhs300. Tel: (800) 1762. Taxi: One Building, JLT. 1762.ae