Cook, eat, and meet! - Share my table - English

Budapest’s culinary map is expanding at such a rate that we have a hard time keeping track of our own gastro articles.We’ve already explored a top-notch Budapestian cooking lesson, so the title might make you believe that we’re repeating ourselves, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Share my table! is a dinner party – cooking course combo spiced up with Australian hospitality, a multicultural vibe, fine wines, and rice dishes.

Shared tables, shared thoughtsAlthough Share my table!’s website has all the info a journalist could dream of, our curiosity level was through the roof while we were waiting for the night to kick off. The course we opted for is called Cook and Connect, which lasts four hours, and has about six participants – including Casey, the black-belted grandmaster of Thai cuisine.

When we arrived at the Rákóczi Street apartment at around six, we were greeted with the widest smile, and the introductions made it clear that the majority of our fellow cookers are Australians. As for the menu: rice rolls stuffed with roast duck thighs, Thai red curry with chicken and vegetables, and finally grilled pineapple slices with lime coconut milk sauce.

After receiving a welcome drink in the form of a glass of white wine, a small-talk chat party broke out with the topics being the usual suspects – Budapest, Hungary, customs, cuisine, and people. Talking of Budapest, there’s a chalkboard on the wall, and written on it is a top ten list of Budapestian bars, so the compilation might be your lighthouse on the city’s stormy sea.Tips and tricks for everyoneYou might think it’s stranger than fiction, but the courses were prepared in a reversed order, so the motto was last things first, and we had to work our magic on the dessert’s ingredients. We had to slice, grate, boil, and roast, and Casey was there to help us out if something went wrong. The cooking process was rather simple, yet we still picked up on some tricks providing great alternatives for expensive kitchenware.

From chefs to guestsWhen were done cooking, Casey took over the baton, and the dinner began. Strong-as-Hulk emergency seasonings and sauces were on the table in case of a culinary catastrophe, but it all ended well, and we were glad we could eat what we cooked. When we told Casey how grateful we were for the wonderful experience, she simply replied 'Don’t thank me, you cooked it'!