During our last holiday to Marrakech, Abdul, the head chef at our riad, showed us how to make a delicious Kofta tagine. It only takes 15 mins and it will impress your friends no end…

Serves 2 hungry people or 3 slightly peckish people or 4 people who have already eaten, who tend to be quite greedy.

Ingredients:

• Garlic (1 clove)
• 2 eggs
• Parsley
• Olive oil
• 4 Peeled and chopped tomatoes
• Minced lamb balls (not their actual… you know what I mean)
• Ginger
• Cumin
• Paprika
• Ground pepper
• Salt
• Wine (drink this while cooking)

Equipment:

• Kitchen
• Tagine dish (A frying pan with a lid will do, but this is less impressive, particularly if you have friends round)

Step 1

Put on some traditional Moroccan tunes. Open the wine and pour yourself a stiff glass. Casually throw a dishcloth over one shoulder and turn on your hob.

Step 2

Heat the tagine dish (or pan) on the hob using a medium flame. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and garlic.

Step 3

Add some fresh parsley, one teaspoon of paprika, half a teaspoon of pepper, half a teaspoon of cumin, a generous pinch of salt and four teaspoons of olive oil. Whack on the lid and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Step 4

Add a splash of water and a couple more teaspoons of olive oil. Get that lid back on for another minute or so. Then place the balls of minced lamb evenly over the pan and replace the lid for a further three minutes.

Step 5

Baste the meatballs and turn down heat. Crack the eggs into the pan and stick that lid back on for a few more minutes until those eggs are cooked. Add a touch more olive oil and parsley for decoration.

We’re super excited to introduce you to Club Frui. So what the devil is it…?

We say ‘club’, but in truth everyone’s a member. As well as offering our permanent range of inspiring creative learning holidays and day courses, Club Frui is for more impromptu, often one off, short trips and events. We constantly update Club Frui with lots of fun bits and bobs so make sure you check in regularly to see what’s on.

Find out more about Club Frui HERE

Spend the morning exploring London’s flavourful Borough Market with 2007 Masterchef Champion, Steve Wallis.

During this fun and inspiring gastronomic morning Steve will take us around his favorite stalls and introduce you to some of his friends who have helped him develop his unusual trademark flavour combination.

There's Steve, the cheeky chappy, second from right.

The morning:
After meeting at 10am in Fish Kitchen we’ll have a coffee with Steve, who will give us a brief introduction and say what he has in store for us. We’ll then follow Steve around the Market, stopping at his favorite stalls and sampling all that is on offer. At around 1pm we’ll have the chance to sit down and have a glass of wine or two with Steve and ask him any specific culinary questions we may have.

When: 13 March

How much: £15

To reserve your place email James@frui.co.uk

Hope you can make it!

That’s right guys our own Master Chef champ is going to be one of the stars at this year’s Chocolate Festival on the Southbank. The Chocolate Festival is a unique event which gives visitors a special opportunity to enjoy a wide range of chocolate related products – as well as fine truffles, bars and bonbons, you will be able to buy savory food with chocolate, chocolate cakes, pancakes, ice cream, milkshakes and more.

Steve will be showing us how to make courgette flower tempura & duck salad with dark chocolate vinaigrette and a white chocolate Risotto! Wowsers! And it’s free!

You can find out more about it here:

http://www.festivalchocolate.co.uk

LONDON 2010

Friday 26 – Sunday 28 March
11am – 8pm daily (6pm Sunday)

At SOUTHBANK CENTRE SQUARE
Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX,
Behind Royal Festival Hall
Free Admission

Here’s a great new cooking blog, authored by my good friend and past frui cooking holiday guest m’lady Rosie Broad. Please pay her a visit and follow her brilliant blog!

Henry

It's Rosie!

Rosie's Quick and Easy, Sexy Spinach Salad

STOP! Put those novelty socks down, whomever they’re for, they’ll never wear ‘em! And that joke book… come on now, you can do better than that!

Stuck for gift ideas this Christmas? Why not give a loved one something truly inspiring from Frui. Here are some ideas:

1-day course in Photography or Photoshop – £99

Our 1-day courses at the stunning southwest London venue of Hampton Court House cover all the basics of digital photography and/or Adobe Photoshop leaving guests truly inspired. Ideal for those who are new to photography looking to get the most out of their cameras, and those wishing to learn about image retouching and digital manipulation.

Food Safari with 2007 Masterchef winner Steven Wallis – £35

The ideal gift for foodies. Spend a morning in the company of Masterchef winner Steven Wallis on a gastronomic tour around some of London’s more flavourful locations. With cooking demonstrations and hands on workshops and tastings, Steve will inspire guests by introducing them to new flavour combinations and creative twists on traditional recipies.

Photography Social – £10

Give someone a uniquely fun and creative night out in London. Our Photography Socials are lively photography walks (starting and ending in a pub) where guests benefit from tuition from professionals and get to take part in our photo challenge! Please enquire about future dates.

Paris Photography Day Trip – £125

Where better to practice your shutter skills than in the city of art, culture and romance. Our inspiring photography day trips to Paris are ideal for both the complete novice and more advanced photographer. Please enquire about future dates.

A holiday with a difference – From £699

Know someone who would love to escape on an inspirational creative learning holiday in 2010? Frui offers short and long breaks in photography, painting and gastronomy. Ideal for total beginners and those with more experience our holidays are all about creativity, learning, food, wine and fun!

For more information about buying someone one of Frui’s Christmas gifts please call us on 020 7241 5006 or email us at hello@frui.co.uk

Have a fantastic Christmas and make sure you eat, drink and laugh lots!

FRUI WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGISE FOR PUTTING A CHRISTMAS HAT ON THEIR LOGO.  WE IN NO WAY SUPPORT THIS LEVEL OF NAFFNESS. BUT WE COULDN’T RESIST.

White truffle season is just round the corner, and that also just happen to be Frui favorite month of the year!

So what exactly is a white truffle you ask?

A truffle is a fungal fruiting body that develops underground, Almost all truffles are found in close association with certain types of trees and soil.

There are hundreds of species of truffles, but the fruiting body of some (mostly in the genus Tuber) are highly prized as a food. Some call these truffles “the diamond of the kitchen”. Edible truffles are held in high esteem in French and Italian cooking, as well as in international haute cuisine.

The White truffle (Tuber magnatum) grows in the Abruzzo region in Italy. White truffles are rarer, more pungent and more expensive than black ones. They have a shorter growing season, in the three months around Christmas. Blacks are more common in the centre and south, whites in center and north. Nestling in the roots of about 50 trees – mostly oaks but also hazels, poplars, mulberries and willow. Like the French black truffles, Italian white truffles are very highly esteemed. The white truffle market in Abruzzo is busiest in the months of October and November. The Tuber magnatum truffles sell between €3800 to €1700 per kg. Truffle hogs have been used historically in Europe to help find truffles, however, more recently in Abruzzo, dogs have become preferred for truffle hunting since they can be trained not to eat truffles when they find them. With demand shooting up over recent years, hunters have become increasingly competitive and there have even been reports of skulduggery such as hamstringing or even poisoning the champion dogs of rivals.

A truffle weighing over a kilogramme has been found in Abruzzo and looks set to set this year’s Italian record at auction. The white truffle, weighing in at 1.05 kg, was bought from a young local truffle hunter for 15,000 euros. The dealer who bought it, Ernesto De Iorio, told reporters he had three interested parties willing to pay some 35,000 euros for it!

We are very exited about our cooking holiday in October in Abruzzo where we will be heading into the woods for a morning of truffle hunting with one of the area’s most famous hunters and his dogs. We will then have a chance to learn soon of the amazing local recipes and cook are own truffle feast! hope to see you there!

1. No single supplement

You’ll enjoy the privacy of your own en suite hotel room as standard, without having to pay any annoying extras.

2. Meet like-minded people

Imagine going on a holiday where everyone you meet is interested in the same things as you. Sounds great, doesn’t it.

3. Get the most out of a destination

You’ll get a truly ‘under the skin’ experience of a destination. Many of the things you’ll see and do, you simply wouldn’t be able to experience on your own.

4. Enjoy an unsurpassed level of service, 24/7

You’ll have everything organised for you and we’ll cater for your every need. Everything from shopping trips, personal guides, excursions, accommodation and transfers – it’s like having your very own butler with you on holiday!

5. Receive contemporary, fun and down-to-earth tuition

Our tutors are all acclaimed practitioners in their own creative fields and they communicate their passion in a manner that is both accessible and engaging.

6. Experience total relaxation

Because we’ll organise everything for you, you won’t have to worry about a thing. Meaning you’ll have plenty of time to sit back, relax and go with the flow.

7. Take part in loads of fun activities

Our holidays are all about being creative and getting involved with the local scene. This is why we take part in lots of activities that will give you a really insider’s view of our destinations.

8. Make friends with people from all over the world

Part of the magic of our holidays is that we work with really great local people. Loads of our past guests are still in regular contact with members of the Frui team, whether they’re based in Italy, Croatia, Turkey or Morocco.

9. Get yourself a ‘tutor for life’

With Frui, we like you to stay in touch with your tutors after the holiday, so you can keep motivated and take part in competitions, projects and exhibitions. And how much does this cost? Nada. Zip. Zilch!

10. Be creative!

Our tutors are all experts in helping people express themselves. You’ll be among friends, while spending time in some truly inspiring locations, so you’ll find it easy to let your hair down, express yourself and get creative.