It was a magical evening, we were all relaxed because we have gotten to know each other very well and are comfortable with each other. We let our hair down and had huge fun. What a far cry from attending dinners where we all need to be formal, proper and prim.
The idea of a cooking club was to unite foodies coming together to share the passion that consumes us. Together, we can work to achieve standards we might not be able to attain working alone. In the beginning, the cooking club was not plain sailing at all. I was disheartened and wanted to close down the cooking club, but Celina, Pamela, May, Karen, Cheryl, and Maggie expressed strong desire that such a wonderful idea should not be nipped at the bud, that we should at least give the cooking club a chance! It was a togetherness I had never seen, those who chose to be with the club gave their strongest support, and what was most precious was the camaraderie shown, the friendships naturally fortified under such circumstances. It is like after a storm, the sky and air become so fresh and so pure.
The idea of celebrating our birthdays was thus born, because we can all work together, and have fun together. And we can also know through such experiences, how to plan and execute a dinner party or to attempt new or difficult dishes (like that Opera cake!) with the moral and actual support from others. There is nothing like team work! Cheers, everyone!
In May, it was Cheryl and Karen's birthdays, so we celebrated their birthdays by cooking a most festive dinner together. It was a joint effort, everyone helped to make the dinner possible, starting from baking a most fantastic cake the day before, getting the flowers and setting the table, cooking together and creating a mouth-watering dinner!
Although Annie actually spent her birthday in London (in her beautifully refurbished mews house), the Cooking Club threw her a surprise party before she left Hong Kong. The members plotted and schemed to keep the party secret, enlisting help from the menfolk -- Pierre, John and Jack.
The party was a way for us to really express our gratitude for Annie's leadership in pushing the cooking club to take on new challenges and stretching our horizons.
Was Annie surprised?
Conrad kickstarted their new tapas happy hour yesterday, and Annie & Friends Cooking Club were all out there celebrating this new event from Conrad.
Here May, Maggie, Polly and Amy share a wonderful moment together.
On the day of the demonstration, it was also Amy's birthday. Without Amy's knowledge, we planned a surprise birthday celebration for her.
After much consultation back and forth amongst us, Maggie decided to create a cake made up of lots of pot plants, and lots of flowers. We all got excited with this idea.
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