By Tessa Mapstone
Enjoy a great lunch out with the satisfaction of knowing you can recreate the delicious dish on your own at home.
That is the experience “Fresh” Natural Asian, on Gympie Terrace, Noosaville, offers through its Asian fusion cooking classes all the while overlooking the spectacular Noosa River.
The hands-on, two-hour cooking classes are offered to small groups so everyone has the chance to get personal attention from the renowned Shelley Phanich and “Fresh” Natural Asian’s brand new chef Paul Roets.
Having worked in more than 20 restaurants over 50 years, Shelley has “a wok of experience”, and Paul, with 22 years of experience of his own, has just arrived in Noosa to lap up the lifestyle after having worked in one- and two-hatted restaurants.
Together they offer what owner Rod Baker calls the Asian cooking version of Jamie Oliver’s programs.
“It’s teaching the simple Asian dishes with all the secrets that people can take home and actually cook themselves,” he said.
And for those who might not want to recreate all the hard work in the kitchen, “Fresh” Natural Asian has its own spice blends imported from Indonesia available for sale.
From Malaysian, to Indonesian cuisine, to Thai, Vietnamese and more, Shelley and Paul share their secrets for mastering Asian fusion, rotating to focus on varied cuisines on different days.
During the class budding cooks will have the chance to prepare two dishes on the terrace with the Noosa River as a backdrop.
They can then sit down and enjoy the lunch they have created.
Most will take the rest home for later, along with two more recipes they can create using the skills and knowledge imparted over the hotplate by the experts.
Classes cost $65 per person, and require a minimum of three bookings to run.
For those who would rather enjoy a meal prepared by someone else than get their own hands dirty, sit back and enjoy a cold beer, wine or freshly-made juice, a snack or gourmet meal served in coconut shells, banana leaves or on teak custom-designed plates.
Explore a pantry of lesser-known ingredients, such as bitter lemon and salted soybeans, and traditional deserts made from coconut and palm sugar.
All entrees and mains are gluten-free and there is an assortment of authentic vegetarian dishes.
The extensive menus represent great value, with lunch from $9.50, dinner entrees and desserts under $10 and mains under $25. They also offer licenced beverages or BYO and complimentary wifi.
Get all the details at freshnaturalasian.com.au, phone 5440 5119 or visit the restaurant at 229 Gympie Teerace, Noosaville.
