The AGA can
look a little alarming if you aren’t used to cooking on it. All of us in the
shops came at AGA from a pretty
blank start. My granddad had one, so I had seen them being used, Giovanna had
never even heard of them, Costa Rica generally being a touch too warm for a
heat storage cooker. Modestas having transferred over from la Cornue in Brompton Road had
used the shop AGA for heating his
lunch up but other than that they aren’t all that popular in Lithuania . Over
in Knightsbridge Jess had used one occasionally at friends houses and Nadia,
being Italian isn’t daunted by anything to do with cooking.
What I’m saying is we have all had to learn on the job. An early part of our training was being given
a cookery book, told to choose a recipe and get started. It is impossible to
sell a cooker based on how well it cooks, if you can’t cook on it yourself.
We have all made some spectacular mistakes on the AGA , so if you had an accident recently don’t be
embarrassed – you aren’t alone! The first day after we had moved shops I
thought to help make friends with the Divertimenti staff here at Marylebone it
would be prudent to make some biscuits. I used an old favourite (Lucy Young’s
Secret of AGA Cakes – Jazzy’s
Gingerbread Men), put them in the oven, then phone rung, a customer came in, 30
minutes later (and 20 minutes longer than the biscuits should be cooked for) I
opened the oven door, the biscuits were now charcoal and the shop filled with
the smell of burnt ginger. It wasn’t the best of introductions to either me, or
the AGA .
We have had a lot of practice and love to pass that
knowledge on to others, so in addition to our group classes, we do private ones. These tend to be similar to a beginner’s guide class
but can be arranged for any time and date to suit you. We can also tailor them
to pretty much any dietary requirements or tastes, so if you have any
allergies, want to know how to cook the perfect dhal, or can’t buy an AGA until you are sure you’ll be able to make a
quiche without the dreaded soggy bottom then just ask, between us all we’ve
cooked most things.
Giovanna and I had a class on Monday for a new owner who
couldn’t make one of our group classes before her AGA
goes in, she went away filled with enthusiasm and is looking forward to
installation day and no longer having to cook everything on a camping stove.
Here’s a photo of the rather marvellous quiche we made.
If you are interested in coming to a private class email
Jess or me on jess@agalondon.co.uk or rosie@agalondon.co.uk they cost £50 for
Monday - Friday during the day or £70 for and evening or weekend.
