Chef Hire Atelier

Remember the good old days when cooking consisted of some grilled steak with three different veggies on the side? Well not taking anything away from those simplistic times (hey, I love a good steak dinner still), these days more and more menus around town are featuring buzz words like sous vide, foam, pearls and a long list of others. So having the opportunity to learn some of these restaurant modern cooking techniques recently at Chefhire Atelier in East Perth, I was eager to soak in all the knowledge.

I received an invite to a cooking class at Chefhire Atelier. Being a foodie and cooking a lot I was more than happy to accept the invite, particularly looking at the menu we were to prepare as well as to see how some of the chefy equipment is used in preparing the dishes:Starter: Sous vide smoked salmon, asparagus espumaMain: Spherified gnocchi, cyrofiltered tomato brothDessert: Green tea sponge, chocolate ravioli, coffee foamThis class covers the use of some modern equipment such as sous vide bath, thermal circulators, foam guns and a few interesting techniques such as spherification and some different types of foam.Bradley Backhouse is the executive chef and owner of ChefHire and ChefHire Atelier. They operate a range of cooking classes, hire out chefs and other hospitality staff for events and the like. As ChefHire offer staff for training, they’re always on the lookout for experienced staff. However, even if you’re looking to begin or switch careers into the world of food, they also train apprentices and trainees in working in the kitchen and in a hospitality environment.It’s been an excellent night and lots of fun. A big thanks to Brad and Han for their assistance in the kitchen, and for the invite to experience this cooking class. The food was delicious too, special mention to the amazing sous vide salmon and sous vide egg with an absolutely fantastic asparagus foam.

New on the scene and the friendly team are trying very hard! There's been a range of Scoopons and Groupons available for here for cooking classes and take-home meals. There's also Chefs for hire (hence the name). Classes took place out the back and were good fun. The cafe is well designed for the small space and although the menu is pricey (restaurant prices), there's also cabinet fare that are regular CBD cafe prices (quiche, range of rolls, muffins, etc). I liked the Groupon for 7 x meals and think they could do well providing "busy people food" for the surrounding apartment blocks (but it would be better fresh than frozen). It would give them a point of difference to the other surrounding cafes - grab something for lunch and something for dinner too. It will be interesting to see how this place develops.

The food and coffee here is amazing. It doesn't look out from the front but I cannot recommend highly enough. Had the salmon roll and the bread is some of the best I've ever had. The person next to us had a more substantial meal and it also looked great, we will be back to try more. Staff are very professional and prices reasonable. Toby's estate coffee made well too.