Two Kitchens Brussels – The Cooking Class & Supper Club among friends

2 May 20192 May 2019 Kaja Hengstenberg

Kaja Hengstenberg

Sophia and Kaja met for the first time last July and quickly bonded over their common passion: food. Good, interesting ingredients and dishes that have something particular and exciting, is what interests both of them. Sophia is more of a baker, Kaja is more of a cook and together they complement each other perfectly.

The classes take place in the dining room of Sophia’s apartment in Ixelles either on a weeknight or during the weekend. Everyone is welcomed with a seasonal drink – be it a quince Bellini, a Mezcal and fresh grapefruit cocktail or a glass of Prosecco with blood orange syrup and rosemary. After a short meet and greet the class begins and Kaja and Sophia introduce everyone to the evening’s dishes and talk about unusual or special ingredients.

After participating in the preparation of the dinner (usually 4-courses) everyone sits down to eat, chat and enjoy some glasses of wine. There’s always ‘a twist’ to the food served. Be it a sumac and preserved lemon butter, a whole orange cake with cardamom cream, slow-cooked short ribs glazed in Korean gochujang paste, or buttermilk pancakes with miso butter. Both ladies have lived in and travelled different parts of the world, which is where the inspiration for their dishes comes from. In total, the evening typically lasts about 2.5 hours.

Kaja and Sophia find it important to use good-quality ingredients only, and to use local and seasonal produce as far as possible. They want to cook something that people will like and that will hopefully inspire them to also prepare the dishes at home after the class. “We are happiest when people leave with a smile, a full belly and maybe also a new friend by their side”, they say. After all, the Supperclubs & Cooking Classes are also a great opportunity to meet new people, mingle and to talk about food, life and everything in between.

The most recent Two Kitchens Brussels event was ‘The Brunch Edition’ on 16 & 17 March, featuring a large range of sweet as well as savoury dishes such as banana bread with Tahini frosting, turmeric and cardamom granola made with puffed quinoa, toasted Zucchini bread with grilled halloumi, chipotle sour cream and tomato jam, and BLT sandwiches with gochujang and maple glazed bacon.

The Spring Edition on 6 April and 26 April, is their next event. Participants will learn how to make Ricotta Gnocchi as well as spring Fattoush (a Middle Eastern salad with fried flatbread croutons, which Kaja and Sophia will be giving a twist) and homemade tarragon butter with roasted sunflower seeds. During the Nordic Summer Edition on 14 and 18 May, the two will prepare gravadlax and other dishes that recall a Swedish or Norwegian summer – as always with a little twist.