Our first khachapuri masterclass

On Wednesday evening we ran our first khachapuri masterclass, and we are still thinking about it.

Masha had the table laid before anyone arrived. Flour, the little coloured bowls, a jug of whey, and a recipe card at every place. Then people started coming down the stairs, and we put a glass of wine in their hands as they took their coats off.

They made the dough with our whey

We make our own cheese, and cheesemaking leaves you with whey. Most kitchens pour it away. It went into the dough instead, and that was the first thing that piqued our guests interest: the liquid that makes a khachapuri dough soft and fluffy is what is left over from making the cheese that ends up inside it.

Everyone made their own, by hand. Then it went into a tub to take home, because dough rise needs hours; it does not need an audience for that.

Then Masha handed out the dough we had ready

Proved that morning in the shop, so nobody spent their evening waiting on a warm cupboard. That was when the room changed.

Shaping a khachapuri is done with your fingers, and once everybody's hands were busy the talking started. Masha went round the table, rolling an edge here, pressing the cheese there, showing how to keep the base from tearing, and answering everyone's questions.

And then it turned into a supra

The boats came out golden with the yolk sitting bright in the middle. A supra is the Georgian table. Long, unhurried, generous, and never really about the food so much as what happens around it. Our guests bonded and enjoyed each other's company like family.

Everyone went home with their own dough, a bag of our cheese, and enough of Masha's technique to make the whole thing again the next day in their own oven. That last part mattered to us. You should not have to make your own cheese to make a khachapuri worth eating, so what she taught works with cheese from a shop, and the whey is there for anyone who wants to take it further.

Come and sit at the table

If that sounds like your kind of evening, the next masterclass will be up on our events page. The table only seats so many, so places go quickly.

Join our mailing list and we will let you know the moment a new date goes up, with first refusal on tickets before they are announced anywhere else.