Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/380554
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2014 37 THIS WEEK Freshly minted cooks show off their produce to the masses MASQUERADE Theatre & Arts School is synonymous with out- standing performing arts train- ing and performance. Everyone knows someone who has been touched by Masquerade, whether as an audience member or active class participant. Yet Masquerade, at 17, has a maturity far beyond its teenage years. This ever-growing organisation has maintained its commitment to 'quality' and stu- dent care. The opening of M Space has ce- mented Masquerade's position, at the forefront of the Arts, in Malta. Masquerade truly does of- fer something for everyone. For younger students (ages 3-4/5-6/7-9 years) there are classes in drama, dance and singing. For those who want to enjoy movement and de- velop their dance skills there are a wide range of classes: ballet, jazz, spanish, commercial, break-dance and hip-hop. There is also the op- portunity to learn an instrument with tuition in guitar and drums. You can also join Masquerade's rock choir or martial arts class. For older children the fun contin- ues. There are classes in all of the above disciplines but one can also try contemporary dance, 'Dance- Fit' kick boxing, Tai Chi and 'power Yoga'. For adults (including those aged over 16), there are classes in all of the above, along with Mas- querade's outstanding two-year Musical Theatre course. There is also the opportunity for participants' achievements to be recognised on the wide range of Speech and Drama Exams (Trin- ity College London). Masquerade has a substantial success rate with Trinity examinations and there are levels available for all abilities. In addition there are frequent 'one-off ' projects and guest residen- cies by theatre practitioners and performance teachers from all over the world. For more information log on to ht- tp://www.masquerademalta.com/ IN an effort to promote Maltese food culture, the Valletta 2018 Foundation has embarked on a project that will see a motley crew of 20 freshly trained cooks serving their own street food creations to thousands of people at the upcom- ing edition of Notte Bianca. The project, dubbed L-Ikla t-tajba (Bon Apetit), kicked off earlier this summer with an intensive course in professional and creative cooking for a group of amateur cooks rang- ing from 13 to 55 in age. Working closely with a number of social and philanthropic organisations, Val- letta 2018 made sure that the course would include people coming from all walks of life – some privileged, others less. "Towards the end of the course, every participant was tasked with contributing to the project by cre- ating a street food recipe featuring a prized local ingredient," David Darmanin, the consulting chef be- hind the project, told MaltaToday. "Only eight dishes made it to the final shortlisting, but the rest of the participants worked very hard to fine-tune the chosen recipes – so everyone chipped in. Albeit under constant professional guidance, the team – mostly made up of teenagers – worked with a remarkable team ethic, and this will surely come out in the final results on 4 October." At Notte Bianca, the area in front of the Stock Exchange in Castille Square is set to transform into a giant pop-up kitchen, where sig- nature dishes with a marked local character will be offered to an esti- mated 20,000 passers-by. Through- out service, the course participants will be under the constant guidance of Darmanin and his international team of chefs. Recipes include tongue-in-cheek renditions of foreign inspired dish- es favoured by many a Maltese. "To mark Malta's 50th anniver- sary since independence, one of the teenaged participants came up with a Cornish Pasty stuffed with tradi- tional rabbit stew. That's just bril- liant, even from a purely expressive aspect," Darmanin remarked. "Not to mention a participant of Philip- pine origin who invented the lam- puki-stuffed spring rolls to go with a sticky tomato-caper sauce." Three of the vegetarians partici- pating in the project have created a vegan burger with local farm veg- etables, an almond-base tart with Girgentina grape jam and a con- temporary local rendition of the Tunisian version of Imqaret. The professional culinary team guiding the participants includes two alumns from Copenhagen's Restaurant Noma, the five-time winner of the World's Best Restau- rant. "We're going for simple stuff done well, thoughtfully and with love – which is ultimately the basis of all fine cuisine," he concluded. MASQUERADE SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Experience DANCE DRAMA SINGING MUSIC GROUP / INDIVIDUAL TUITION FROM 3 YEARS TO ADULTS M S P A C E T. 7979 3737 / 2124 6619 E. INFO@MASQUERADEMALTA.COM MASQUER ADEMALTA .COM Facebook.com/MasqueradeMalta Masquerade at 17