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The Secrets of Saffron Demonstration

Name: The Secrets of Saffron Demonstration
Brand: Attar Apothecary
Price: 45.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

with Attar Apothecary

£45

Friday 11th
September 2026

18:00-20:00
(2hrs)

Divertimenti
Knightsbridge

Discover the extraordinary world of saffron in this inspiring cooking demonstration with Laila Ahsan, founder of Attar Apothecary, specialists in single-origin saffron, and chef and food writer Marianna Farag. Often called "red gold," saffron has captivated cooks, traders and cultures for thousands of years. With its unique scent and colour, this spice has been prized through the ages both for culinary and medicinal uses. Saffron is used in many global cuisines, and is often incorporated into special feasts. Through a carefully curated plant-based menu, you'll explore its remarkable flavour, aroma and versatility while uncovering the fascinating stories behind the world's most precious spice. You'll also learn how to identify high-quality saffron, bloom it correctly and confidently incorporate it into your own cooking.

Together, Laila and Marianna will demonstrate how to select real saffron, and how it is best used to elevate your food and drinks. The key to unlocking this spice's full potential and enjoying it on a budget will be explained, giving inspiration to cooks of all levels to make delicious dishes.  

Menu:

Dish 1: Saffron rice the Iranian way  
Dish 2: Cauliflower with a fragrant coconut, pistachio, cardamom and saffron sauce
Dish 3: Roasted courgette with tomato, walnut & saffron
Bonus: Saffron-Lemon Tahini, a versatile dressing

What's included:

Opportunity to purchase Attar Apothecary’s single origin saffron on the day and Marianna Farag’s debut cookbook ‘Food Curious’
Refreshments on arrival
Light dinner consisting of tasters from all of the demonstrated recipes with a glass saffron lemonade to accompany

Marianna Farag
Marianna Farag is a Franco-Egyptian-Syrian chef, food writer and culinary storyteller. A former restaurateur and author of Food Curious, she creates immersive dining experiences and cookery classes inspired by the histories, traditions and cultural exchanges that shape our food. Her work invites people to look beyond recipes and discover the stories behind every ingredient.

Attar Apothecary
Attar Apothecary works with saffron farmers in the heartland of saffron production in Iran. The ancient region of Khorasan has long been known for its cultivation of this fragrant spice, and to this day Iran produces 90% of the world's saffron. The labour intensive production of this spice is reflected in its reputation as the most expensive spice in the world. Attar Apothecary is a purveyor of high quality, fair trade saffron that is organically grown using ancient methods to preserve ecosystems.

You will be learning in a beautifully designed kitchen which provides a warm welcoming environment that can accommodate everything from group cookery classes to intimate chef’s tables, with the versatility to suit everyone.

Our partners have been chosen with great care, as all our equipment must stand up to the day-to-day rigours of our cookery school – much like a professional kitchen, that you can enjoy using whilst creating your own amazing dishes in class to give you the best possible experience when cooking with us.

Our classes and outstanding range of teachers will help you hone your gastronomic skills, even if you are a complete novice or a dab hand in the kitchen. We love highlighting new upcoming food trends and championing the rising stars within the culinary world.

Divertimenti does everything it can to reduce the risk of any students consuming an allergen that could cause and allergic reaction.

Please call the school to discuss any severe food allergies prior to booking a class online, we must speak to you before you visit the school if you have a severe allergy or severe dietary intolerance.

We will become as flexible as possible, where we can to remove a specific ingredient from a student’s recipe we will but we are unable to remove that ingredient for every student attending.

We handle all types of ingredients in the kitchen at Divertimenti and we are not able to completely allergen free environment, our kitchen is multi-purpose therefore this makes our kitchen unsuitable for those with life- threatening allergies, in such cases as these we would suggest getting in touch with the team to arrange a private lesson in your own home with one of our chefs. Please contact us for more information

In the unlikely event you are unable to the class you have booked for and need to cancel your booking, for a full refund we will require your cancellation via email no less than 7 days.

Once we have received your cancellation, we will arrange a booking onto an alternative class date or a full refund, sadly we are unable to make changes to bookings or offer a refund with less than 7 days of the date of your class but we are happy to switch the names on the booking so a family member or friend can take the place.

Divertimenti reserves the right to cancel any demonstration or class or substitute another presenter at any time, in the unfortunate event that a ‘Personality’ present or chef cannot attend a session you will be offered the choice of an appropriate alternative or a full refund.

Attendees must be aged over 18 to attend an adult class - we have a list of suitable young adult and teenage classes suitable for under 18’s – they must be accompanied by an adult.