Gourmet Portrait of Inga Allen - Les Laboratoires Culinaires

Hello Inga, how are you on this cool day? We are delighted to welcome you to the blog! Inga: I'm doing great. Thank you very much for the invitation. I'm delighted to share this moment with you. Creator of Laboratoires Culinaires, a cooking school in Cortaillod, near Neuchâtel, could you tell us a bit about how you came to found your own school? Inga: I am passionate about cooking. My passion for cooking was passed down to me by my mother, who spent hours in the kitchen to please her family. From a very young age, I practiced... experimented... did all sorts of experiments and refined recipes to build my style and culinary identity. In 2016, I wanted to go further and learn from chefs (and even great Michelin-starred chefs, while I was at it : )). So, you could say I also founded it out of selfishness ; ) And what exactly does this unconventional school consist of? Inga: Les laboratoires culinaires is a school for food lovers, entirely dedicated to gastronomic exploration, with the aim of raising awareness about preparing local and seasonal foods. It's a unique opportunity to work with chefs, including renowned Michelin-starred chefs, in small groups. We're not talking about culinary demonstrations here (i.e. watching chefs comment on their recipes), but rather about jointly developing dishes. The chefs share their love of cooking and transmit their knowledge to amateurs. Switzerland and its excellent products, is that as important for Laboratoires Culinaires as it is for Agathe? Inga: My mission is to enhance the value of raw and healthy food by being original and offering solutions to limit waste, with a view to sustainable development and environmentally friendly consumption. We hear a lot about carbon footprints and saving our planet's resources. On our scale, there is already a way to act: reconsidering our consumption. Buying local and seasonal products is one such way, accessible to everyone. Using products from A to Z, for example, by using scraps to make broths or one vegetable to prepare sweet and savoury dishes, is another. We got to know each other because you tested our savoury tartlet shells for some appetizing creations... but what are your favourite Agathe biscuits? Inga: Ah! That's an easy question: the Carameuhles :) A super cook means super recipes! And our little finger tells us you've prepared two exclusive recipes for our readers – what a treat, thank you so much! Our mouths are watering already... so get cooking and let's enjoy your delights! Recipes:

Mini beetroot hummus tartlets For about 50 mini tartlets Ingredients: 1 ½ cans of chickpeas 200g cooked beetroot 30g sesame seeds 60ml lemon juice 1 clove garlic 1 ½ tsp cumin Olive oil Chili oil from Les Laboratoires Culinaires Salt, pepper Recipe preparation: 1. Drain ½ can of chickpeas. 2. From the second can, you can remove a little liquid and set it aside (you will add it in case the hummus is too thick). 3. Put all ingredients in the blender and mix until creamy. 4. Adjust thickness with remaining chickpea liquid, if necessary. 5. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and chili oil, depending on the desired level of spice. 6. Serve in savoury tartlet shells with a few black sesame seeds. Enjoy your meal! Mini smoked trout rillettes with sesame tartlets For 12 mini tartlets Ingredients: 100g hot-smoked trout 10g Savora mustard 10g olive oil 10g chives 10g sesame seeds 10g sesame oil Lemon Pepper Recipe preparation: 1. Crumble the smoked trout. 2. Finely chop the chives. 3. Add all ingredients. 4. Adjust all seasonings. 5. Serve in savoury tartlet shells with microgreens. Enjoy your meal!