Mount MasterChef

If you're anything like me and have been watching MasterChef Australia purely for the cooking techniques and are not interested in the drama that goes with it, then you can imagine how excited I was when I embarked on a master class of my own with a group of friends on the weekend, at the Tamborine Cooking School in the Gold Coast Hinterland.

We spent the perfect afternoon, slicing, mixing, segmenting, ravioli making and of course relaxing in qualified French chef Terri's gourmet kitchen as she shared with us her tricks of the trade in vegetarian Italian cuisine. Unlike other cooking classes in commercial kitchens, the homely, country-style property set overlooking the valley from picturesque Mount Tamborine made this lesson even more special, and allowed us to enjoy the tasting part with a glass of wine and great conversation.

One thing Terri taught us, that I have been waiting three years to see unfold on the telly, is the best way to finely chop an onion. As a self-confessed 'home cook' I tend to do things my way, or as best I can, but actually learning how to achieve this basic skill has changed my life forever! The food we prepared was delicious and matched to Witches Falls wines – another local treasure on the mountain. The stand outs for me were a cheeseless risotto (having been witness to greyish-blue goo in the past, this was a nifty trick), artichoke and olive tapenade (sans achovy equals yum) and for the first time in almost a decade, I took the plunge and tasted mushroom again, purely out of curiosity to sample our honey, rosemary and ricotta-stuffed funghi. And to polish off, homemade tiramisu! What's not to love?

Verdict: Amore!

Tamborine Cooking School. 690 Main Western Road (South), Mount Tamborine.