A fabulous Coffee and a Welsh Rarebit Cooking Demo by renowned Chef Graham Tinsley at the Crowne Plaza Muscat

A gorgeous February morning, a fabulous location overlooking the Gulf Of Oman, inviting blue seas, delicious finger foods and beverages. 

Add to it, a whole lot of fun and the stage was set for a very interesting WGO Coffee morning cum cooking demonstration by visiting Chef Graham Tinsley MBE  who created some 'culinary waves' as the ladies had a great time learning, tasting, catching up with old friends and making some new ones at the Crowne Plaza Muscat this morning. 

Chef Graham Tinsley is all smiles as he hands out some bite sized delights 

 Chef Graham was born in St Helens, Lancashire and began his career in catering at the Midland Hotel in Manchester under the guidance of renowned Chef Gilbert Lefevre. In July 2000, he went in to partnership to buy the Castle Hotel in the ancient North Wales coastal castle town of Conwy. In addition to being awarded an MBE during the Queen’s 80th birthday celebrations in 2006 for his services to the Food Industry , Chef Graham has had numerous opportunities of cooking for Royalty as well as the Emperor of Japan and European Heads of State at Cardiff Castle.

The fabulous location overlooking the Gulf Of Oman

Starting with a taste of a delicious sweet and freshly baked bread

Chef Graham Tinsley all set for the Welsh rarebit demonstration

Welsh rarebit, perhaps the most famous dish of Welsh dishes and is made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients and served hot, after being poured over slices of toasted bread. Alternately, the hot cheese sauce may be served in a chafing dish like a fondue accompanied by sliced, toasted bread.It is interesting to note that the name of the dish originates from 18th-century Great Britain. 

Answering all our queries patiently


It was a pleasure watching Chef Graham prepare the welsh rarebit and what the ladies enjoyed most was the 'cheese tasting' bit. He had brought a very wide range of cheese from the UK with him and we had the opportunity to sample some 'first time treats' such as onion and ginger based cheese.

Once the rarebit was made, Chef Graham put it on some sliced bread and sent it to the kitchen so that it could be glazed for that final finished look.

I enjoyed the demonstration thoroughly and came back and looked up a few other sites so that I could learn more about this dish. For those of you who may be interested in trying it out for yourselves. 

1. Here is a recipe I've got from www.welshholidaycottages.com

Ingredients

• 225 g grated, strong cheese such as Cheddar or Cheshire
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 level teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons flour
• Shake of pepper
• 4 tablespoons beer-preferably , Guinness or milk (Guinness gives a stronger flavour)
• 4 slices bread toasted on 1 side only
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Method 

1. Put the cheese, butter, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, flour and pepper into a saucepan.
2. Mix well and then add the beer, Guinness or milk to moisten. Ensure its not too wet.
3. Stir over a gentle heat until all is melted, and when it is a thick paste, stop stirring, and swivel it around the saucepan, which it will do quite easily.
4. Leave to cool a little, and meanwhile toast the bread on one side only.
5. Spread the rarebit over the untoasted side and brown under a hot grill.
6. This mixture can be made and kept in the refrigerator for several days if required. 
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Memories are truly made of moments like these 

Gorgeous flower beds  that add to the ambience 

A taste of some delicious cheese- this is a ginger flavoured cheddar 

Coffee, cakes and bites 

Memories are truly, truly made of days and moments like these.