Anna Olsen is inspired by Asian Food

It is 11.30am on a sunny Tuesday morning and I am hovering over a hot stove, staring intently at the bubbling contents inside – a medley of rice, coconut milk and shrimp. I have never cooked a risotto before and have been paired with three other girls who – as luck would have it – have also never cooked the dish before. We are using a combination of common sense and our wits to forge ahead, but anxiety is still omnipresent in the kitchen. Then, like a ray of sunshine, Canadian celebrity chef Anna Olson walks by, a wide, disarming smile adorning her face. “Ooh, that looks lovely. You guys are doing a fantastic job,” she says. Instantly, spirits lift and we all do an internal high five. It isn’t every day you get a chef, much less a celebrity chef, all to yourself for a masterclass and if she says you’re doing a good job, well, don’t change anything you’re doing! “This isn’t so difficult after all,” I think to myself as I ladle out hot, heaping spoonfuls of the finished risotto and marvel at the fact that this velvety soft, delicious dish has been made from scratch by culinary neophytes.