The Big Salad Edit

About this workshop

A fast, funny and very hands-on introduction to building a main-course salad with real structure: a confident base, a dressing that actually clings, something crunchy, something creamy and a finish that looks like you meant it.

Most salads fail in the same quiet ways: the leaves are wet, the dressing slides off, everything is the same texture. The Big Salad Edit fixes all three in ninety minutes. You will work at your own station, building one large sharing salad from the ground up, with a chef-tutor tasting alongside you and nudging seasoning one pinch at a time.

We start with the base — how to wash, dry, tear and chill leaves so they stay crisp — then move to a warm element (charred, roasted or griddled), a creamy element, and a sharp, bright dressing you whisk by hand. The last twenty minutes are all about assembly and presentation: where the big pieces go, how to season in layers and when to add the crunch.

You leave with a plated salad to eat at the table with the group, a one-page dressing ratio guide and enough technique to improvise next time the fridge looks unpromising.

On the menu

1. Charred broccoli with whipped feta and hot honey hazelnuts
2. Torn-leaf salad with burnt-orange and mustard vinaigrette
3. Quick-pickled red onions and a crunchy seed crumb

Techniques you’ll learn

• Washing, drying and crisping leaves properly
• Charring and roasting vegetables for depth
• The 3-2-1 dressing ratio and how to bend it
• Seasoning in layers rather than at the end
• Building a salad with height, contrast and colour

How the session runs

1. 0:00Welcome, aprons on, tasting a good and a poor dressing side by side
2. 0:15Leaves, base building and the char-and-roast station
3. 0:40Whisking dressings by hand and adjusting by taste
4. 1:00Assembly and plating for a sharing platter
5. 1:20Sit down, eat, swap notes and take your recipe cards

Timings are a guide and flex with the group.