Learn and love

Shaken or stirred? It turns out James Bond made an elementary mistake when he ordered his martini shaken.

"If you shake a gin martini, it will bruise the spirit and turn it from clear to cloudy," Sensology's brand ambassador James Wynn- Williams said. "For that reason we always stir our gin martinis and recommend Bombay Sapphire.

"Shake a vodka martini and you will get more ice shards in your drink, resulting in a slightly more diluted cocktail."

National brand Sensology will bring together some of Australia's best bartenders for Taste of Perth to help festival-goers take their drinks skills to a whole new level in a series of 15-minute cocktail- making classes with step-by-step tips on making the perfect tipple. Participants can choose one of the following: Bacardi Mojito, Pina Colada and Daiquiri, Whisky Sour, Grey Goose Espresso Martini and Bombay Aviation. Each costs 12 Crowns ($12).

Mr Wynn-Williams said the espresso martini, in this instance, would be shaken hard. Maybe Bond was on to something, after all?

"Shaking the Grey Goose vodka with espresso coffee results in a smooth and creamy drink with a rich crema on top - the perfect bed for our three-coffee-bean garnish as a toast to health, wealth and happiness," he said.

Participants will get to enjoy their cocktail with classmates or take it out into the festival to sip with food.

"The classes are really fun and delivered with lots of energy, music and corny jokes," he said. "We want to demystify the art of cocktail making and address some misconceptions for people who love to entertain friends and family in their own home. The most important thing to remember is that a great drink is the sum of its parts, so measure out the ingredients.

"Get this part right and you're 90 per cent there. The other 10 per cent comes from plenty of quality ice - nothing too sloppy or you'll water your drink down - and quality ingredients, including fruit, juices and spirit."

Short on gadgets? No problem, it seems.

"For starters, just about any piece of cocktail equipment can be substituted with a common kitchen item we guarantee you'll have at home," he said. "Need a cocktail shaker? Use a jar or protein shaker. How about a muddler? You can always use the back of a wooden spoon to muddle your fruit to extract the juices."

It's the interactive activities that set Taste festivals apart, allowing people to hone their skills in the kitchen and behind the bar while enjoying Perth's best food and drinks. MasterChef baking whiz Julia Taylor will run a series of Weave Your Magic butter classes (8 Crowns/$8) at the Lurpak Cookery School, which wowed the crowds at Taste of Melbourne and Sydney.

Learn to make minute steak with herbed butter or ravioli with salmon in a nut-brown butter sauce and, everyone's favourite, salted caramel. "We designed these recipes because they each demonstrate a basic cooking technique - and one that is often misunderstood," Taylor said. "With sauces like beurre noisette (nut-brown butter), home cooks often add the other ingredients too early or too late, either stopping the butter's cooking process before the flavours have developed or burning the butter."

Salted caramel is made with unsalted butter, so salt can be added to taste. Lurpak senior brand manager Charlotte Buswell said every participant would get their own work station, then get to eat their creations.