OLFACTORY & CULINARY WORKSHOPS

The following are the classes and workshops offered at Ayala Moriel Parfums studio during the next few months. There are no pre-requisites for attending these workshops, but we do recommend you register for the class as early as possible, as the number of spots is very limited (we only take 6 students for the practical workshops, and up to 10 for "theoretical" workshops such as lectures and olfactory presentations).
Thursday, August 9th

Calendar of Workshops and Olfactory Events at Ayala Moriel Parfums Studio

The following is our workshop calender. You may also book a workshop just for you and a small group of friends (up to 10). More details on available workshops can be found below.

Sunday, November 11th, 1:00-3:00pm

Rememberance Day - No Classes

Thursday, November 15, 6:00-9:00pm

AROMATIC COOKING with FRESH HERBS, SPICES & FLORAL ESSENCES

Sunday, November 18th, 1:00-3:00pm

Candle Making Workshop

Wednesday, November 21st, 6:30-8:30pm

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES WORKSHOP

Thursday, November 22, 6:00-9:00pm

INNER WISDOM OUTER BEAUTY: BEAUTIFICATION AND BODY CARE WITH NATURAL AROMATICS

Sunday, November 26th, 11:30-6:00pm

Portobello West - No workshops

Thursday, November 29th, 6:30-8:30pm

Stunning Stationary: Scented paper and Greeting Cards

Sunday, December 2nd, 12:00-3:00pm

Crème Parfum workshop

Sunday, December 2nd, 3:00-6:00pm

The Art of Incense

Thursday, December 6th, 6:30-8:30pm

Stunning Stationary: Scented paper and Greeting Cards

Sunday, December 9th, 1:00-3:00pm

Crème Parfum workshop

Thursday, December 13th, 6:30-8:30pm

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES WORKSHOP - for last minute gift-making!!!

Sunday, December 16th, 11:30-6:00pm

Portobello West - No workshops -last minute holiday shopping ;)

Thursday, December 20th

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES WORKSHOP - for last minute gift-making!!!

Workshops Details

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES WORKSHOP

Learn how to make scented chocolate truffles with fine chocolate base and precious floral essences. We will be making two types of truffles (white or milk based, and dark chocolate base), and you will be taking them home with you to share with loved ones (or not…).
How much: $40 per person including materials (limited to 6 people)

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Crème Parfum workshop

Learn how to design and create your own personal perfume from precious botanical essences. By the end of the workshop, you will have made a perfume to take with you. We will provide simple jars as basic packaging, but fancy silver compacts or porcelain pillboxes from the perfumer’s collection will be available for purchasing, for those who wish to add an extra visual and tactile touch to their first olfactory creation!
How much: $75 per person incudling materials (limited to 6 people)

THE ART OF PERFUMED CANDLEMAKING

Join our guest instructor Nikki Sheritt, an artisan candle maker of Seattle-based Gabriel's Aunt, for an afternoon of candle-making. You will learn how to make beautifully fragrant soy candles using essential oils and natural vegetable waxes. You'll be guided step-by-step in the process of blending the essences, moulding and crafting a high-quality, clean-burning candle. By the end of the class, you will take with you a specially scented candle, beautifully packaged and gift wrapped - ready to go under the tree!
Date: Sunday, November 18th, 1:00-3:00pm
How much: $45 including materials

THE ART OF INCENSE

Learn about the origins of incense and create your own incense blend using precious resins, gums, woods, spices and herbs. We will pulverize, grind and mix together raw materials that were used in incense makig since antiquity. After experiencing first hand the sensual aromatic process of incense making you may never look at incense the same way again...
How much: $35 per person incudling materials (limited to 6 people)

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ICE CREAM WITH FLORAL WATERS

Learn how to make ice cream from scratch, using top quality fresh ingredients and original, all-natural flavourings such as hydrosols and resins traditionally used in Middle Eastern desserts.
This class is also open to children ages 4 and up, when accompanied with a parent.

How Much: $25/adult, $5/child

Chocolate Truffles with Kids

Learn how to make scented chocolate truffles with fine chocolate base and delicious botanical essences. We will be making two types of children's favourite truffles (white and milk), and you will be taking them home with you to share with siblings and friends (or not…).

How much: $25/adult $5/child
*This class is also open to children ages 3 and up, when accompanied with a parent.

LIP BALMS with Kids

Create your own delicious lip balm for soft glossy lips! Making lip balm is fun and easy, and a great way to engage young children in the process.

How much: $25/adult $5/child
*This class is also open to children ages 3 and up, when accompanied with a parent.

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SCENTED BODY PRODUCTS PART I: BATH SALTS & MASSAGE OILS

Making your own bath and body products is fun and easy. You’ll be using high quality, readily available ingredients to make your own, custom-scented bath salts and massage oils.

How much: $45 person including materials (limited to 6 people)

SCENTED BODY PRODUCTS PART II: SUGAR SCRUBS

Making your own bath and body products is fun and easy. You’ll be using high quality, readily available ingredients to make your own, custom-scented sugar scrubs.

How much: $45 per person incudling materials (limited to 6 people)

SCENTED BODY PRODUCTS PART III: BODY BUTTERS

Making your own bath and body products is fun and easy. You’ll be using high quality, readily available ingredients to make your own, custom-scented body butters.

How much: $45 per person incudling materials (limited to 6 people)

Introduction to Natural Perfumery

This class is an interactive introduction to the art of natural perfumery. You will learn about how perfume is constructed, and will get exposed to the thinking process of a perfumer. You will learn how to sniff like a “Nose” and evaluate beautiful and strange essences from around the world, and smell how they were incorporated in some of Ayala Moriel’s perfume creations.

How much: $25 per person

DIY Booze

Learn how to make your own fine liquors from readily available aromatics and spirits.
In this class we will make homemade Limoncello, a classic for the summer!

How much: $25 per person (Including materials)

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Powders and Sachets

Create all-natural sachets, scented powders and potpourri based on vintage recipes from the turn of the century. The finished products make a perfect gift and will inspire you to do more at home.

How much: $45 per person (Including materials)

Stunning Stationary: Scented paper and Greeting Cards

Make your own beautifuly scented stationary and greeting cards. We will be using handcrafted paper and blank greeting cards and botanical elements to create stunning stationary - both visually and olfactory-wise. The stationary can be used as holiday greeting cards, or as a gift with a personal touch.

How much: $40 per person (including materials)

Aromatic Cooking with Fresh Herbs, Spices & Floral Essences

"We cook and complain that it's a waste of time, when we should be pouring our love into making that food" (Paulo Coelho, "The Witch of Portobello")

Join Ayala for a fabulous evening of aromatic cooking- using fresh herbs, freshly ground spices, floral waters and essential oils - in both savory and sweet dishes. Your will be given a collection of recipes to try at home, and receive guidelines for aromatic cooking. As an inspiration, we will be preparing a seasonal feast together (which we will enjoy at the end of the class, of course!) including an appetizer, a main course, a dessert and beverages to accompany the meal. I hope that by the end of the class you will feel inspired to use your own aromatic culinary creations at home and feel encouraged to express your creativity in the kitchen, using the best quality aromatics you can source.

In each cooking workshop, no matter the season, will give some basic guidelines and recipes for:

Preparing from scratch your own ground spice mixtures and pastes (such as curries, garam masalas, etc.).

Using fresh herbs in savory dishes, dips, condiments and pickles.

Preparing your own salad dressings and marinades using essential oils and/or fresh herbs.

Using exotic spices and/or essential oils in desserts and baked goods.

Concocting specialty teas and beverages - chilled or warm, depending on the seasons.

How much: $55 including materials (space limited to 6 students).

Dolomates Dinner
Learn how to make Stuffed Grapevine Leaves and than join the feast of Dolomates and other delicious appetizers from the Mediterranean region!
How much: $45 per person

Yesterday night was the first "Intro to Natural Perfumery" presentation at my studio. We went through the materials used in natural perfumery, how they are in their raw state (with some samples as pictured above), how their essences are extracted, and how the essences are than being put together to make a perfume.

We went through some representative building blocks from most groups (i.e.: citrus, herbal, floral, earthy, animalic, woody, spicy, etc.) and also talked about the fragrance pyramid (top notes, heart notes and base notes).

We concluded the presentation with a breakdown of one of my perfumes, ArbitRary. I pulled apart the notes that make it, and we smelled them together on blotter stripes, pulling apart the horizontal accords and vertical accords, and than smelling them all together and comparing them to the finished perfume.

We had a full house of 6 participants, which gives everybody just enough time to sniff the essences and ask questions and so on. I try to make my presentations as "hands-on" and interacntive as possible. I think it's more interesting this way than just listen to someone talk for two hours :)
It was fun for both myself and the participants, and I am looking forward to more presentations like this one in the future!

Next Thursday (June 21st) will be a Limoncello making workshop (an Italian lemon liquor), and the last workshop this month will be a solid perfume making workshop. We only have space for 6 people in each workshop, and spaces are filling up fast - so make sure you reserve your spot now if you'd like to participate!

A full calendar of workshops will be posted here (as well as on my website) shortly. Also, starting July, I will be offering the Foundations of Natural Perfumery course - a basic course of 8 sessions for all those who want to learn how to make perfumes on their own. In the fall, I will be also offering more courses on the topic, starting with beginner level and working up to intermediate level Natural Perfumery. Classes will be offered on Mondays and Thursdays, with some one-on-one sessions and possibly weekend sessions as well.

The star of the show in Aftelier's Orchid is orange blossom, masked by a contrasting olfactory context to reveal an imaginary fragrance of an exotic orchid hidden in the midst of a tropical swamp. The flowers are floating above musty jungle-dust of toxic purple mushrooms and thick marsh water that is bubbling with silent life and violent decay. The euphoric and intoxicating fragrance lures us through the deadly water to find out more about its mysterious source and become illuminated by its beauty.

There is no true orchid essential oil (except for vanilla, of course, which is produced from the fermented pods of the vanilla orchid). In fact, orchids have a long history in perfumery of being "faked” by the perfumer using what is often referred to as a "compound" - an array of natural essences and synthetic molecule to portray either an imaginary scent or to replicate a scent in nature that cannot be distilled from the original plant or flower.

Mandy Aftel, one of the pioneers of Natural Perfumery, does it with her Orchid solid perfume. While I can't say that this scent reminds me of any particular orchid I’ve ever smelled - I can attest to the originality and imagination that shines in this perfume.

In Orchid, Mandy Aftel artfully paired the sunny, cheerful and spring-like floral note of orange flower absolute with the mysterious and deep aroma of shiso leaves. Shiso (aka Perilla) is a Japanese herb used to flavour meats, soba noodles and sushi. It has a strange and unique scent - warm, herbal and powdery all at once, green and with a slightly cumin-like undertone. The result is stunning and unusual. The base is a subtle sweet vanilla. The only problem I have with this scent is that it doesn't last on my skin for as long as I’d like it to; yet the immense pleasure of dipping my fingers in the elegant silver compact makes up for that, and exemplifies Mandy’s infectious passion for solid perfumes.

Images from the film Adoptation, courtesy of IMDB.com.