The takeaway container was made for me. Correction: it was made for my fridge, which is filled with half-eaten Thai curries, nibbled sushi and wilting salads. I have an army of people who cook for me and most of them are on speed dial. So I'm sent on a mission by WH: to take part in a one-day Greekalicious cooking class in Sydney.

LESSON ONE: gobble as you go
The Greekalicious premise is simple: cook together, learn together, eat together. Greek-Australian chef Maria Benardis will teach me (good luck!) and 11 others the secrets of a perfect spanakopita (spinach and feta pie), lahanodolmades (cabbage rolls), avgolemono (egg and lemon sauce) and a honeyed kataifi pastry nest.

We sit in rows in front of a kitchen complete with a tilted hanging mirror, as though we're med students watching the slicing of a cadaver. Maria calls on volunteers as she demonstrates how to make the dishes before we all head into the kitchen. I try to hide since I've only ever used knives to open cardboard boxes.

I already knew why French women don't get fat, and today I learn why Greek women do - Maria tells us that in Greece the cook must taste every dish throughout the cooking process to ensure a sweet, salt and sour balance. There's no measuring and there are lashings of olive oil. Maria uses olive oil made by monks in Crete (of course).

LESSON TWO: pie is un-Australian

If you believe Maria, all pies - including the Aussie meat pie - came from Greece. Apparently the Ancient Greeks were pie mad, competing for the most original fillings.

When we get into the kitchen to make one, we have to be careful not to let the filo pastry get moisture on it or we'll end up with sticky dough. We fry up the spinach and squeeze the moisture out before combining it with the feta and other ingredients. Then it's a matter of Greek-style origami - folding the filo in an intricate pattern before wacking the pie in the oven. Not so hard, really.

LESSON THREE: not just cabbage

Then it's on to the cabbage rolls. If you ask me, boiled cabbage is boiled cabbage, but apparently if you fill it with meat, rice and salt like we are, then pack the parcels tightly into a pot and drown them in lemon sauce, they become a Greek delicacy.

LESSON FOUR: nests are sweet as

Did I mention my sweet tooth? I've come here for the dessert, and it doesn't disappoint. In just 10 minutes we create a honey and nut pastry sensation that, according to Maria, can be stored in Tupperware for three months. I doubt they'd last three days in my house.

Finally it's time for the feast. We're told that in Greece, leaving food on your plate is considered tantamount to treason, so we dig in with added vigour. We've certainly done well. The cabbage rolls need more salt but, if the Greeks invented the pie, they set the bar high with the spinach and feta creation, which melts on my tongue. Better than the one I get from my local deli, I have to admit. In fact, I'm tempted to lick my plate clean. Hey, according to the Greeks, it'd be rude not to.

Go to greekalicious.com.au/html/classes.htm for more info.