March 8, 2009
All fired up over cooking
More Singaporeans are crazy about cooking classes and schools are trying to cope with the demand
By Huang Lijie
Call it the rise of the cooking class.
Non-professional culinary schools here have mushroomed in the last few years, due to growing interest in home cooking among Singaporeans of all ages, genders and walks of life.
There are at least 18 schools offering culinary classes for the leisure cook, with four of them launched in the past year.
More than half of these schools also organise cooking and baking workshops for children.
Royal Plaza on Scotts is the latest to jump on the bandwagon with the debut of the hotel's cooking school for amateurs, Cookery Connection by Carousel, last month.
Its first session drew 40 students - twice the expected class size. During the two- hour-long session, the hotel's executive chef Abraham Tan showed the class how to cook a four-course Western set meal that included pan-fried fillet of salmon.
Indeed, the home cooking fever has gripped so many here that cooking schools struggle to meet the burgeoning demand for culinary classes.
Cooking school Creative Culinaire in Eng Hoon Street, for example, has a two- month-long waiting list for its weekend foundation baking class.
To meet the overwhelming response, the school started a weekday foundation baking class last Tuesday and it was immediately filled.
Similarly, the eight-week basic skills module at cookery school Palate Sensations in Wessex Estate is so popular that people enrol six months before the next intake to secure a spot in the class.
And to accommodate its growing student base, cooking school Siti's Delights moved from a second-floor shophouse unit in Thomson Road to a three-storey shophouse outlet in North Bridge Road last December.
With the tripling of the space, it has been able to cater to 20 per cent more students, raising enrolment figures to over 200 students a month.
And even in this sputtering economy, cooking school-cum-restaurant Coriander Leaf in Clarke Quay has seen its cookery student numbers swell by about 20 per cent to almost 100 students in recent months.
The owner, Ms Samia Ahad, 50, says: 'While our restaurant business has fallen by some 15 per cent, attendance at our cooking classes is up.
'This shows that people don't mind spending money despite the economic downturn, but they are less likely to feel guilty if they take something useful away from it, such as cooking skills.'
Cooking classes typically start from as low as $20 for a demonstration lesson on making breads organised by the People's Association at a community centre. Prices can go as high as more than $200 a class for hands-on sessions, where students are provided ingredients to work with. An example would be the basic chocolate-making module at The Patissier's Kitchen in Ann Siang Road.
Most schools offer hands-on classes or a mixture of both demonstration and hands-on lessons.
Ms Simone Vaz, in her 40s, who offers only hands-on macrobiotic cooking classes at the Lusher Than Life Study House in Marine Parade, says: 'Hands-on is the only way for a student to be confident enough to experiment with the ingredients and recipes when he returns home.'
Ms Ahad of Coriander Leaf, however, offers mostly demonstration classes because she has found in the past that students are usually tired out from all the cooking 30 minutes into a 3 1/2-hour class.
Besides an overall increase in attendance, culinary schools are noticing more young professionals and male participants too.
Chef-owner Devagi Sanmugam, 54, who runs the culinary school Epicurean World from her Asian restaurant, Spice Queen, in Race Course Road, says: 'When I started teaching in 1982, most of my students were housewives.
'Recently, however, I've seen a 30 to 35 per cent increase in the number of students who are young professionals. I've also had more male participants in my classes.'
Army officer Chua Teng Seah, 36, who regularly attends Chinese cooking classes organised by the People's Association in community centres, says: 'Friends who know that I attend cooking classes are very supportive of my pastime, not least because they get to try the food I cook.
'They understand that cooking is a popular way to show care for loved ones and that it is no longer a gender-biased activity.'
On what fuelled this craze to learn cooking, the teachers LifeStyle interviewed cited the prominence of TV cooking shows by celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, for upping the hip quotient of cooking.
Beyond seeking culinary literacy or an 'in' hobby, more are also keen to learn to cook because they can save on eating out as well. Part-time lecturer Kitt Leong, in her 40s, has attended 88 cooking classes at Shermay's Cooking School in Chip Bee Gardens. She says her wide repertoire of dishes, from Italian home-made pastas to French classics such as beef cheek in red wine sauce, allows her to entertain friends comfortably at home instead of going out to expensive restaurants.
Given the economic downturn and job uncertainty, many also hope that the cooking and baking skills they pick up might provide a new career opportunity.
Madam Siti Mastura Alwi, 46, principal instructor and managing director of Siti's Delights, says: 'I have students who tell me they hope to earn some extra cash or even open their own cafe or bakery based on the skills they learn in our classes.'
As cooking classes become more popular, the types of cuisines covered by cookery schools have expanded.
At People's Association-run classes in community centres, students now have the option of learning to make more exotic foods such as Mexican guacamole, kuzukiri (Japanese yam noodles) and momo (traditional Himalayan dumplings).
Given the number of culinary schools that have popped up, competition among them is inevitable.
To stay ahead of the game, Raffles Culinary Academy in the Raffles Hotel Arcade invites internationally acclaimed guest chefs who host dining promotions at the hotel to conduct classes. The idea is for students to have the opportunity to learn culinary secrets up close and personal from the masters.
Its cooking class last month with three Michelin-starred chef Luisa Valazza of Al Sorriso in Italy, for example, was booked out weeks in advance.
Similarly, Ms Shermay Lee, 33, managing director and executive chef of Shermay's Cooking School believes in staying competitive by building up a strong team of instructors who are recognised in their field, knowledgeable about cooking, passionate about the craft and able to help its students replicate restaurant-quality food in their homes.
Hence, notable figures such as Au Petit Salut's Patrick Heuberger, who has worked at Michelin-starred establishments in Europe, and food blogger Joycelyn Shu are on its roster of teachers.
Chef Sam Leong, 42, corporate chef and director of kitchens for the Tung Lok Group of restaurants who has taught at Shermay's, says: 'When I teach my signature dishes to students who want to make them at home, I create a new recipe that is friendly for home-style cooking with simple and clear instructions.'
While most schools have instructors that boast years of experience working in a restaurant or paper qualifications from a culinary school, some cooking teachers here are self-taught cooks.
A cooking instructor's lack of formal culinary credentials however, does not bother Dr Diana Tan, 34, a general practitioner who has taken classes at Shermay's Cooking School.
She says: 'It's one thing to be able to make a dish and another to be able to teach. So as long as the recipes I'm taught work and I'm happy with the end result, I don't mind that the instructor doesn't have formal training.'
On whether the fad of culinary schools might abate, Madam Irene Yip, 59, co-owner of cooking school Chef's Secrets in Bukit Merah Central, who has been teaching for 24 years, says: 'I don't think the interest in cooking will die off because we are seeing a lot of teenagers and even kindergarten kids coming to our classes.
'When we reach out to them at a young age, they are likely to remain interested in cooking and learning more about cooking as they grow up.'
Cook up a storm
Looking to step into the kitchen and cook up a storm? Below are cookery schools offering classes to help you on the way.
at-sunrice
Contact: Fort Canning Centre, Fort Canning Park, tel: 6336-3307, www.at-sunrice.com
Bakerzin Kids
Contact: 81 Clemenceau Ave, 01-15/16/17, UE Square, tel: 6738-6992, www.bakerzin.com/bakerzin_kids.asp
California Sushi Academy
Contact: www.learnsushi.org, tel: 6339-9626
Chef's Secrets
Contact: Block 163, Bukit Merah Central, 03-3579, tel: 6273-9558, http://chefsecrets.tripod.com
Cookery Connection by Carousel
Contact: 25 Scotts Road, Royal Plaza on Scotts, tel: 6589-7712, www.royalplaza.com.sg
Cookery Magic
Contact: www.cookerymagic.com, tel: 6348-9667
Coriander Leaf
Contact: 3A River Valley Road, 02-12, Merchant Court, Clarke Quay, tel: 6732-3354, www.corianderleaf.com
Creative Culinaire
Contact: 17 Eng Hoon Street, 01-03/04, Eng Hoon Mansion, tel: 6324-1663, www.creativeculinaire.com
Culinary Secrets
Contact: 2 Temasek Boulevard, Conrad Centennial, tel: 6432-7489
Epicurean World
Contact: 24/26 Race Course Road, Spice Queen, tel: 6458-0572, www.epicureanworld.com.sg
Lusher Than Life Study House
Contact: http://lusherthanlife.wordpress.com, tel: 9004-2645
Palate Sensations
Contact: 1 Westbourne Road, 03-05, tel: 6479-9025, www.palatesensations.com
People's Association Culinary Arts Courses
Contact: http://one.pa.gov.sg, tel: 6345-6163
Phoon Huat Baking Class
Contact: www.phoonhuat.com, tel: 6289-1169
Raffles Culinary Academy
Contact: 1 Beach Road, Raffles Hotel Arcade, 03-03/04, tel: 6412-1256, www.rafflesculinaryacademy.com
Shermay's Cooking School
Contact: Block 43 Jalan Merah Saga, 03-64, Chip Bee Gardens, tel: 6479-8442, www.shermay.com
Siti's Delights
Contact: 762 North Bridge Road, tel: 6295-6138, www.sitidelights.com.sg
The Patissier's Kitchen
Contact: 18 Ann Siang Road, 01-01, tel: 6220-5565, www.thepatissierskitchen.com
Kids in the kitchen
Never too young to start is the mantra of parents here who sign their children up for all manner of enrichment lessons.
And cooking classes are one of them.
At least 11 cooking schools here offer cooking and baking classes for children from as young as four years old.
These classes are so popular that they often fill up in advance at children's baking school Bakerzin Kids in UE Square.
Other cooking schools such as Siti's Delights in North Bridge Road roll out culinary programmes for youngsters during school holidays when parents are looking for relaxing activities to engage their children.
Retail manager Betty Wong, 37, who has sent both her four-year-old and eight-year-old sons to baking classes at Bakerzin Kids, says: 'I feel it is important for my kids to know how food is made so that they can better appreciate what's on their plate at meal times.'
She adds that although she can bake, she prefers to let her children learn at a school because they get to mix around with other youngsters and learn to adapt to different environments.
Cooking classes for children start from as low as $16 for a hands-on class on making and glazing chocolate doughnuts, organised by the People's Association at community centres. And they go as high as $80 for a hands-on pizza and chocolate mousse making class at Raffles Culinary Academy, which also includes an arts and crafts session.
Mr Daniel Tay, 39, chief executive officer of Bakerzin, which runs Bakerzin Kids, says: 'The children's ability to enjoy and benefit from the baking and decorating experience has always been our key criterion in selecting and creating recipes for our workshops.'
Hence, he does not shy away from introducing more complicated recipes such as gingerbread house and fruit tarts on top of the usual cupcakes and cookies that are taught.
He adds that the workshops try to expose the students to a wide range of tastes as well.
Thus, beyond familiar favourites such as chocolate-based confectioneries, lemon tea cupcakes and banana and cheese breads are also taught.
Three cooking enthusiasts tell why they sign up for cooking classes:
He bakes so he can eat
Ryan Ching, eight, Canberra
Primary School pupil
He loves to eat and one of his favourite places to have a meal is Bakerzin.
His must-haves at the casual chain restaurant, which is known for its desserts, include spaghetti aglio olio and chocolate amer, a flourless chocolate sponge cake layered with bitter chocolate mousse.
So when he learnt that Bakerzin Kids was launched last year in UE Square to offer specialised baking workshops for children, he had his mother sign him up.
The Primary 2 pupil says: 'I love to eat so I want to learn how to bake.'
He has attended two baking classes to date, learning how to make crispy apple tart and brownies.
'The classes are fun,' he says. 'I enjoy mixing the ingredients and watching them turn into yummy food.'
He adds that his family has had nothing but praise for the baked treats he has made. He is the older of two boys of a purchasing manager and retail manager and has a four-year-old brother, Rafael.
Indeed, he enjoys baking so much that he celebrated his birthday last month with a baking bash at Bakerzin Kids. He invited 12 friends and under the supervision of instructors, they baked muffin-sized Oreo cheese cakes.
For the young foodie, whose favourite TV programmes include UK celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's cooking shows, his next challenge is to learn to cook.
He says: 'I really want to learn how to make the barbecued chicken wings from Sunset Grill in Seletar. That's my favourite food.'
Hobby pays off
Ms Siti Aishah, 27, housewife
Her search for a pastime ended in a cake-making class.
Ms Siti Aishah says: 'I was looking to pick up a hobby last year, and my husband, who likes to eat, suggested that I take up baking classes. I found it to be a good idea because I could please him and also learn a new skill.'
While no stranger in the kitchen, she had done little baking prior to the cake-making module she signed up for at Siti's Delights, a cooking and baking school in North Bridge Road.
The hands-on lessons sparked her passion for baking and when it ended after seven weeks, she continued with the pastry and bread-making modules.
On why she did not turn to recipe books to learn baking instead, she says: 'The classes are interactive and I get personal coaching from the teacher, which you can't get from the books.'
A confident baker now, she is able to make everything from chocolate mud cake to apple strudel and quiche.
She also likes that she and her husband can tuck into hand-made confectioneries fresh from her oven instead of splurging on expensive pastries sold in bakeries.
Baking has also allowed her to bond with her graphic designer husband.
She says: 'I'll bake cakes and he'll decorate them. It's a more meaningful way of spending our weekend than going shopping.'
Her newfound skill proved handy too when she was unemployed earlier this year. The healthcare recruitment company where she was working as a recruitment consultant had closed.
She is taking small orders from friends for wedding and birthday cakes while looking for a job.
She says she hopes to sign up for more baking classes to learn to make desserts such as blueberry cheese cake.
It's a life skill
Neo Zhe Han, 23, Singapore Management University undergraduate
If he needed a quick comeback to friends who might poke fun at him for donning an apron and learning how to cook, 'self-defence' would be his ready retort.
The information systems management student says: 'I will be going to Carnegie Mellon University in the United States to further my studies in August so I need to learn to cook. Then I don't have to eat out all the time.'
Friends who learn of the weekend cooking classes he attends at Palate Sensations cooking school in Wessex Estate, however, have been supportive.
Neo says: 'My friends think it is a good idea that I pick up an important life skill.'
Indeed, it is now commonplace for men to attend classes on home-cooking without raising questions about their masculinity. While no novice in the kitchen, he has cooked only under his mother's supervision and the dishes he attempted were simple Chinese stir-fries.
On why he chose to sign up for cooking classes instead of learning for free from his tuition teacher mother, he says: 'I don't want to tire her out.
'Besides, the class is more comprehensive. The wide range of Western dishes taught in the class will also allow me to widen my repertoire.'
Since attending the eight-week basic cooking skills class in January, he has learnt to take a chicken apart, season and grill it, as well as fillet a fish and whip up beer-battered fried fish.
He plans to learn how to make Chinese boiled soups, a speciality of his mother's, which he is likely to miss overseas.
He says: 'Now that I know the basics, I can refer to cookbooks or recipes and not require much hand-holding from my mother.'
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