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Mid-Day, Friday, May 11, 2001 |
| Solomon's mines |
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Third in this series of THE LIST writers
attending summer workshops, Shaheen Parkar
gets Thai high at The Good Food Academy
STARTERS
Last mouth, food writer Rashmi Uday Singh set up The Good
Food Academy to make people aware of the art and science
of cooking from experts and master chefs. The academy,
as Singh puts it. Is not just for the novice but also
for the experienced enthusiast. It's for everyone. Almost
every second day, classes are held in restaurants, food
shops and hotels…
APPETISERS
We attended one of the Thai cooking session of the Academy
at Hotel President on Tuesday. Held at the Thai Pavilion,
it's was conducted by master chef Ananda Solomon. Singh
promised us that this would be a rare treat. "It's
not often that you get to learn tips from master chefs.
And in this case Solomon himself." So we agreed.
There were about 50 people (and that included all women,
only four or was it five men besides the chef and his
assistant).
MENU
Vegetables and coconut milk soup
Noodle salad with yum dressing
Prawns with red chilli paste and coconut milk
Roast chicken Thai style
Bean curd with bean sprouts
Potato and mushroom
Steamed pumpkin pudding "
METHOD
At the Thai pavilion, after the afternoon diners were
over and done with, all the tables were moved to make
way for the makeshift class. It wasn't the first time
for Solomon. He had conducted a class earlier. So this
time chef Solomon would get into the teacher Solomon mode
more easily. First, we had some tasters just to get the
feel of what we were learning. "You have to know
what it tastes like before going about preparing,"said
Singh. Then with notepads, pens and the printed recipes
on hand we were all eyes, ears for Solomon. Of course
all of us couldn't see what the TV. When a chef teaches,
he assumes we know the basic. Quipped one of the women,
"What do you mean by steaming? How do we separate
the milk from the coconut?" Anyway, Solomon patiently
answered all the queries. He began by reading the recipes,
then went about preparing them. He did make deviations
here and there but then you can't keep a chef glued to
only one dish. From the roast curry paste to sweet sour
sauce to yum dressing.
TIPS
Straight from Solomon. Unlike Chinese food which involves
plenty of chopping and cutting, Thai food does not need
plenty of carving. It is all bite-sized pieces. It is
very practical. Cooking is all about combination, you
needn't be accurate right up to the right decimal.
NB: The Good Food Academy has several
more sessions in the pipeline include baking, Mexican
Continental Chinese, coastal cuisine including Chinese
with China Garden's Nelson Wang cooking . There also workshops
on etiquette and table manners. Where else would you get
a chance to learn from master chefs? In fact some are
conducting cooking classes for the first time ever. It
is not often that chefs let their secrets out.
To enrol at the Good Food Academy classes call: 216 1313
shaheen@mid-day.com |
