Gourmet Kitchen: Cooking Class Report

We ran a competition for the Gourmet Culinary Cooking Class last month and our winner, Angeline Sim now reports on her experience there.

Thanks to Gourmet Kitchen for sponsoring the cooking class!



Mention gourmet cooking and you’ll picture haute cuisine at often inflated prices, being challenged with a menu containing fanciful-sounding dish-names, in a posh swanky setting.

At Gourmet Kitchen’s ‘Introduction to Western Cuisine’ Class, resident Chef Robert Kyle Newton aims to debunk the myths surrounding gourmet cooking by deconstructing the basics for whipping up a delicious yet simple and cost-efficient gourmet meal. Throughout the 1.5 day course, Chef Robert takes pride in drilling home the message that any amateur chef-wannabe can achieve gourmet cooking right in the comforts of our own home!

We learnt that the foundation of all gourmet food lies in 3 essential factors – Presentation, Texture and Flavour. That once your presentation is appealing, your produce fresh and of the best quality (e.g. Roma tomatoes versus Local tomatoes), your dish contains contrast in taste, flavor and texture, then you probably have what it takes to cook like a bona-fide gourmet chef. Given this boost of confidence, we listened attentively as Chef Robert expounded various common culinary terms (e.g. Demi-Glace, Confit, Julienne, Mesclun etc). He also demonstrated some ways to prepare basic stocks and sauces which form the basis of all things tasty. He sure made gourmet cooking look effortless!

At the end of the 2^nd day, all participants were given a chance to showcase our newly-acquired culinary expertise. We had to conceptualize and whip up a dish (in pairs) with the ingredients provided within a time limit of 2 hours. Take a look at these pictures and you’ll see what a success this course was!



Reviewed by Angeline Sim