Have you read Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and Simon Beck and wanted to enroll at the Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts School in Paris? Pack your bags and head to the city of love, not just to soak in the romantic air but fulfil your passion for cooking. There are foodies, who travel the world and not just lap up the local cuisine but learn to cook it too. Neha Lakhani, head chef and owner of Patisserie Royale in Delhi, spent nine months at the Cordon Bleu in Paris. “It taught me the basics in the pastry world which is essential for a career in pastry making. I like to opt for short-term cake decoration courses when I holiday abroad,” she says.
Neha’s bakery in Delhi is renowned for its innovative deserts and lipsmacking pastries. The flavours are mouth-watering as the ingredients are sourced from diverse destinations. Neha’s passion for baking has taken her to various places. “I have done a nine-month pastry diploma from Canada and short-term cake decorating courses from Wilton in the USA and London too. I even worked in a German chocolate store to learn German pastry making while I was interning. Every chef teaches you something new each time. There is never an end to learning pastry making,” she says.
Seema Jaisingh, the Bengaluru based owner of Che Conferences, Hospitality and Events has the fortune of visiting various countries as part of her work. “When I visit Thailand, I always want to learn Thai cooking but somehow have never found the time. This time, I am heading to Istanbul where I am going to be in the city for a long spell, so I have the time to enroll in a course. It is a short- term course in Turkish cooking and I’m exited as I love Turkish food.”
Vandana Virwani, MD of Lyrus Timus Private Limited, loves to travel and during her sojourns, finds the time to hone her cooking skills. “My first course was in Singapore. I learnt to make Chinese dim sums and fish satay. My older son was studying in Boston, so when I visited him, I did a course in fish delicacies where they taught us to make five different kinds of fish. I have even done a bread making course in New York. I have done a baking course in London where I learnt to make cup cakes and flourless chocolate cake. I love cooking and you learn small but important factors at a cookery class,” she adds.
