ABC cooking studio

On our very first trip to Amu Plaza (a big mall in the city center), Mary (fellow dorm teacher) and I discovered a wonderful cooking school on the 4th floor. The smells wafting from the school was so delicious and inviting that we couldn't help but be led by our noses. We were greeted by a very friendly and enthusiastic staff member who gave us a tour and sold us on the idea of a free trial lesson. Out of the 2 items available (I think the other one was some sort of bread?), we chose to make a cheesecake. The lesson was a lot of fun.

Our positive experience led us to sign up as members. The school offers 3 different courses - cooking, bread, and desserts. You can select from any combinations of the above. You sign up for lessons via computer, and can take as many or as few lessons as your schedule allows each month. Mary and I decided to do just the cooking course. We filled out all the paperwork and were ready to embark on the journey to becoming professional chefs!

Well.....not quite.

It turns out that the lessons are conducted at a teacher-student ratio of about 1:4, with five students as the maximum number. During the cooking process, each student is given a different job - one person chops while another stirs and another measures. You get the picture. Of course the teacher tries to be fair at giving each person a chance to practice every process once, but in reality it doesn't always work out perfectly. This may be fine and all in getting the meals prepared efficiently, but it doesn't help me learn how to cook something from beginning to end.

Never mind the non-learning aspect - the end of every lesson resulted in a very appetizing 3~4 course meal that we eat with our fellow classmates. ;-) I now see my lessons at ABC as a trip to a restaurant where I pay to prepare the meal with other cooks. It's an enjoyable experience, and maybe through osmosis I've picked up some useful cooking skills along the way. I have 3 lessons left in the package I signed up for...but I'm not sure I'm ready to graduate yet.

"my" creations

Next week I'll be making a Korean meal. Can't wait!