Small wonders

The immense success of the Master Chef Junior series has prompted million of kids to don their culinary caps and venture into the tantalising and enticing field of cooking. Over the years food has gained the semblance of an art form, which is eaten with the eyes before it is explored by the tongue. In a bid to invoke the culinary artist in their kids, parents have started investing in young chef programmes and culinary classes. 

All of us surely remember the admonishments that were rained down on us as kids, when we used to enter the kitchen in a bid to crack the enigma of dishing up mouth watering food that only the cooking members of the family were privy to. But fortuitously the parents today are not only encouraging kids to experiment but also learn the culinary art and make a career out of it. 

Keeping up with the trend, Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon held a month long summer master cooking class for the little ones between the age group of eight to 15 to engage them to explore their hidden culinary talents. Chef Amit Dash, initiator of this programme, divulged the reason that prompted him to start it, “I believe that summer vacations should be used to learn something new and exciting. I read somewhere about cooking classes being conducted for kids in some school but the age group being targeted was very narrow. Because no other hotel was conducting this kind of activity and in response to the demand from the parents, I thought of starting it for kids between the age group of eight to fifteen years.” 

Sakshi, one of the winners of the young chef competition conducted by the hotel in Gurgaon as a part of their final class told us, “I got to learn so much from the chefs. The life of a chef excites me. I am passionate about cooking and exploring new flavours and hope to  become a chef in real.”Although no other hotel in Delhi is offering this kind of programme, there are professional institutes like Indian Institute of Hotel management, International school for culinary arts, young chef’s academy and many other online initiatives that have come up in a big way to promote the culture of cooking among kids. Many kids who are avid bakers have started blogging about their activities and the new developments in cooking that they come across. “I have my own Facebook page where I post all my culinary creations. Initially only my friends followed the page but now I have more than five hundred followers. My talent is critiqued and that helps me a lot,” said Diva, a 12-year-old, a wannabe baker. 

Talking about the galore of culinary classes that already exist, Saroj, head chef, told us why the classes they offer are different “We taught them what they would not usually learn in a hobby class. We instilled a sense of professionalism in them. We also taught them about hygiene and discipline that the profession requires, hence not just teaching them some random recipes but grooming them well.”