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Cooking Lessons in South Africa

So, you’ve finally flown the coop and now, for the first time, you’re living in your own apartment and have to fend for yourself. This includes having to prepare meals for yourself and, maybe a roommate, when it’s your turn to cook. You, now, suddenly find out that you have no idea how Mama threw it all together with minimal fuss, great relish (pun somewhat intended) and prepared your daily meals perfectly, every time! You now also discover just how much planning and preparation goes into preparing a single meal. You also discover that you need to have a store of ingredients, spices for example) in the kitchen cupboard for the different meals you may wish to cook.

What’s Your Motivation?

Your reason for wanting to take cooking lessons must be very clear to you. It is what will determine which path you choose to follow and how far along that path you go.

You may just want to fend for yourself. Or you may want to make the best pizza in town, or make spaghetti from scratch. Do you want to know your foie gras from your escargot? Or is it your intention to surprise your friends with a home-cooked three- of five-course meal?

Whether your aim is to become a world-renowned chef or simply be able to prepare and present tasty, attractive-looking meals, there is a culinary course that will satisfy your needs. One thing is certain: help is never far away. An Internet search entitled cooking classes south africa, will immediately populate your screen with a selection of almost twenty pages of service providers.

You really will be spoiled for choice. Your taste buds could sample, metaphorically speaking, sushi and stir-fry, traditional African or Malay dishes or any of a number of your favourite home-cooked bredies and stews. You could even join a class where you would be exposed to a crazy mix of offerings presented by a Scottish-South African who also has Chinese lineage.

Why Take Cooking Classes?

There are a number of reasons for taking cooking classes. Cooking lessons:

• Can be fun
• Improve your palate
• Teach you new skills
• Allow you to sample new foods
• Can help you create a perfect dinner for a date
• Will soon have you cooking like a pro

Culinary courses are generally conducted by chefs who are masters at their craft. They, therefore, have the ability and knowledge to direct you, no matter what your concern or difficulty may be. In their hands, you progress is guaranteed to be quick, with very little time, energy or resources wasted. They are passionate about what they do, take pride in their work and will have your and their school or academy’s best interest at heart. Your success is guaranteed!

Where to Go?

If you would like a hands-on interactive demonstration, then you can attend a class run by award-winning chefs from around the globe. If they haven’t won awards yet, you’ll soon see why they should have. They’ll soon have you eating out of their hands, literally and figuratively, wondering why you hadn’t enrolled earlier and realising that cooking should not actually be regarded with so much trepidation- that you can do it! Many of these courses are offered at the chef’s home, which can create a great, casual backdrop for this learning experience. Others present their courses at their studios. Either way, you won’t have any dishes to clean!

One internationally recognised chef course, also trains you in the selection of wines to accompany various meals. Classes are small, no larger than fifteen, and your facilitator is “hands on”, walking beside you every step of the way, daily.

A great offering is a course which offers lecture rooms with all the appliances that students need, a demonstration kitchen where students acquire practical knowledge and learn to interact with patrons. On top of all of these positives, a job placement is 100% guaranteed. So, if it is your intention to qualify as an experienced and well-groomed chef, here is one option that will possibly surpass your expectations.

Cooking Classes at Home

You could, of course opt for cooking classes at home… if you like doing dishes! There are many wonderful local ladies, who don’t necessarily call themselves chefs, who are amazing chefs. They will travel to you and help you in the comfort of your own home. For this kind of service, it would be good for you to be connected to people, within your community or via social media sites.

Online Cooking Classes

Throughout the country, there are also online cooking classes. You could even get trained in the culinary arts free of charge and grasp some useful kitchen skills. Unilever Food Solutions is one of the institutions which simply requires you to register online to embark on this food journey with them. You can follow, while a chef teaches a class, or enjoy one of their many videos which you can pause or advance at your convenience.

There is also an institution which has its own wine cellar and students meet and greet top winemakers during the course of the year. Wine tastings are integral, as they help build the student’s confidence in terms of pairing wines and food. Additionally, students are encouraged to grow the own produce and herbs and, with exposure to local suppliers, will come to learn what comprises the concepts free range and quality. Students will also be exposed to French terminology by a French-speaking tutor. That way they will know the difference between flambé and char-grilled.

One offering, Rouxbe, presents video lessons, courses led by instructors and high-quality recipes which have been designed by chefs who have many years of experience.

In essence, there is a plethora of choices for you to dip into. What is important is for you to know the direction you want to follow and then dive into it fully marinated.

Superprof, an online tutoring service, also has a host of well-qualified tutors who will take you through various cuisine options: from pastry and local boere recipes all the way through a number of homely African offerings. At an average rate of around R180 per hour and with a satisfaction rate of 5 out of 5, you’re bound to hook up with food expert who appeals to your taste buds.

Just watch out for the dangerous part – the tasting of your creations. The tricky part is to fool your irritatingly-accurate scale! Bon appetit!