No Reservations…

APB Cook Studio is currently conducting the World Cuisine Festival. The first part of this festival is a course called “No Reservations - My Secrets to Cooking Fabulously!”

Anchored by Rushina herself, this is a 6-day comprehensive cooking course in five cuisines from around the world, some essentials like basic ingredients and knife skills, as well as some special skills like laying out a cheese platter and pairing wines with food and cheese.

I am super lucky because I got to participate in this course as part of my internship at APB!

Highlights of Day 1: The Basics

The first day was fabulous! Before cooking anything, we explored ingredients.

There were two packets of every herb that was seasonally available from the vegetable vendor of the Studio. We discussed the herbs, tore the leaves to smell them, nibbled to taste, and then discussed uses. It was such fun, going back and forth and nibbling to compare and contrast…

Then came the oils and vinegars. We had to taste them, and to do this we had to drink them! Most of the group was shocked and reluctant. But it made sense to me. These are things you are going to consume anyway, in salad dressings, marinades, and so on. It is only logical to first understand their flavor in the pure form in order to know how they can be used with other ingredients.

Olive oil was poured into shot glasses and we had to suck it in through our teeth to get the flavor. The EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) causes a slight peppery burn at the back of your throat. This is the sign of a good EVOO. After olive oil, it was time to shoot vinegar! We went in order of strength, starting with the weakest. By the end of it, I’m pretty sure half of us were drunk on the Chitracooh (MAIS slang for CH₃COOH or acetic acid, i.e. Vinegar)!

We also practiced the vegetable cuts that we were taught (some really professional ones, like dice, julienne and brunoise!), but the knives we were given were not sharp enough (for safety reasons) to really cut anything the proper way.

Finally, we used the veggies we had cut to rustle up a tangy yummy Pad Thai, which we all quickly devoured. It tastes that extra bit delicious when you’ve made the effort to cut the veggies yourself, and that too using professional cuts.

Went home looking forward to Day 2…