“Eating
your way across Southeast Asia”
A report of a Professional
Study Tour and Gourmet Cooking
School, July 2004
The
idea of hosting a set of “cooking schools” in India
and Thailand
–on our way to the IFHE Congress in Kyoto
was a bold and unorthodox concept last fall. But now, after experiencing the
fun and adventure of learning new cooking techniques and exploring a world
of new tastes and textures—the concept seems just fine. “Why haven’t we done
this before” is the question that participants asked? Needless to say, the
cooking schools, both in Delhi
and Bangkok were a resounding
success.
The format for each cooking school was similar. Morning classes
with the serving of the morning preparations at lunch, an early afternoon
rest period, and late afternoon shopping or sight seeing. Then each evening
the group along with instructors ate at various specialty restaurants chosen
for their regional or specialty cuisine. Three days of classes were held in
each country, with a sprinkling of tourisms added. One of the keys to the
success of the experience was the unbelievable hospitality provided by our
two host institutions.
In India,
the staff of Lady Irwin
College, part of the University
of Delhi hosted the school in their
newly remodeled “Saroja Nutrition Studio”. This
air conditioned facility with eight fully functional work stations, demonstration
mirrors, remote controlled video capacity and a faculty of foods and nutrition
professionals provided an ideal work environment for the cooking school. Dr.
Vinita Narula served as instructor—with a large
measure of mentoring and friendship thrown it. She is a member of the Department
of Foods and Nutrition faculty and President of the Home Science Association
of India Delhi Chapter and Vice President for the North. A group of Community
Resource Management and Extension Master’s Students served as guides, participating
fully in the preparation activities and correcting errors made my our novice
cooks! Dr. Satinder Bajaj, Principal of Lady
Irwin and Dr. Anjali Capila
served as coordinators, hosts and support persons, making sure that everyone
was comfortable and fully engaged in to
urist
and shopping activities when not cooking. A highlight of the program in India
was 
a
full-day tour to Agra and the
famous Taj Mahal and other
historic sites. Although hot and tiring, the experience was exhilarating.
Just seeing these ancient monuments and learning about their place in history
is a must for every visitor to India.
What did we learn about Indian Cooking? We
learned a lot about spices and how they contribute both flavor and healthful
elements to the diet. And after working with numerous combinations of spices
we realized that “curry powder” is a creation of western marketing. We learned
how to make curds, various breads such as chappatis,
parathas and puris, both
vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries, dals, and
vegetable preparations, and a few popular sweets. We also became familiar with a number of tropical
fruits and the ever present rose water and other “flower” flavors famous in
India.
In Thailand
we were hosted by the faculty of Kasetsart Univeristy. Actually three departments were involved as our
coordinators, Dr. Woraporn Tharawanich
and Dr. Saowaporn Muengkaew
were members of the Department of Vocational Education in the Faculty of Education
and our Cooking Instructor, Surachai Jawcharoensakul (“Kim”) was the lead trainer for the “Chef’s
School” that is run out of the Faculty
of Agro-Industry. Additionally the staff of the Department
of Home Economics in the Faculty of Agriculture were involved. 
Woraporn was our first contact and coordinator in Thailand. Many of us in IFHE remembered the wonderful
job that she and her colleagues did in hosting the 1996 IFHE Congress. Woraporn is also currently the Asian Region Vice President
of IFHE. All together we were well taken care of and extremely well served
by the many people involved. The group stayed at the Guest House on Kasetsart University Campus and enjoyed the commercial cooking
training facilities housed in the Agro-Industry Building. Everyone
was impressed with the commercial sized woks and gas burners in the lab with
ample space for preparation and storage. Kim
often used the local PA system to share information or demonstrate critical
techniques. The participants formed small work groups to prepare specific
dishes each day. As requested during the planning period, Kim introduced the
group to the top 10 Thai dishes served at Thai Restaurants Internationally,
carefully instructed the group on proper wok and barbeque cooking techniques,
demonstrated the “art” of balancing sweet, hot, salty and sour flavors and
showed the group how to make wonderful soup stock from discarded materials.
Hands-on preparation, throughout the cooking process, along with student assistance
helped us grow in skill and appreciation of the many steps involved. And with
the growing discrimination of our palates, the participants became serious
critics of restaurant served food, both in India and Thailand!
As a result of these
two brief courses in Indian and Thai cooking, the group felt prepared to leave
old paradigms, try new techniques and explore the rich culinary heritage of
these ancient cultures. Individuals took home an armful of recipes, spices
and instructions. Some even purchased various unique implements, such as the
rolling pin in India and the serrated scrapers in Thailand. But more than culinary skills were shared—at
both sites intense interactions with students and peer professionals made
the experience rich and memorable. Talk of continued professional linkages,
student exchanges and the possibilities of offering “cooking schools” in the
US and Europe emerged (or for Western clientele). In total,
the experiences were very satisfying and exhilarating. Individuals voiced
a variety of ways in which they planned to use their new-found learnings—in high school classrooms, with Extension staff
and clientele, in local clubs and professional groups and of course, within
families and among friends. Both the interest in vegetarianism and healthful
wok cooking were high on participant’s lists of reasons to share their skills.
One suggestion was that AAFCS offer regional cooking schools at each of their
annual meeting sites and IFHE to do so at its Congresses! The idea is catchy!
Report submitted by Dr. Mary Andrews
August 2004