Story and Photos by Wee Loon, participant of Private Chef Programme in 2017
I am not a chef by profession. Despite being a regional claims manager in the insurance industry, I have always enjoyed cooking. I really started to get into it more since my university days (that was almost 30 years ago!) when I would cook for my friends and loved ones.. What do I like about cooking is that I enjoy the process of preparing tasty dishes. I even went to audition for MasterChef Singapore, the popular competition show that is going to have a Singapore edition. I wish I could tell you I was a part of the show.
The modular programmes in At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy are great. They are short, and professionally conducted. But I wanted something more. So when At-Sunrice launched a new Private Chef programme, I quickly signed up. It was an intensive 8 Saturdays, but I’m really glad I took it up.
Let me tell you why.
- The course duration was just right for me.
Some semi-professional courses are held over weekdays or weeknights. The programme I signed up for in At-Sunrice is spread through 8 consecutive Saturdays, so I don’t have to take leave from my day job. I also get to practice what I learnt throughout the week before learning something new, which is something you probably won’t get elsewhere. 8 is also an auspicious number, if you’re into that.
- The various cuisine chef (instructors) are extremely passionate.
In the 8 classes, you get to learn various cuisines – Singaporean, Chinese, Thai and French. The chefs are very well-versed in the cuisine, and is always open to share tips to improve my daily cooking outside of the class.
- A great hands-on experience.
The numerous hands-on experience boosted my confidence. The Financier recipe was a real hit and I have baked it a few times since!
- You get to meet like-minded people who also love to cook (and eat).
I get to meet a lot of people who loved to cook, and that was great. We were split up into teams which allowed us to help each other during the lessons. We also sat together to eat the dishes we cooked after the class. It was a nice to be part of a community of like-minded people who were encouraging and helping one another.
We had quite a few memorable experiences too. Let me share with you a funny one:
When the chef instructor was demonstrating how to whip egg whites to soft peaks, he took the bowl and put it over his head to show the firmness of the product. I thought that was a funny way to illustrate the lesson, but what was even more funny was that a fellow participant thought that was part of the process and periodically placed the bowl over head to check if the meringues are firm enough.
The Private Chef programme in At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy qualifies you to be a (better) private Chef in your own home, and you can even start your own personal chef business. For me, I’ll be sticking to cooking for my loved ones at home.
DISCLAIMER: A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to each participant. The Private Chef Programme in At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy is NOT a WSQ programme and participants would not be awarded a WSQ certification.
For enquiries, please visit this link.
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