“Ayyo, why are you stuffing chopped coriander into the cutter? You use that to carve out vegetables into different shapes.” laughs one of the participants as she directs her husband during the Bridal Cooking workshop held over the weekend.
Fresh vegetables, spoons and ladles, a variety of spices, colourful aprons and a smiling chef waits for the participants as they get ready to cook the ‘healthy’ menu for the day — watermelon and barley salad, Caesar salad, burgers with rajma patties and sweet potato fries. It takes them two hours, a few mishaps and some cheering to get their dishes ready, before sitting down to taste and enjoy it for themselves.
“I am trying something like this this for the first time. I never knew we can actually make rajma patties for a burger” says Kala Pillai who’s been married for nine months now. “Yes, we do a lot of fun things together but cooking is a first” adds her husband, Natraj Pillai.
The chef for the workshop, Neelima Sriram glides in with her batch of dishes as we speak. She’s been busy plating them meticulously, not a leaf out of place. “You eat through your eyes. The moment you see beautiful food, you want to try it” she smiles. Ask her about the advantage of such a workshop and she says “Getting to know your fiancé or your partner closely is very important. And I think cooking is a great way to connect. You discover each other’s likes and dislikes and learn to communicate effectively.”
There are also a few college students in the cooking group but they are quick to ward off the ‘are you getting married?” questions shot at them. “We are just here to have some fun. I enjoy cooking and thus joined the workshop to pass the time during vacations” says Sruthi Ganesh, a fourth year architecture student.
Organised by recreational culinary studio, Foodology, the workshop will be held over five long weekends with menus covering various cuisines, including Punjabi, Mexican, Italian, healthy diet and indulgence. “The statistics say that out of five dishes, people definitely go back home and try to make three. So when we decide on the menus, we try to come out with different and unique items” says Neelima.
The concept of a ‘Bridal Cooking workshop’ has certainly piqued a lot of interest in the city. Shree Periakaruppan, founder of Foodology, believes that instead of going out to restaurants on dates, couples should try cooking together. “You get so much more time to bond. Besides, when you use the term ‘Bridal package’ it usually means a visit to the parlour. However, I wanted to change that concept. A cooking workshop is a lot more fun and lets you a learn a life skill.” she adds.
(The workshop will be on for one more weekend at the Foodology centre, 3 A, Second Main Road, Kasturba Nagar, Adyar. For details, log on to www.foodology.in)
