So what does your dream kitchen look like? Do
you already own it? Or are you (like me) lusting after the gorgeous kitchen in
MasterChef Australia? Or Nigella's Kitchen?! Let’s face it; that’s practically never going to happen,
unless you plan to spend a bomb. But take heart, people of Mumbai. A new
culinary studio has just opened its doors and it has all the makings of the
perfect kitchen.
A Perfect Bite Cook Studio,
the baby of celebrated food writer and consultant Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal (and
her supportive husband Shekhar), is a state-of-the-art kitchen complete with gleaming
equipment and a well-stocked pantry. The only trouble (for a townie like me) is the location. The studio
is located in the suburb of Andheri East – prone to traffic snarls every now
and again. However, for the sake of food, I trekked all the way (OK, I took a
cab), and it was totally worth the journey!
Once you step inside, you completely forget
the outside world and just soak in the ambience. The studio is designed to inspire you to cook your heart out! It can accommodate both a demo-style cooking class as well as a cook-along, with 5
fully equipped cooking stations.
The equipment is up-to-date and from a variety
of brands. From Siemens induction range + grill and oven, to Kenwood food processors;
it’s a treat for the eyes (and to use as well).
The pantry is well-stocked with fresh and
preserved ingredients. In the future it will also double up as a sales counter and
you can pick up your gourmet and hard-to-find ingredients here.
This Monday afternoon I attended an Open
House, which involved a demonstration of two recipes, followed by a tasting. It
was conducted by Harsha Sabhnani-Bakhru, with Rushina adding on to the proceedings.
The dishes demoed were Five Spice Chicken Skewers and Stuffed Portobello
Mushrooms. Rushina also showed us the correct way of cooking mushrooms, which was
quite useful.
This was followed by a tasting of the prepared
dishes as well as others – an assortment of savoury dips (which were a big hit)
along with bread rolls and lavash, chicken and mushroom pastas, a fruit platter
and a collection of sweet dips with fruit cake and almond biscotti for dipping –
a mouth-watering spread!
The studio has started hosting cooking demos from
August 15th and the event calendar for the next 2-3 weeks is already
up. Italian, Thai, Baking (including for kids), Kebabs and Curries, Desserts... they are all on the cards. Apart from these demos, the studio will also offer other services, such as customised cooking experiences, product launches, recipe testing, food styling
and photography. Take a look at their web site for details.
Overall,
I had a great time at A Perfect Bit Cook Studio, learning new recipes (and
tasting them!), ogling at the beautiful equipment and just hanging around the
place. The charming owners make you feel welcome and their warmth and
enthusiasm take your experience to another level. So book your seat at one of
their events; you won’t regret it! Happy cooking :)