Bon appetit

Students taking the Chinese dim sum course at Suan Dusit International Culinary School are guaranteed a hands-on experience.

Only the first two hours are spent on theory, then it's two days of cleaning, cutting, chopping, measuring, stir-frying and steaming. And lots and lots of tasting.

"This class is about cooking, not being handed bunch of recipes and then watching the instructor do the cooking," says Thanee Luangarunkij, one of the teachers. "Students must feel like they're chefs preparing the food."

Shrimp dumplings, barbecue pork bun, fresh spring rolls and deep-fried spring rolls are among the eight dim sum that the students learn to cook.

Before heading for the woks, students must first learn how to choose the best ingredients. Then the instructor gives cooking tips and demonstrates how to make each dish.

After that, it's the students' turn. Thanee and his two assistants stand by for supervision.

"Background knowledge and previous cooking skills aren't necessary. Passion for cooking is what counts," says Thanee, who encourages students to ask questions.

Yawaporn Uppa, a graduate student in chemistry at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology in Ladkrabang, says this is her first time cooking. "I had never tried cooking before," she says.

"It's more difficult and tiring than I expected. But I really enjoy it."

Nicholas Chuwattankul, a second-year student in interior design at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia, says his cooking skills were tested by the barbecued pork buns. "It's far more difficult than it appears, and very time consuming. But it's something different and challenging."

The two-day class runs from 9am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays, but there's so much to learn that sessions sometimes end at 5pm. Each class is limited to 16 people so each student has a cooking space and a wok. The Bt3,000 fee covers the cost of a chef's apron and toque, recipes, raw ingredients, lunch, snacks and drinks. A certificate is issued about a week after the class ends.

Call (02) 244 5391-3 or log on to http://chefshool.dusit.ac.th to check for the next Chinese dim sum class at Suan Dusit International Culinary School, Suan Dusit Rajabhat University.