License to grill

Don the chef's toque for a barbeque grilling session in a perfect al fresco setting

Imagine a Sunday afternoon with the impeccable Bangalore weather. Clear skies, a picnic table set out in a backyard full of trees, picket fences and a barbeque grill ready to swing into action amidst this setting could just be what the doctor ordered. That's how chef Sarabjeet Singh would like to describe his cooking classes, held on the first Sunday of each month, running into their fifth edition this week.


Participants try their hand at the BBQ Story Pic/ Roy Senai

These cookery classes that teach students the nitty gritties of grilling everything from meats to veggies and complex dishes are chapters under the BBQ Story. Sarabjeet came up with the idea of having an open air barbeque cooking class when he teamed up with fellow classmate from the Department of Hotel Management at Christ College, Faseeullah Saifulla. "Both of us had worked in the hospitality sector for some time and wanted to give back to the industry. We ran this idea through our college Head of Department Sushil Dwarkanath and then the three of us rolled out the first chapter," says the 28-year-old.

The trio were particular that they didn't want to conduct these classes inside a restaurant and were in search of an outdoor location ideal for a barbeque session and picnic. Yolk Studio, a creative arts space and studiou00a0 in Koramangala turned out to be just right for organising these classes. "It's a picture perfect location complete with picket fences, trees and picnic tables and lots of space," states Sarabjeet, who has worked with Taj West End and Hyatt Regency, Miami in the past.

Started in April this year, BBQ Story has already had four sessions with different themes. Chapter one saw Pan Asian, Japanese and Indian grills, Chapter two was about Grill-A-Meal with participants learning appetisers, mains and desserts. Desserts, you wonder.u00a0 "We did rosemary marinated Alphonso mangoes grilled and served with ice cream," explains Sarabjeet. Chapter 3 was about Biryani slow cooked on a charcoal fire and kebabs and Chapter 4 included typical barbeque dishes like steaks and sausagesu00a0 teaching participants how to make sausages from scratch.

This edition called Parila Espanola (Spanish Grills) will see Sarabjeet teach his students a Seafood Paella Valencia, Spanish Moorish Kebabs and the Hungarian Goulash which he learnt to make on his recent Europe trip. "Our classes are hands on and we teach everything from how to buy the right kind of cut of meat, choosing veggies to marinating, grilling and even safety measures," says Sarabjeet.

Unlike master classes held at restaurants where participants have no access to ingredients or equipment to reproduce the dishes at home, this class will show you tips and tricksu00a0 on making authentic dishes with the most practicalu00a0 ingredients and kitchen paraphernalia. All you need is a basic grill. "An authentic paella, for example, uses a kind of sticky rice called Arborio which is expensive and not available here. But our jeera sambhar rice comes closest to the rice needed for paella. Similarly, a flat bottomed jalebi kadai is ideal for making paella because getting access to a paella pan is difficult," he says.

Sarabjeet also brings authentic ingredients and condiments to every chapter. For the Parila Espanola classes, he will be using saffron from Spain and Hungarian paprika and Spanish salt which is supposed to be the finest salt in the world. And for the participants there is a little takeaway in the form of potted chilli, cherry tomatoes or herb plants. Once they complete the cooking session, they get to eat what they cook paired with wines.u00a0u00a0
u00a0u00a0
Where Yolk Studio, No.10, 1ST Main Road, Jakkasandra Extn, 5th Cross, 1st Block, Koramangala,
Call 9916580506 for dates and details
For Rs 1,500 per person
Look up BBQ Story on Facebook on https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-BBQ-story/207560049266705?sk=info
Watch a video on https://yolkstudio.tumblr.com/