Luckily for curry enthusiasts like myself, Singh hosts a selection of specialist masterclasses throughout the year. Each course is devoted to a specific aspect of Indian cooking, ranging from seafood to classic curries to Indian-inspired cocktails. The latest addition to the line-up focuses purely on game and I’ve signed up to learn from the master.
The classes take place at both of Singhs London restaurants, today we’re at Cinnamon Kitchen, the more ‘informal’ of the two. The day begins with an introduction from Singh, followed by a brief overview of what we’ll be getting up to throughout the day. Flanking him during the proceedings are his two most experienced and highly regarded chefs, Abdul Yaseen and Rakesh Ravindran Nair. We are told that generally it is only two of the three chefs that take the classes, but today we have somehow ended up with the full trio.
In the kitchen we are split into three groups and each batch of willing amateur cooks is assigned a head chef for the day. The structure here is less formulaic than the typical cookery course. Instead of us all mirroring someone up at the front of the room, we are all given a specific job and the result is an experience that feels more akin to what I would expect it to be like in a professional kitchen.
My task is skinning and filleting twenty partridges. Before I was let loose on the dainty, little birds I was given a military-style demonstration carried out with strict precision and ruthless efficiency by Rakesh Ravindran Nair. He made the whole procedure look effortless; it wasn’t. Thankfully by the twentieth attempt, my technique was approaching the realms of what I was aiming for. It might have taken me 5 times longer than chef Nair to complete each bird, but I was smugly pleased with what I had achieved.
Once we had all finished honing our skills and mastering our particular tasks, we came together to assemble the separate parts of each dish and plate the food up ready for a masterchef-style inspection.
As we all left the restaurant weighed down by the gargantuan meal and heavily laden with a fully loaded gift bag, everyone appeared to be wholeheartedly satisfied.
At £175 it is certainly more expensive than the typical cookery courses, but taking into account the level of teaching given, the quality of the ingredients used and the openness of the chefs, we were all in agreement that we had got value for money. Perfect for anyone who is a lover of Indian food, or who is interested in food in general, it’s a great way to spend a day and you’ll leave fully armed with enough tips and skills to keep you going until you can decide which masterclass to sign up for next.
Cooking with Vivek Singh Masterclasses take place at both Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen and are run on a monthly basis at a cost of £175
For full information on upcoming classes click here or for any other enquiries email: info@cinnamon-kitchen.com