If you've ever wanted to impress dinner guests with a meal fit for a king but feel you lack the ability to prepare, let alone serve, a top-notch meal packed with a smorgasbord of true gastronomic delights, then Andre Joulian's Cooking Studio could be the place for you.
Starting on May 10 the owner of Taipei's top French eatery, Le Jardin, will be opening the doors of a custom-built kitchen to teach both beginners and professional chefs alike the intricacies of fine cuisine.
To provide students with a perfect environment, Joulian has spent the past three months converting the second floor of Le Jardin into a kitchen complete with a half-dozen induction stoves for students to use and plenty of top-of-the-line equipment.
In addition to the actual cooking equipment Joulian has also installed a 49-inch LCD screen on which students will be able to see the chef prepare food close up via a state-of-the-art 360s camera that will focus on the chef's every move.
"It looks high-tech, but the equipment is all readily available. We want to teach people to be able to cook the food at home, so I basically designed the school along the same lines as a domestic kitchen," said Joulian. "Basically everything we'll teach the students can be done at home and all the ingredients we'll use can be purchased locally."
On the menu at the Cooking Studio will be lessons in Italian, French, Thai, Indian and Californian cuisine, classes in pastry and bread preparation, and wine tasting and table service.
In order to provide the students with the best instruction, Joulian has enlisted the talents of some the best chefs in Taiwan. The roll is so extensive, in fact, that it reads like a venerable who's-who of kitchen gurus.
The Studio's top chefs will include, among many others, well-known US chef Caleb Jackson, who will be tutoring Californian cuisine; William Bu, more commonly referred to A-Bu, who will be ensuring that students learn all there is to know about Italian fare; and Joseph Elias Vaz, who will be teaching the intricacies of creating the perfect curry.
Along with holding daily cooking classes in his new school, Joulian is also currently holding talks with a couple of television networks in the hope of one day developing his cooking studio into a television program.
While the dates for upcoming classes and the cost of lessons have yet to be finalized, those interested in honing their culinary skills can contact the Cooking Studio at (02) 2876 7167, or by e-mail at studio@oriental-house.com.tw for further information and a full list and schedule of cooking programs on offer.
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