School dinners

Pam Shookman goes back to school for a taste of Beijing’s best cooking classes.

Hutong Cuisine

Cooking lessons in the courtyard of Chenyi Zhou’s hutong home is a Beijing food experience even long-term city dwellers can savour. Within minutes of arriving, the energetic Zhou will have you wielding a cleaver to chop, mince or slice with aplomb. Classes are taught in English and focus on home-style cooking (jia changcai), revealing the mysteries of how to stir-fry, brais and steam your way to culinary competence.

While the optional morning market tour is a great way to get to grips with local produce, Zhou’s short in Classes run from 10.30am to 2.30pm every day except Wednesday, with the optional market tour at 8.30am and introduction to Chinese seasonings at 9.50am. Evening sessions run from 6pm to 9.30pm with Chinese seasonings at 5.30pm. During the winter months, Zhou still teaches in the courtyard but closes the roof and adds heaters. Class sizes range from one to six people and prices are 180RMB with a 60RMB supplement for the market tour or 30RMB for a seasoning lesson.

Hias Gourmet

For those with Michelin star ambitions, Hias Gourmet is the place to earn your cooking stripes. This year-old culinary concierge service is available for large groups or bespoke courses, and Malaysian owner Adlyn Teoh also organises Iron Chef corporate cook-offs for companies around Beijing. Hias take its students into professional kitchens where Beijing’s topchefs give classes that are half demonstration and half hands-on. Current teachers include Kenny Fu, formerly with My Humble House and Shanghai’s Whampoa Club in Shanghai and now executive chef at Le Quai; and Alvin Chang, previously at the Peninsula Beijing and now overseeing the food at Face in Beijing and Shanghai. Jeremy Leung of the Whampoa Club will soon join the roster.

Fu, for example, demonstrates how to make a healthy version of shuiguoyu, the classic Sichuan dish of fish served in a pot of spicy-hot oil as well as how to grind your own sesame paste to get the best flavour. Noodle classes take place in a Shanxi noodle restaurant where students learn how to make kaolaolao, a tubular oat noodle, from an auntie who’s been making them since she was five. Most Hias instructors speak fluent English or enough to communicate directly with students, otherwise an interpreter is provided. At 500RMB, classes aren’t cheap and are available for groups only, but the access-all-areas pass to some of Beijing’s finest eateries is worth the price of admission alone.

201W 46 Deshengmennei Xishuncheng Jie, Xicheng district
(6400 9199; info@hiasgourmet.com ).
西城区德胜门内西顺城街46号西201

Black Sesame Kitchen

Author and former Time Out food editor Jen Lin Liu knows a thing or two about Beijing fare, and her Black Sesame Kitchen’s Saturday Gourmet classes feature demonstrations by her favourite Beijing chefs. Get right into the dice and slice as handy mirrors reveal every blow of the chef’s craft, while Jen interprets to offer unique insights and background to some of China’s most iconic dishes.

Students try their hands at what they have learned before sampling one another’s creations, from spicy Sichuan to dumplings. For those more interested in eating than cooking, BSK also runs regular ‘Wine ’n’ Dine’ events on the first and third Friday of the month, where six-course, regional banquets are paired with wine. Closed during October for refurbishments, BSK reopens at the beginning of November. Saturday Gourmet classes run from 1 to 4pm and cost 300RMB for up to 10 people. Friday’s Wine ’n’ Dine runs from 7.30 to 10pm and costs 250RMB. Alternatively, BSK can organise private or corporate classes.

3 Heizhima Hutong, Dongcheng district
(1369 147 4408; www.blacksesamekitchen.com ).

The Hutong

For a more international feel, cook your way around Asia at The Hutong’s regular weekday morning and Saturday afternoon sessions. From Xinjiang pulled noodles to Singaporean street food or even Indian curries, this hands-on, two-hour class offers a complete foodie tour of the East. Introductory classes include a trip to the market for seasonal produce and a healthier diet, while Level 2 courses involve more complex dishes, ingredients and cooking methods.

For the experts, Level 3 lessons focus on lesser-known delicacies from Guizhou or Guangxi, and young gourmets get a look in at the kids cooking classes, offered on Saturday mornings. While most of The Hutong’s teachers communicate their infectious passion for food in fluent English, for those more specialist dishes an interpreter is on hand to cover what a chef can’t convey in gestures. Class sizes range from 6 to 14 students, each with their own workstation, and three wok stations are shared by all. Under hands-on instruction students are encouraged to personalise dishes to suit their own palate. Adult classes run from 10am to noon on weekdays, 2 till 4pm on Saturday afternoons and cost 200RMB. Kids classes last from 10am to noon on Saturdays and cost 150RMB.

1 Jiudaowanzhongxiang Hutong, Dongcheng district
(8915 3613;www.the-hutong.com ).
东城区九道湾西巷胡同1号

Pantry Magic

Every Beijing foodie’s favourite stop for western cookware also conjures up cooking classes in their bright and cheerful Sanlitun shop. Students cosy up around the demonstration kitchen to watch some of Beijing’s best chefs pull their favourite dishes out of the Magic’s hat. Over the forthcoming traditional holidays, foreign chefs will also be giving away the tricks to Oktoberfest fare and American Thanksgiving dishes. An onsite Aga also promises to be put to use in the coming months with plans to bring in special star chefs. Classes all feature a soft sell on Pantry Magic cookware, but the real aim is to stir up interest and inspiration, whether you are an experienced cook or a hopeful beginner. Classes are held on an ad hoc basis and costs are for ingredients only.

Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Bei Lu,Chaoyang district
(5208 6001; www.pantry-magic.com/beijing; bjinfo@pantry-magic.com ).
朝阳区三里屯北路81号

Fauchon

For sophisticated lessons in contemporary French fare, head to the sleek Fauchon Le Cafe on Monday or Tuesday afternoons, where students are greeted with complimentary drinks before being whisked into the kitchen for a session with executive chef Franck Page. While hands-on participation is encouraged, you don’t have to get you hands dirty before moving on to one of Fauchon’s glamorous VIP rooms for a two course sampling menu, followed by dessert. The menu changes regularly to encourage students to return for subsequent classes. Classes begin at 2pm and last around three hours. They cost from 300RMB to 450RMB depending on the menu.

Second Floor, Shin Kong Place, 87 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang district
(65331266 ext 8228; cooking.class@beijinghualianfauchon.com ).
朝阳区建国路87号新光天地二层