Become Chef for the day at the Cooking Academy at Four Seasons Resort Jimbaran Bay

I am not someone who usually enjoys cooking or spending hours in the kitchen, however I was excited to be a Chef for the day at the Cooking Academy at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay.

The morning starts at the crack of dawn (aka 8am), where we were taken to the Jimbaran Fish Market, Chef Chris showed us around the fish market (which by the way is very very smelly…… be prepared – or bring a peg haha!), as well as the local fruit and vegetable market before heading back to the van along the beach, watching the fishermen getting their nets ready.

Once back at the Four Seasons Jimbaran we enjoyed a quick continental breakfast, before we start our day as chefs. The Cooking Academy is housed within its own stand-alone building, which features a charming stone-paved courtyard and herb garden at its entrance. Enormous glass doors lead into the air-conditioned kitchen, equipped with gleaming state-of-the-art appliances and a large, kidney-shaped, black granite preparation unit with induction hot plates.

Once we were finished with breakfast we started our day with Chef Chris and his assistant chefs to create a full five-course meal, according to traditional menus representing Bali, Java, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi and Sumatra.

The dishes we prepared from the “home style Balinese cuisine” menu were:

Sate Lauguan – Balinese Fish Satay with Chil and Kaffir Lime.

Bebek Betutu – Traditional Roasted Duck with Balinese spiced wrap in Banana leaf.

Sayur Urab – Steamed missed vegetables tossed with chili, garlic and roasted coconut.

Sambal Kecicang – Spicy ginger torch flower and shallots relish.

Kue Labu – Balinese pumpkin treat

Chef Chris took us for a quick around his herb garden, he was very proud and happy to show us all the different herbs and fruits and vegetables he was growing.

At the end of the session we got to sit down at the dining table (as it was raining) and sample our creations.

Chef Chris came out and gave us our official certificate of achievement (which I can know show my family – look guys I can cook!)

We absolutely loved Chef Chris, he was very charismatic and very funny, he kept us entertained and knowledgeable throughout the whole experience. He taught up the correct way to chop and what order different foods should be chopped in (eg: dry ingredients then wet ingredients).

General information:

• Bookings as essential
• Open to a maximum of 10 participants
• Classes are taught in English only.
• Non-resort guests are welcome to attend with advance reservation.
• All graduates receive an official certificate of achievement, as well as copies of the recipes in a beautiful hand-drawn booklet.
• The school opens six days a week, Monday through Saturday.
• Price starting from (as of April 2015 – Rp 900,000 ++ (Price is Not Inclusive of 21% Government Tax and Service Charge).

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