Asian cuisine has never been so popular in the UK – especially eating out or opening an app to order a take-away – but when it comes to home dining over the Christmas and New Year period, party hosts regularly choose to pick up pre-prepared Asian finger food in-store instead of making from scratch. For many of course this will be for convenience, but for those looking to broaden their adventures in the kitchen, there may be some hesitancy over ‘getting it right’ or making a dish taste and look authentic.
The traditional Boxing Day buffet is a prime example. A chance for keen home chef’s to go wild on their worktops perfecting a memorable themed feast for their family to enjoy, but sadly the reality usually ends up being a traditional serving of the leftover turkey sandwich’s from the day before.
Well, all that is about the change for 2018 thanks to celebrity chef Jeremy Pang’s School of Wok – an Asian specialist cookery school located in London’s Covent Garden for wannabe wok-stars and home cooks looking to add to their repertoire and skill-base for preparing authentic Asian cuisine.
Offering fun and flavour, alongside hints and tips to satisfy even the most adventurous cook, School of Wok aim’s to make learning about Asian food entertaining and informative. Wok-star wannabe’s have the chance to Dazzle at Dim Sum, create a Sensational Sushi or Champion a top notch Chow Mein, courtesy of a fresh schedule of classes launching for 2018 including: sushi making, a tour of London’s famous Chinatown and a seafood cookery class, preparing the perfect Chinese banquet, the art of dim sum and a course dedicated to making your own Chinese take-away classics.
The School of Wok also makes a fun addition to a weekend hen or stag itinerary and proves an original offering for those under pressure to organise a memorable Christmas office party.
Each class runs with eight to 16 students, led by the school’s knowledgeable and friendly chefs and kitchen assistants. School of Wok is dedicated to ensuring every student who walks through their doors has a unique experience with personalised attention from the experts. Visitors can choose to end their class by either sitting down with classmates to enjoy their culinary creations over a glass of wine, or take home to share and savour later.
Prices start from £95 for a three-hour class.
About Jeremy
The young and talented chef Jeremy Pang comes from three generations of Chinese chefs. Being surrounded by food connoisseurs, Jeremy developed his passion for food and cooking at an early age. After several career changes, Jeremy decided to follow his heart and bring the world of Chinese cuisine to fellow food enthusiasts. In autumn 2009 he established School of Wok in London, a mobile cookery school specialising in teaching Eastern cuisine to students in the comfort of their own homes.
Following the success of his mobile kitchen and help from sponsors, School of Wok opened its first permanent professional kitchen in May 2012 in Covent Garden, a well-thought-out location near London’s Chinatown and surrounded by some of the finest restaurants in the capital.
Television credits include: This Morning for ITV, Sunday Brunch for Channel 4 and Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking for bbc1.
Book credits:
Hong Kong Diner by Jeremy Pang (Quadrille, £15) Photography © Kris Kirkham
Chinese Unchopped by Jeremy Pang (Quadrille, £20) Photography © Martin Poole (released Oct 2017)
The School of Wok cooking range
Alongside the exciting mix of classes on offer, Jeremy recently joined forces with British manufacturer Dexam to design a wok range for preparing delicious and Authentic Chinese food at home. Every tool is designed to do its job as well as possible in the kitchen: woks are the perfect thickness to heat up fast, the bamboo handles are designed for comfort and all the tools are just the right angle for stir frying. Wok prices start from £16.50.
