The couple that cooks together...

MANILA, Philippines - Larry is an executive at a multinational company who also happens to be a sports and fitness buff. His girlfriend, Charlene, works for a humanitarian organization. With their respective busy schedules, they don’t really get to spend much time together outside of the usual dinner and movie nights.

So imagine Larry’s surprise when Charlene brought him to The Cookery Place on his birthday and gave him an unusual gift — enrolling both of them in a Couples Cooking Class.

“I chose The Cookery Place because Larry and I have always wanted to take cooking classes together, but we’ve never really had the time to sit down and look through our options — not to mention commit the time to actually do it,” Charlene recalls. “So I thought, what better way to start on that plan than by having a little bit of the experience for his birthday?” 

Eya is an insurance company executive while her beau, Harald, is connected with a pharmaceutical company. They, too, wanted to try something different and were looking for more excitement beyond their usual dinner dates, so they also signed up for The Cookery Place’s Couples Cooking Class.

“I knew about the place before through some of my friends who’ve had their team-building sessions there and wondered if they also have a session for couples.  Luckily, they answered back to say that a slot was open,” Eya happily remembers.

Larry and Charlene, and Eya and Harald are just two of the many couples who have experienced the unique Couples Cooking Class that The Cookery Place offers. The course not only allows couples to cook some delicious dishes together, but more importantly, to have a lot of fun doing it.  

“Larry and I enjoyed and appreciated the class very much because we learned more than just some new recipes,” Charlene shares. “We also got some practical tips on efficient practices in the kitchen that should make cooking much easier for us in the future.”  

Eya and Harald find the cooking class more exciting than their usual dinner dates.

Eya says she and Harald had a similar experience. “The session was fun and we both enjoyed learning how to prepare the dishes that were lined up,” Eya beams. “It was also a chance to see how well we would work together in the kitchen. Would we clash? Would we work as a team? Who would mess up more? Who would be the better cook? Who’d be the bossy one? Apparently, he was the better cook, and I ended up being the bossy one!”

For their particular class, the two couples prepared a complete course that included grilled Asian-style Caesar salad with prawns, Korean-style chicken croquettes with mango vinaigrette on shiso leaves, five-spice salmon fillet on soba noodles with sauteed snow peas and green tea creme brulee.  

Managing chef Rhenee Sy reveals what makes the cooking school different from other cooking schools: “The idea for The Cookery Place came about after we saw the lack of places wherein food enthusiasts or people who want to learn how to cook can go to learn about cooking with others in a fun and relaxed kitchen. It’s a place where people can get together and learn at the same time.”

And learn the grateful couples did.

“It was a good way to discover how we work together in the kitchen, because during the class we had to find our groove and rhythm while dividing the work between us,” Charlene enthuses. “And yes, of course, we loved the food we cooked! It was quite hard to believe that we created such delicious dishes with our own hands. But with all the effort we put into them, there’s just really no denying it.”

For her part, an equally elated Eya shares a similar sentiment. “At the end of the class, we got to try what we prepared over a glass of wine and realized that all that hard work was worth it,” she raves. “And our thanks to chef Rhenee, who was patient enough to bear with us throughout the whole session. We’d try it out again anytime!”

(The Cookery Place is located at Unit 2GH Kensington Place, 1st Avenue corner 29th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

For more information, please call 822-7068 or e-mail thecookeryph@gmail.com.)