Ji Chef! was the first takeaway from the masterclass conducted by Chef Carsten Kej, Pastry Chef from Zealand Business College (ZBC), Denmark. Chef Carsten engaged the Culinary Management students of the Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad, over a two day masterclass in bakery and pastry on 22nd & 23rd November, 2022.
IHM-A and ZBC have a long standing partnership since 2018, making this a much awaited annual event for the students. Chef’s calm and composed nature, combined with his witty sense of humour, makes him the ideal teacher. His attention to detail and never-ending patience was evident in how he dives deep into the “why” of cooking.
The master class took the students through the art and skill of making Chocolate Choux, Chocolate Craquelin, Filled Bonbons (Raspberry Ganache and Pistachio Crunch), Braided Challah, Stollen with an almond crumble, Danish pastries and Strawberry Pavlova.
Chef Carsten, during an exclusive interaction, revealed that his third trip back to Aurangabad has once again been a fascinating one. His first thought when it comes to his trips to India is always about the hospitality he receives. He reiterated that, in his experience, no other culture has hospitality ingrained in its DNA like India. He went on to appreciate the batch of IHM-A students for their commitment and dedication to learn. His advice for every culinary enthusiast is to not just go out there and blindly hop on the bandwagon, but to sharpen their skills and knowledge. According to him the most important question to ask oneself is “am I enjoying this?
To answer the above question…. ‘Ji Chef! We thoroughly enjoyed your class.’
