Rabi’s Kitchen is a three-hour immersive experience for anyone looking to learn the ins and outs of authentic Indian food cooking
If you want to learn how to cook some of Indian food’s most classic and iconic dishes — butter chicken, chana masala, palak paneer — look no further than Rabi’s Grand Kitchen, Haldimand County’s latest immersive experience for aspiring chefs.
Under the supervision and guidance of Chef Rabi — an accomplished chef with over 20 years of experience — guests learn about the various spices and techniques involved with East Indian cuisine. After crafting a beautiful dish together, you will gather for a sit-down dinner to enjoy the fruits of your labour.
But Rabi’s Grand Kitchen is not just another cooking lesson. The experience also provides an overview of the unique ingredients that are local to the Haldimand County area. As an agriculture-based community, food production and food appreciation are important to Haldimand, and Rabi’s Grand Kitchen brings together the local foodways of the region with the ingredients and cooking styles of the Far East.
If that’s not reason enough, below are five reasons why an Indian food cooking lesson with Chef Rabi might be just what you’re looking for:
Diversify your recipes
Whether you are a parent looking to spice up your kids’ dishes or an aspiring chef who hasn’t quite mastered the art of Indian food cooking, Rabi’s Grand Kitchen is the perfect place to find a new repertoire of go-to recipes. Indian food is delicious, flavourful, and healthy, and learning from the best about the ins and outs of Indian food cooking could set you up for an exciting new cooking adventure!
Once you have the basics of the spices down, it’s really not so hard, either. With staples like rice and naan bread, easy to make and always at the ready, the fun lies in combining the right amount of spices and ingredients together to create a flavour bomb that will overwhelm the senses and impress whomever it is that you’re cooking for!
Learn about local ingredients
Just because India is over 10,000 kilometres away doesn’t mean the ingredients have to be. Rabi’s Grand Kitchen experience prioritizes local ingredients, melding together the agricultural world of Haldimand County with the one-of-a-kind ingredients of the Far East necessary for any classic Indian food dish.
As an agricultural community, Haldimand County has long treasured its local foodways. Chef Rabi maintains that local food makes her recipes taste better, and she wants to share with her guests her knowledge and understanding of Haldimand’s unique ingredients and how they can be combined with the art of cooking Indian food. Ultimately, she believes, prioritizing local ingredients can help people reconnect with their food and the land on which it is grown, which overall elevates the experience of both cooking and eating.
Is there a more communal experience than cooking and eating together? A cooking class is a great way to meet new people and make new friends — especially friends with a shared interest or passion!
With Rabi’s Grand Kitchen experience, guests can either book as one large group, or join other individuals or groups to form a diverse group of aspiring chefs and adventurers. But one thing’s for certain: the shared task of cooking and eating as a group is sure to bring you closer together.
Whether it’s your first time taking a cooking lesson or whether this is another experience in a long line of cooking lesson experiences, you’re bound to make new friends and connections at Rabi’s Grand Kitchen.
Have an authentic Indian cultural experience
At Rabi’s Grand Kitchen, you won’t just cook and eat Indian food — you’ll also be introduced to traditional and contemporary Indian music and stories!
Because learning to cook is not just about bringing ingredients together. For Chef Rabi, food is culture, and learning about the history of specific dishes, the stories behind the ingredients, and traditions related to Indian dining and celebrating can be as important as the cooking and the eating itself.
Since food plays such an important role in Indian culture, Rabi’s Grand Kitchen experience will give you the opportunity to learn about an entirely different culture — all from the comfort of your own community!
Try something new
Going for drinks or for a walk on the weekend is all very fine, but sometimes the same old same old on a Saturday night starts to get boring. Especially coming out of the lockdowns and restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, our weekends nowadays feel all the more precious.
Why not make the most of your weekend, then, by stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new? Not only will you leave the experience having learned how to cook authentic Indian food, but you’ll also likely have made new friends and have exciting stories to tell about the experience. Overall, it’s a win-win-win situation.
Whether you’re a visitor or a local, whether you’re a chef yourself or merely want to dip your toes into the world of Indian food cooking, whether you’re looking to make new friends or connect with old ones, Rabi’s Grand Kitchen experience is certainly not just another cooking class. Foodies can come together to learn about the ways that traditional Indian spices and local ingredients — some of which you can grow in your own backyard! — can fuse together to create a delicious Indian food meal.
Rabi’s Grand Kitchen experience is hosted twice per month. The group size can range from 5-10 guests and is held at the Riverside Exhibition Centre in Caledonia, Ontario. To learn more or to make a booking, visit https://rabis-group.square.site/
