The Academy of Pastry & Culinary Arts (APCA) is holding cooking demonstrations online. “We help bring out the hidden chef inside you,” says Chef Niklesh Sharma, APCA Founder. Niklesh joins globally renowned chefs such as Robb Cross, Angelo Van Toorn, Christophe Morel, Lim and Alisha Faleiro in conducting Insta/Facebook Live classes.
“The classes are a small initiative from our end to keep people engaged at home and learn some simple cooking hacks along the way,” says Niklesh.
The online classes have upwards of 6,000 viewers who learn how to make chocolate fondant, sea bass ceviche, scones, caramel and walnut brownies, brioche, Japanese cheese cake and more. Niklesh says, Indian desserts are popular world over. “We regularly feature gulab jamun, rasgulla, kheer, barfi, jilebi and phirni in our classes and workshops.”
APCA was started in Malaysia in 2010 and offers hands-on training in pastry and culinary arts. “The courses are designed for students who want to start a career in the food and beverage industry, professionals looking to upgrade their skills and home bakers who want to start their own business. There is also a French pastry based program. It is designed for those who wish to make a career in hotels, pastry shops, fine dining restaurants and production kitchens. Today, APCA has seven pastry and culinary schools in five countries — Malaysia, India, Philippines, Indonesia and Singapore.”
APCA has been leaning towards online learning over the past year. “There has been a great demand for online classes, as it is impossible for everyone to be physically present for a course. In the last two years, APCA has been providing video tutorials for students across the globe. Due to the lockdown we are doing live demos, and also releasing some of our pre-recorded videos.”
The online classes will continue after the lockdown is lifted as well. “We stored the videos and live demonstrations on YouTube.” Recipes that require easily accessible ingredients are featured on the online tutorials.
Cooking demonstrations and classes are available online every day from 11.30 am to 4.30 pm on APCA’s insta handle.
