The latest season of MasterChef Australia premiered earlier this month, leaving us salivating. But we aren’t slobbering so much over the dishes the contestants are whipping up. The gorgeous kitchens and their gleaming cutlery are a far cry from our own long-suffering culinary companions. Three new studios now offer you the opportunity to experiment in similarly glossy laboratories – while learning something along the way.

Studio Fifteen
Pooja Dhingra takes another step down Paris’ 15th arrondisement with her newest venture. For three years, Dhingra conducted weekend baking classes at the kitchen of her immensely popular Le 15 Patisserie in central Mumbai, while hunting for a suitable space for a dedicated cooking studio. “Finally, I found something right next to my kitchen,” said Dhingra. Her culinary expertise – she has a hospitality diploma in French pastry from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu, Paris – and business acumen ensure that she is perfectly positioned to launch her current venture. At the studio, Dhingra supervises some of the baking classes herself, but she has also tied up with city chefs: Abhishek Honawar of The Pantry and Woodside Inn (pies and tarts), Karishma Dalal of Suzette fame (waffles, salads and brunch spreads) and Nobu-trained Nachiket Shetye (Asian food) are on the menu. Gresham Fernandes, executive chef at Smoke House Deli and The Tasting Room will take a special class on working with meat and understanding cuts. Dhingra is also working with bloggers and home chefs, including her mother who will coach participants in Punjabi meals.

Classes start at R1,500 for the express courses that run at 7pm for about 90 minutes and are particularly suited to office-goers. Three-hour long daytime sessions are priced at R2,500. But classes aren’t limited to cooking. “We plan to do food photography, food styling and food writing classes,” said Dhingra. “The space will also be used for corporate events, birthday parties and for popup restaurants.” An in-house store stocking ingredients, baking necessities and kitchen paraphernalia will be operational next month. The studio has also tied-up with Le Creuset and Kaff, so their kitchen equipment will be available at a discounted price.
Shop No 4, Rajgruha CHS, B Wing, BM Marg, Elphinstone (W) ().

A Perfect Bite Cook Studio
Food writer and consultant Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal started the studio in Andheri (East) about a year ago. APB has been conducting classes ranging from basic, everyday cooking to more elaborate meat and seafood masterclasses. “We recently concluded an eight-day short course in basic baking and French patisserie, which ended with a dessert cook-off between selected participants,” said Ghildiyal. Classes begin at R1,000 and go up to R5,000. A specially designed short-term course on world kitchen secrets kicks off soon, where participants can learn everything from making pasta from scratch to breads from around the world. Apart from the classes, Ghildiyal has hosted book launches of industry stalwarts such as Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna and restaurateur Ritu Dalmia. Most recently, the studio hosted a brunch and roundtable discussion on Australian food and wine with former MasterChef Australia judge Matt Moran and food writers and bloggers. A food writing workshop by Avid Learning, in association with Time Out Mumbai, was also held at the studio. “As long as it is food related, we do it all,” said Ghildiyal.
301 Srishti Plaza, Saki Vihar Road, Andheri (E) (). 

Palate Culinary Studio
Rakhee Vaswani of Palate Culinary Studio can safely be called the pioneer of cooking studios in Mumbai. Like every great venture, Palate has antecedents in a small garage. Vaswani, a self-taught cook who later trained in baking and confectionary at Sophia Polytechnic and London’s Tante Marie, started out in 2009 and moved to the larger premises in Santa Cruz (West) in February this year. The studio is divided into three work-stations, kitted out in Kenwood equipment for different types of classes. “Each class revolves around creating a complete meal, and everything is made from scratch,” said Vaswani. Asian cooking classes are the most popular, followed by the ten-day intensive boutique bakery course. Classes range from R2,000 to R3,800, and classes for children are priced between R750 and R1,500. The studio is also available for MasterChef birthday parties, kitty parties and corporate events. Vaswani is now looking at the franchise model to expand her studio footprint to more locations.
Survodaya CHS, ground floor, 7 Juhu Road, Plot no 28, opposite Society Stores, Santa Cruz (W) ().