The trending skill among kids this summer

It is not music or drawing; it is not even badminton, but it is cooking that many children are interested in this summer.

In the middle of their vacation, which stretches into a couple of months, many of them are heading to cooking classes to hone their culinary skills.

Cookery schools are flooded with teens and pre-teens, whose passion for food-making has motivated them to master the local cuisine, besides the more popular ones like Mexican, American and Asian dishes.

At a workshop hosted by the Slurp Cooking Studio, Indiranagar, a 12-year-old prepares Okonomiyaki, a delicious Japanese pancake, while another seven-year-old tries her hand at pasta bolognese, traditional Italian dish.

“As teachers, the greatest satisfaction for us is to see our students adding their own twist to the dish. Each of them incorporate their own style to the cuisine they learn,” said Sarabjeet Singh, founder of Slurp, which conducts summer and winter cooking workshops customised for children.

“Children as young as six knead dough, roll out perfect chapatis and prepare chaat better than adults. They are also very quick to imbibe techniques and learn cutting and slicing fruits and vegetables,” said Kalpana, who teaches cooking and baking to children between the ages of six and 12.

Kunwar Singh (15), who is crazy about cooking, has been a regular at the workshops.

“After I complete the workshops, I feel I’m better at making Mexican and American cuisine. I also treat my family to exotic dishes like quesadillas and pot pies,” he said.