Kimchi-Making Workshop with Chef Celia Lam at SALA, Dusit Thani

Thursday 14th of November 2024

At Dusit Thani Maldives, Chef Celia Lam recently led a hands-on Kimchi-Making Workshop, where guests learned the art of fermentation and the importance of patience in creating complex, flavorful dishes. Kimchi, with its slow, transformative process, reflects Chef Celia’s culinary philosophy, which values time and attention to detail.

During the workshop, Chef Celia emphasized key principles of cooking. She highlighted the importance of mise en place, ensuring that all ingredients are prepared before starting as well as the importance of eyeballing and taste testing the way through your dish. She also discussed the health benefits of fermented foods, which are rich in probiotics and can enhance overall well-being.

Chef Celia also encouraged participants to connect with their food and shared how it’s possible to improvise with ingredients, noting that cooking is about creativity and adapting to what’s available.

A key focus of the workshop was knife safety. Chef Celia pointed out that while many people assume dull knives are safer because they’re less sharp, in reality, a sharp knife is actually safer. A sharp knife makes smoother, more controlled cuts, reducing the risk of slips and accidents, as it requires less force to cut through ingredients. Chef Celia also demonstrated a few essential cutting techniques to ensure participants felt confident and safe in the kitchen.

Kimchi’s slow fermentation process mirrors Chef Celia’s approach to plant-based cooking, where she believes in giving time for flavours to

develop and blend. She explained that fermentation teaches the importance of patience and planning, values she applies when creating her plant-based dishes. "I think it really teaches me as a cook to really be thoughtful about how I want to create dishes and flavours and the importance of planning ahead" said Celia Lam.

Through this workshop, Chef Celia offered a deeper understanding of how taking time with food can lead to extraordinary results.