Stirring up some mouth-watering dishes can be turned into a decent profession if you wish.

You only need to invest some time and effort, and you are sure to have women lining up to learn and sample your wares.

Getting Started

Firstly, if you are thinking of running your own cookery classes, you yourself need to be an expert at various dishes and cuisines. Asha Bhatia, who has been teaching cookery for the last 10 years says, "You cannot make a profit only by teaching Indian dishes. You also need to know supplementary cuisines or other fancy dishes to hold classes."

The basic course includes a dal, rice and a vegetable. You can teach the use of different ingredients and also simple breakfast recipes like omelette, sandwich, simple salads, pastas, etc.

If you don't know the basics you will have to first learn them and then go for the advanced level that includes more elaborate dishes like chicken, mutton as well as dishes that need more masala.

Then you also need to know various cuisines like Mexican, Mediterranean, Thai, Continental, Mughlai, Chinese, Japanese, etc.

You can also include soups and salads that need more dressing, mocktails, cocktails, starters, fondue and dessert.

Different people charge differently, but generally, you would need to spend about Rs.500 per class and learn five to six recipes. But some cuisines might cost you a little more; for example, learning Italian cuisine would cost you Rs.600. This is because the ingredients used are different and expensive.

Investment Needed

You need good kitchen space to accommodate everyone comfortably. You don't need to buy anything extra because you can use your own stove and utensils.

Also, depending on the availability, you can use ingredients from your home or you can buy it. However, make sure you buy vegetables on a daily basis because vegetables are perishable and you need fresh stock everyday.

You also need to have a dining table for display. Also, if someone needs to learn to cut, chop, wash, for example, the meat, you would need a small table where she can practise all this.

All this will cost you about Rs.1000 a month. If you are including specialised cuisines it will cost you about Rs.1500. This of course can shoot up depending on the number of students you have in your class.

It is advisable to stick to about six students per class though you can go upto 15. If you go for a big class, like 25 or 30 students, it may be difficult to manage as everyone would not be able to see the actual process.