The Kitchen Playground Manila: Where ANYONE Can Cook!

I've just had the most fun at a workshop I attended a weekend ago, and it's about food!
Got the chance to take part at The Kitchen Playground Manila's Micro-farming and Cooking workshop conducted by Chef Rhon Aguilar together with the minds behind The Kitchen Playground Manila, Chef Marga Espino and Chef Cristine De Guzman

Anybody Can Play At The Kitchen!

They are located at 16A Major Dizon corner Justice Tuazon, Industrial Valley, Marikina City

This is The Kitchen Playground Manila's motto and they would love to teach everyone who wants to learn to cook in an environment that is pretty much relaxed and not intimidating.

A playground is a happy place and it's somewhere you can have fun and let your guards down and where friends turn into family.

By the way, they are located at 16A Major Dizon corner Justice Tuazon, Industrial Valley Complex, Marikina City.

What better way to learn something new but through play right? That is what The Kitchen Playground Manila is all about. 

I'm the type of person that really loves to learn new things and even improved on skills I already learned which is why I was really thrilled to have the chance to attend one of their workshops. 

I learned to cook way back when I was 5 or 6 years old when my grandparents or other relatives would allow me into the kitchen and be their assistant. 

The I either be the one to drop the veggies onto the pot or maybe just taste whatever it is they are trying to cook and of course the latter part is the best!

Anyway, as I grew up, I learned more about cooking through cooking shows, cookbooks and other materials available at hand since I am fascinated by the mixture and blend of ingredients that make delicious dishes and even the technique used in complex recipes.

And what I love about The Kitchen Playground Manila is that, I feel at home and no pressure in the cooking or preparation. Everything was taught carefully but playfully as well, it was just like playing in a playground with other kids trying to discover lots of new things in the kitchen.

Another thing that I love is the hands-on approach and they actually let you be the one to cook the dish yourself after learning how as demonstrated by the chefs. 

I learn faster when I do it myself so being able to actually do it right after they teach how is major plus points for me. 

More than just a Cooking Workshop place

The Kitchen Playground Manila offers other services too such as the following:

• Mid to High-end Catering and Private Chef Services where they cater a wide range of food and setup requirements depending on your budget
• Kitchen Studio Rental and Small Events Venue where you can use their space for personal and work needs such as food tasting, product launches and more
• Food and Beverage Consultancy where they will help you develop your food business idea from feasibility studies, product development up to product roll out.

I'm actually considering renting the space to shoot a few of Feast Your Eyes episodes there! haha
It's nice to have such service available nearby.

I made a video about my experience with the workshop below, be sure to check that out! :)

My thoughts about the workshop

The topic we had at the workshop was about Micro-Farming and Cooking where Chef Rhon taught us alot about starting a micro-farm on our own backyards/gardens by first starting with herbs and spices that can be easily bought at market places and plant sellers. 

It was very informative and I didn't think that some plants are very meticulous in the conditions where they will thrive on and that some even want to be not taken care at all and just let them be.

Definitely an interesting discussion and then segwaying into the cooking part where we used Chef Rhon's own fresh harvest of his herbs to give flavor to the dishes we were about to cook.

Here are the 4 dishes that we cooked that day:

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Lemongrass Chicken

Cuban Pork Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Thai Fish Curry

Believe me when I tell you that all these dishes taste absolutely amazing. Restaurant quality!
If you follow the instructions carefully, you won't mess it up haha

Some require a bit more dexterity, some are just basic and easy to do. Either way, I really had fun cooking these dishes and of course, tasting and eating them.

Hands down, The Kitchen Playground Manila is a place where you can learn amazing dishes even without prior knowledge.

For the recipe guides for each dish, I will make a separate post about it soon.

Final Thoughts

The Kitchen Playground Manila is one of the best places to learn cooking as well as be a hobby and something new to do with your friends and family bonding over cooking and learning new things in the kitchen.

The workshop is very newbie friendly as they actually teach you the basics of cooking at the start of the session and then insert some advance techniques here and there as the workshop progresses.

I would definitely try out their other workshops and recommend them to anyone wanting to try something new or trying to learn new cuisines and dishes or meeting new people with the same interests in food!

Oh and you get to keep the apron and get a certificate too when you finish a workshop! :)

Anyway, you can check them out at their social media accounts:
Facebook - The Kitchen Playground Manila
Instagram - @tkpmanila

They have weekly workshops so be sure to follow them and be updated of their promos and workshop schedules.

Follow me also on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube!
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For invitations, collaborations and other business inquiries, please do contact me on my social media accounts above or email me at feastyoureyesph@gmail.com or gab.jornacion@gmail.com