SHANGRI-LA Hotel organised a father-and-children cooking programme at its Lafite restaurant on Sunday to mark Fathers Day.
The two-day programme, themed "Dad's the Way on Father's Day" held at the hotel kitchen, was led by executive chef Rudolf Kunkel.
On the first day, Kunkel brought the 14 fathers and 24 children to a supermarket in Ampang where they learned how to choose fresh seafood.
On the second day, the participants tried their hand at cooking their special four-course Fathers Day lunch.
They started in the cold kitchen where they prepared the appetisers, tiger prawn cocktails served with caviar, avocado and iceberg lettuce.
Moving to the normal kitchen, they made the soup dish, chicken and coconut cream soup served in coconut shell with fried shallots.
The children had fun gulping down fresh coconut water and scooping out the young coconut flesh.
They also learned how to cook the main course which was pan-seared red snapper with rosemary, garlic and onions, served with mashed potatoes and roasted baby vegetables.
The desserts, which were prepared on the first day, were warm chocolate fondant cake with vanilla ice cream, chocolate coated strawberry and jasmine tea flavoured chocolate macaroon.
Each dish was presented and served by the children to their fathers in a professional manner.
After the Fathers Day lunch, there was a graduation ceremony where participants received certificates and photo albums from Kunkel.
"This event is a unique opportunity for fathers and children to bond while in the kitchen.
"Their favourite class was, of course, the chocolate fondant class where they had so much fun," said Kunkel.
According to Shangri-La Hotel general manager Manfred Weber, this was the second time the hotel celebrated Fathers Day in an event such as this.
"The attendance is perfect. We keep the number of participants small so that everyone gets a chance to learn," he said.
Each participant paid a fee of RM250 which covered the costs of a chef's jacket and hat, an apron and a certificate.
Families of the participants also booked a table for a minimum of four at Lafite to enjoy lunch at RM150 nett per person.
Yves Boucher, 47, of France, participated for the second time with his son Adrian, 7.
He said they had so much fun last year that his son agreed to participate this year.
"Usually, we would just have lunch at a nice restaurant on Fathers Day," said Boucher.
Hassim Mohamad, 44, from Seri Kembangan, joined the programme with his daughters Hazirah, 16, and Deeana Isabella, 8.
"I seldom get to spend time like this with my daughters.
"After all these years raising them, I'm very proud of their talent and confidence during the programme," said the father of five.
Hassim added that he now looked forward to preparing food with his children at home.