Local chef Vikram Vij is partnering with Arts Umbrella’s South Surrey arm to share his culinary expertise with teens.

The celebrated restauranteur will be offering three separate three-hour cooking workshops at My Shanti (15869 Croydon Drive, South Surrey), the youngest of his three local eateries, on March 25, April 29, and May 27. There, budding young chefs will learn the fundamentals of producing a family-style dish alongside Vij himself.

“I’m extremely passionate about teaching young people about Indian food,” said Vij in a media statement. “Not only that; this is a perfect partnership with Arts Umbrella. In the same way you take a script or an art assignment and add your own personality, I want these students to take a recipe and make it their own—adding extra spices, different flavours, and to adapt a recipe to something that’s uniquely theirs.”

The classes will help Arts Umbrella, a Vancouver-based nonprofit that provides access to arts education for kids, expand beyond its visual art, theatre, and dance offerings to include the culinary arts.

Chef Vikram Vij’s cooking workshops are open to youth aged 13 to 18. To register for a class, contact Arts Umbrella South Surrey by email or phone at 604-535-1127.