Palate Sensations Culinary School alum Charlene Pe, second from right, with coursemates. Image by Sandie Dhadis, used with permission. Masks were removed only when photos were taken.

Palate Sensations Culinary School is a growing and diverse community of culinary enthusiasts. 

We have chefs and participants who come from all over the world to enrich our experience of food.

In this blog, we are very pleased to feature one of our Chef in Training Foundations and Intermediate alums, Charlene Pe from the Philippines, who was formerly a business journalist and who now lives and works in Singapore as a communication and content marketing professional with an integrated marketing firm.

Charlene also recently volunteered to test our vegetarian pizza baking kit with Frisky Palate, our latest culinary concept.

Charlene's vegetarian pizza made from Frisky Palate's kit.

Read Charlene’s insights on Frisky Palate, her thoughts about the importance of staying healthy in the new normal, and what makes her stick around the Palate Sensations Culinary School community.

Seeing that you are an alum for PS CIT classes, we appreciate that you have some experience in the kitchen and a passion for culinary arts. How do you see Frisky Palate as a new concept given your level of experience?

I think one challenge I constantly face as a cook revolves around purchasing the right amount of ingredients. I'm still bad with the estimations (I sometimes realise that I buy too much, or too little). I appreciate that Frisky Palate's cooking/baking kits are meticulously prepared with the right ingredients, in the right amount - this means not having to deal with the stress of grocery shopping and having more time to actually prepare the meal. 

Charlene with Chef Randall during her Chef In Training graduation.

How do you think Frisky Palate would benefit people during heightened alert AND beyond?

Staying healthy should be a key priority in the new normal. Frisky Palate offers a healthier alternative to frozen, microwavable meals.The ingredients are freshly sourced, so you can be assured that the meals you will be preparing are healthy as they are delicious. 

Moreover, Frisky Palate's kits try to keep things simple - without depriving people of the actual joy of cooking. Cooking is a fun and enriching hobby - and I think it's great that we have cooking/baking kits that help support the "everyone can cook/bake" movement.

Seeing you are from Philippines, could you share with us how you ended up choosing Palate Sensations for your culinary journey?

I have always had an appreciation for gourmet food. Back in Manila, I looked forward to weekends when my family and I would explore good restaurants around the city. Moving to Singapore a little over three years ago, I found myself spoilt for choice when it comes to good restaurants offering gastronomic experiences. My first few years in the Little Red Dot were spent soaking up Singapore's vibrant cafe and restaurant scene - I was eating out for almost every meal. Over time, I realised that this was an unsustainable practice. Especially last year, when lockdowns happened, I realised the value of knowing how to cook healthy, palatable food at home.

After a year of lockdowns and pandemic fatigue, I wanted to engage in a new hobby - and I thought that cooking would be a useful and practical skill to learn. I enrolled in Palate Sensation's Chef in Training culinary foundations course since I wanted to get the basics right before anything else. I was definitely hooked: There was never a dull moment in Chef Randall's cooking class, and I made a few new friends after the course.

Charlene with friends Sandhie and Pear at a cookout. Image by Sandhie Dadis, used with permission.

Palate Sensation's Chef in Training culinary foundations course has given me the confidence to try out different recipes at home through the techniques demonstrated in class. While I still have a long way to go when it comes to totally mastering the techniques (I recently signed up for Palate Sensation's intermediate course to get closer to this goal), I am definitely enjoying the culinary learning journey. 

What's the next kit you'd order from Frisky Palate and why? 

I'm eyeing the eggs benedict. It's one of my all-time favourite breakfast dishes, and I think it would be fun to prepare it from scratch.  

What is your dream cooking or baking kit that you'd like Frisky Palate to offer in the future? Why?

I would love to try preparing Mexican/Peruvian dishes - perhaps a cooking kit for shrimp ceviche and chicken enchilada.  

To order your cooking and baking kit, go to www.friskypalate.com