No TV Weekend: A 5-star cooking experience for moms and kids

MUMBAI: Instead of watching their favourite cooking shows on TV, 10 families decided to make their Sunday special by signing up for HT’s No TV Day ‘ Mom and Kids

MUMBAI: Instead of watching their favourite cooking shows on TV, 10 families decided to make their Sunday special by signing up for HT’s No TV Day ‘ Mom and Kids Cook Along’, held inside the massive kitchens of the JW Marriott’s Italian restaurant, Romano’s.

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Duos donned chef ’s hats and began their afternoon kneading dough for a pizza base under the helpful eye of session conductor Roberto Zorzoli, chef de cuisine at Romano’s. “The recipe for a good pizza is fairly easy, but it’s the ingredients that decide how good the pizza will turn out. That’s why we will use tomato sauce that has been specially imported from Italy,” the chef said.

As they cooked, Zorzoli discussed the benefits of toasted flour ( for aroma), refined flour (for consistency), and whole-wheat flour (to make your pizza healthy).

“It’s my mother’s birthday today, so I’m making this pizza for her,” said Shaivi Mistry, 8, from Vashi. “I love watching all the cooking shows on TV and I enjoy tweaking the recipes with my own special ingredients.”

“Every time she cooks something new at home, we’re all like her guinea pigs,” added her mother, Nirali, smiling. “Our job is to taste it and tell her how it is.”

There were some No TV Day ‘veterans’ at the event too.

“I’ve been attending food workshops every year since the initiative was launched four years ago,” said Deval Mehta, 32, an artist from Kandivli, who attended with her three-year-old daughter. “It isn’t every day that you get to see the insides of a professional kitchen. It feels like, on HT’s No TV Day, we’ve literally stepped into our favourite cooking show.”