Teens Who Cook Despite Singapore's Da Bao Culture

By doing so, they feel empowered, learn resilience and help out in the family

- Venessa Lee

Korean army stew, mapo tofu and pasta with fennel and sausage are some of the dishes that 13-year-old Sylvie Black whips up on a regular basis.

Sylvie, who started learning to cook under supervision around the age of six, has 2,300 recipes saved on Pinterest.

The Year 9 student at an international school is a fan of British celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, whose creations – such as a chocolate "nest" dessert, surrounded by dry ice – display a kind of "mystical" artistry, she says.

Sylvie and her 15-year-old sister have been involved in making family meals since they were younger. Their mother, Ms Penelope Foo, the founder of a cooking school called Hungry Mummies, used to suggest cooking together if they came back from school feeling down. They would bake puff pastry laced with cheese and pesto, scarfing the snacks hot from the oven.

Ms Foo, a 43-year-old divorcee, says: "Cooking also kept the children from bickering. The calm would take over and you go into a flow state."

Sylvie, who cooks at home at least once a week, describes it as a journey of self-discovery.

She says: "When I was a kid, I didn't understand the point of cooking because you could've just bought the food. As I got older, I realised that making food is not about convenience. It was more about what you like and what you're capable of."

She used to prefer baking before experimenting with savoury Thai and Korean dishes, then delving into exploring individual ingredients.

She says: "Making people happy with my food is definitely my goal. Knowing I can make a dish again is empowering."

GROWING APPETITE FOR COOKING CLASSES

Teenagers who cook for their families are rare in a culture where takeaways and express food delivery is common, and where even adults may not cook regularly.