American pie

"Want an American boyfriend? Learn American cooking." While the words seem more at home on the lips of a relationship counselor or a love doctor, this was the quirky advice offered by US expat Patt Brown who, in addition to her American husband of 40 years, holds a special love for the art of cooking American cuisine.

It was her passion for culinary creations that inspired Brown to begin offering American cooking classes out of her Parkview Plaza apartment two year's ago, a program that began with a simple online advertisement asking the question "Want an American Boyfriend?"

With two ovens, an army of measuring cups and cupboards overflowing with American spices, Brown's well-equipped Western-style kitchen provides the perfect battleground for fresh Chinese faces to learn the skills of baking and dinner making.

Armed with a contagious smile and a motherly mentality, Brown enthusiastically teaches students stepping into her kitchen how to make a mouth-watering mix of Midwestern favorites - from a hearty dinner of meatloaf, scalloped potatoes and mini-cheesecakes to a bouquet of baked goods.

Because most Chinese kitchens do not come equipped with an oven, Brown says she has noticed a special reaction amongst Chinese students taking part in her baking classes for the first time.

"I love watching the students during the first class of Bake 1, they are always laughing and smiling," Brown says, wearing an affectionate smile.

The shock and surprise displayed by her Chinese students when she shows them simple cooking techniques such as measuring, or lets them taste a brownie for the first time, has made the Baking classes one of Brown's favorite to teach.

While teaching her students Brown noticed that the Chinese are least familiar with many popular American baked sweets, especially pies, the classic western dessert that consists of a large round pastry crust imbued with a sugared fruit such as apples or cherries.

"They think that pies are supposed to look like the small pies you get at McDonald's," Brown says.

In addition to basic, intermediate and advanced baking classes, Brown also teaches a wide variety of other American cooking classes. Some of her most popular classes include American breakfast, soup and salads, kids cooking, Friday night supper, and a "Dinner Party" class where students are invited to bring a guest so that they can show-off their newly acquired cooking skills.

The idea to begin offering the classes came to the 50-something-year-old Illinois native after moving to Beijing following her husband Charley Brown, whose job at the Motorola Company required him to re-locate to China, three years ago.

"I started the classes as a hobby, more as a way to fill the time while Charley is away at work," she says.

Her hobby has continued to draw the attention of local media, recently earning her a spotlight on the CCTV program I Can Cook and so Can You where she taught a potential global audience in the millions how to bake Banana bread, a favorite treat of Brown's since she was a young farm girl growing up in the American Midwest.

Her classes also attracted the attention of Western baking guru Sarah Phillips, who operates the popular cooking website www.Baking911.com. While staying in Beijing, Phillips contacted Brown and together they taught one of Brown's advanced baking classes.

It was during her years as a young Midwesterner in the 1960's that Brown began taking cooking lessons through the American youth organization 4H. It has been a skill she has honed over the years, cooking for her husband, two children, and friends.

Learning to cook is not the only benefit of attending her classes, Brown says, it also provides students with a great environment to learn about a different culture and practice their English skills. The classes are also set in an intimate setting with just four or five students, providing the students with a good way to meet some new friends.

"Students have told me my classes are better for meeting people than going to a bar," she says, laughing.

Venturing into the idea with a feeling of cautious uncertainty, Brown says when first starting out she was not sure whether or not the classes would be a success. She started the lessons with a very low profile, charging nothing for the first few classes she taught.

Two years and over 200,000 students later, the classes have proved to be a huge success and the price for five, two-hour long baking classes still remains next to free, costing only 100 yuan ($14) and her dinner classes only slightly higher at 300 yuan for the five classes.

The fee is used primarily as a means to cover the cost of ingredients, Brown explains.

Since its humble beginnings, the class has exploded with popularity amongst Chinese women looking to provide a memorable meal for their children and husbands.

"I would say that only about 10 percent of the students are not Chinese and only around 20 percent are men," explains Brown.

Over her three years living in Beijing, Brown has observed the popularity for foreign groceries spread like wild fire, augmented by the increasing number of outlets that offer imported goods from the West such as Jenny Lou's, Carrefour and April Gourmet.

Brown attributes the growing interest in Western-style cooking amongst the Chinese to the flourishing Chinese economy.

"There has been an increase in middle income families, which means more spendable income, and that allows them to explore their curiosity in Western cooking," Brown says.

While it is becoming more common place for markets to stock their shelves with Western parcels, such goods are much more expensive because of shipping costs combined with the rising price of petrol.

Brown says even with the increased availability, there are still many things essential to Western cooking that remain elusive.

"Nutmeg is next to impossible to find, but when I do find it, I buy all that I can," Brown says.

Cookie pans, cupcake papers, measuring cups and cinnamon are a few other baking ingredients that have proven to be difficult for her to find.

Those interested in getting involved with one of Patt Brown's cooking classes can find out more at www.theamericancookingschool.com.

(China Daily 03/21/2008 page19)