Yanqi Lake entices chef wannabes for a day in the kitchen

Like most Beijingers, I've heard lots about the Sunrise Hotel at Yanqi Lake. But I never had a chance to see the facility that was built to host last year's APEC summit of world leaders - until an invitation came to join a cooking class there. It was an easy win-win for me to say yes.

First there was a hotel tour - there are two hotels, actually, including the stunning and already famous oval architecture at the east end of the lake. The staff patiently answered our insightful questions ("Where is Mr Putin's room?") before taking us to the open kitchen where chef Ivan Li and his team awaited us.

I was the only male in the class of about 10 - except for Li and executive pastry chef Cord H. Bredemeyer. Our group of wannabes - freshly black-aproned and paper-toqued - gathered around the two chefs and their kitchen teams as they walked us through the preparation of three dishes.