VIVE Cooking School turns 6 years old on Saturday the 21st of May! Time really flies by when you’re having fun. Over six years ago, we began construction on our passion project.
We went from this…
To this…
Here at VIVE Cooking School, our mission is to empower and connect our community by igniting people’s passion for real food.
Since opening six years ago, this mission has been at the forefront of our minds every single day and we work towards achieving this mission through every cooking class we conduct. Over the past six years, we’ve held countless of cooking classes ranging from French, Japanese, Italian and more. We’ve also seen thousands of people walk through our doors, from couples, foodies, corporate teams and the media, and we are so proud to be one of Sydney’s leading cooking schools, holding a consistent 5 Star Google Rating.
To celebrate our birthday, we spoke to Jean-Luc Tan, the Founder of VIVE Cooking School, to fill you in on the passion behind the cooking school and about his favourite VIVE moments.
Now to hear from Jean-Luc himself…
Why are you passionate about food and VIVE Cooking School?
Behind every great memory, a meal isn’t too far away. I really see food as a medium to create connection, foster bonds, and ultimately moments of happiness. While running a business presents its challenges, I am grateful that the VIVE team and I get to have a meaningful impact on people’s life: We build people’s confidence in the kitchen so they can in turn create meals they will share with their friends and family, so opportunities to create good memories and moment of happiness.
What does VIVE stand for?
I get asked this question a lot. I came up with the name VIVE for 2 reasons:
1) I was initially working on a sustainability project dedicated to saving our ocean and reducing plastic waste with an original reusable bottle. The name VIVE kept popping in my head because in French the word “vive” is related to “vie” (“life” in English), and it’s also a word to use to “celebrate” or “honour” something or someone. For example “VIVE la France” means “Celebrate France”. The initial project has been parked and I haven’t totally forgotten about it.
2) VIVE is also a contraction of the name Vivien, my dear wife who has been incredibly supportive of this venture and VIVE Cooking School wouldn’t be what it is today without her.
What are your favourite memorable moments from the past 6 years?
We’ve had so many great memories in this kitchen, and it’s genuinely hard to pick one! But I love all the laughter and fun moments we shared together with the team and our students in the kitchen – priceless!
There is definitely a contagious positive energy in our kitchen, and I am again so grateful I am given the opportunity to contribute to this energy together with our amazing team!
Thank you so much to all of our students, chefs, partners, suppliers and everyone else who has been a part of our VIVE community. We appreciate your support and can’t wait to see what the future holds for us!
