本文討論在改革後的中國所出現的業餘烹飪學校與新「中產階級」的現象。本文試圖透過於兩個業餘烹飪學校所得的民族誌資料，配合與廚師、飲食作家、飲食記者的訪談，集中處理業餘烹飪學校學生的故事與烹飪學校的論述。業餘烹飪學校，無論是在過去或現在，都藉著推廣及反映中產階級和富裕階層的消費，反映出當地飲食文化中好奇的利基。當職業學校充滿對工作、技能和就業能力的論述，業餘烹飪學校卻是推廣休閒和自我實現的課程。通過這些敘述，我認爲業餘烹飪學校不僅是教學和學習廚藝的場所，而且還提供空間，讓個人吸收及協調中產階層的身份認同。

This article discusses the phenomenon of amateur cooking schools in post-reform China and their connection with the rise of a new 'middle class.' Using ethnographic accounts collected from two amateur cooking schools and interviews with cooks, food writers, and journalists, this article places their role within the current culinary landscape of Guangzhou. This ethnographic material includes narratives from different students who enroll in amateur cooking schools and the discourses surrounding the schools themselves. Amateur cooking schools, both historically and at present, have filled a curious niche in local foodways through their responsiveness and promotion of trends to middle class and wealthy consumers. While vocational schools are built around discourses of work, skills, and employability, amateur cooking schools promote leisure and self-fulfillment in their curriculum. Through these narratives I argue that amateur cooking schools are not only sites of teaching and learning, but also spaces where individuals absorb and negotiate middle class identities though learning how to cook.