Qulai Pizza welcomes children to learn the art of pizza-making
KULAI: What began as a spontaneous request from parents who wanted their children to experience making pizza has evolved into a learning programme at Qulai Pizza here, offering children from diverse backgrounds a unique hands-on experience.
Its owner, Mohd Shahril Aman, 49, said the programme, known as Fun Class Pizza, was initiated around 2022 after parents dining at the restaurant began asking if their children could try making pizza themselves.
“At first, when they came to eat and brought their children along, they would ask, ‘Can my child make a pizza?’ So, we gave them the opportunity. Perhaps because they took pictures of their children making and baking pizzas, we began receiving more requests from other parents as well as kindergartens,” he told Bernama.
The growing demand, particularly during school holidays, prompted Shahril to turn the activity into a regular programme held in the mornings to avoid disrupting the restaurant’s business operations.
The programme goes beyond allowing children to decorate pizzas with various toppings, giving them the opportunity to take part in the entire pizza-making process, from preparing and kneading the dough to baking their pizzas in a wood-fired oven before enjoying the fruits of their labour.
Shahril said the approach was deliberately designed to help children understand that anything they want must first be achieved through effort before they can enjoy the results.
“I want to train them and give them the experience. For a group of around 20 children, the activity takes about one and a half to two hours, while larger groups can take up to three hours or more,” he said.
He also believes the process helps build children’s confidence and motor skills, particularly those who are initially afraid to approach the wood-fired oven or use a pizza paddle.
“We want to boost their confidence because, to them, making a pizza seems difficult. But when they manage to do it, they will think, ‘Oh, I can actually do it!’ That is another message I want them to remember for a long time,” he said.
He said the programme also welcomes children with special needs, including those with autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
Shahril said although the children are closely supervised by his staff throughout the activity, they are still given the opportunity to experience the heat of the fire and observe the pizza-baking process firsthand.
“Some are naturally afraid to put the pizza into the wood-fired oven, but a positive approach and encouragement from teachers, parents and staff usually give them the confidence to try.
“…we need to constantly use positive words such as, ‘Well done! See, you can do it!’ At first, they are afraid, but afterwards they want to do it again,” said Shahril, who is also assisted by his wife, who has a background in special education.
According to Shahril, the learning experience through Fun Class Pizza is further enriched by the kampung surroundings of the premises, where children can learn about fruit trees and herbs, as well as see the firewood and flames used to bake the pizzas.
Behind the success of Qulai Pizza, Shahril actually comes from a corporate background, having previously served as Vice-President of Human Capital at the Iskandar Regional Authority, as well as an operations manager at Port of Tanjung Pelepas.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the entrepreneur’s life. Despite having no culinary background, Shahril started Qulai Pizza on a small scale on his family’s land in Kampung Pertanian after noticing increased demand for food during the pandemic.
“I first asked my mother for permission, and she replied, ‘Who would buy from a place like this in the village?’ I did not get discouraged. Instead, I smiled and carried on with the venture. Today, Qulai Pizza has become increasingly well known through word-of-mouth and media coverage,” he said, adding that he learnt how to make pizza from YouTube, while the recipes were developed based on searches on the Internet.
“When we first started, we only offered three types of pizza, which has now grown to about 15 varieties. At the same time, we have incorporated local flavours such as Muar-style asam pedas, otak-otak, rendang and sambal bilis,” he said, adding that the use of firewood has also become a signature feature of the business.
According to Shahril, Qulai Pizza’s customers now come not only from Johor but also from other states. The premises have even welcomed tourists from Japan, China, South Korea, Germany, Italy and the United States.
