Real life French teacher, and blogger extraordinaire and photograher, Mardi of http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com invited me for a return visit to guide her enthusiastic junior chefs through another Canadian Living recipe.
This time 9 boys, most of whom are about 9 years old, divided and conquered the tasks to create Canadian Living’s Pad Thai, in the Science Lab during their after school cooking program. The kids each have a cutting board (secured with a wet dishtowel) a knife and bowl. They divide up the tasks, so each concentrates on one or two tasks, then adds their ingredient to the others to complete a meal. What a simple yet brilliant approach to teamwork!
By sharing the work, the culinary whiz kids, chopped,
Make your eyes water shallots
Meticulously sliced peppers
Cutting shrimp in half
measured,
Trying to get the fish sauce out of the bottle
and sauteed ,
Frying garlic and shallots
Shrimp turning pink as they cook
their way to piping hot dinner (to take home in containers) in under 1 hour.
Ready to take dinner home
Pad Thai ready for home
What is so special about cooking with burgeoning chefs is both their enthusiasm and their honesty. When I passed around fish sauce for a sniff, I chuckled at the responses: Fish sauce, they told me, smells like, “stinky feet” “ear wax” and “Parmesan cheese.”
I love cooking with young chefs, exposing them to new and sometimes unfamiliar tastes and aromas on a voyage of discovery.
It reminds me how valuable it is to have time in the kitchen (or Science Lab) with kids.
What is your most memorable kitchen moment?
