Co-op kids prepare a Silver Spoon Dinner
By Joan Janzen
Fourteen kids were busy shopping, chopping, mixing and baking on Sunday, October 23rd, at the Kindersley Seniors Hall. The Kindersley Co-op presented the Silver Spoon Dinner as an opportunity for kids ages 10-12 to learn how to safely prepare an elegant meal for their family.
The menu for the meal included Mini Bacon Ranch Cheese Balls for an appetizer. For the main course, there was Baked Rice Pilaff, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots, and for dessert, a delicious Mini Cheesecake Parfait. All the recipes were conveniently included in a booklet, which the young cooks could take home after their work was all done.
PHOTOS BY JOAN JANZEN, click for larger images
Their work began Sunday morning when they received a grocery list and went shopping at the Co-op food store, where they had the store all to themselves before the doors opened to the public. Five volunteers assisted the kids: board members Laurie Kelly and Donna McBride, as well as Co-op staff members Morgan Clappison, Lisa Klassen and Danit Vass.
Laurie Kelly said she had wanted to do this for years and was happy to finally see it come together. “The main objective is to give kids the experience of cooking a gourmet meal for their family. If there’s five people in their family, they’ll prepare a meal for five members,” she explained.
The group consisted of a mix of boys and girls. One of the kids had allergies, so accommodations were made for their meal preparations.
After the shopping was done, the kids brought their groceries to the Seniors Hall, where the preparations and cooking began. They were divided into five groups, and each volunteer demonstrated how to prepare individual items on the menu, with the apprentice chefs following their instructions.
“I chose Chicken Cordon Bleu because it was the first recipe I made in Home Economics class,” Laurie said. “I have four meat thermometers, so I want to be sure they know about testing the temperature of the meat to be sure it’s done and then cooling it off before storage.”
By the end of the afternoon, both the kids and volunteers were able to take home the finished product for their families to enjoy, but not before the cleanup was done. “Clean up is a big part of it!” Laurie said, holding up a bottle of dish detergent.
Who knows - it may become an annual event, so more kids can learn how to cook a gourmet meal for their families.