São Paulo – This Saturday (19), for a little more than an hour, an activity in Taubaté, 138 km from São Paulo, will turn children into kitchen chefs of Arab food. The local Sesc (Social Service of the Commerce) will organize, at 3 PM, the cuisine workshop Mestre Cuca Especial Olimpíadas (Master Chef – Olympics Special), focused on Arab dishes. Participation is free but with space for only 30 children.
Marcela Barbosa Xavier Oliveira, nutritionist at Sesc Taubaté, says that they promote every semester a project of cuisine for children. In the current semester, the classes offered are to focus in countries that will compete at Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, which takes place in August, in Rio de Janeiro.
The first activity with the Olympics as a topic will be the one focusing on Arab food, due to the participation in the Games of countries of the region such as the United Arab Emirates. In April there will be a similar activity for the children focusing on Mexican food, with the one in May dedicated to Indian food. The next countries are yet to be defined and the proposal will go on until July or August.
The classes are designed for children between 7 and 12 years old. According to Oliveira, one of the reasons for choosing Arab cuisine is that the children’s taste accepts it well. The menu will have roasted kibbe and ghraybeh cookies. The children will work in the kitchen, preparing the food together with the responsible nutritionist, Flavia Vasconcelos.
The purpose is to bring to the activities healthy ingredients. For this reason, the kibbe will be roasted. After preparing it, the kids will taste them along the side dishes, such as the curdled milk. All the workshops are followed by the tasting sessions.
Besides learning to make the dishes and snacks, those participating also learn about other educational topics, such as washing their hands before cooking and to dress with kitchen aprons and hats. The material is supplied by Sesc and the activity takes place in a room that is turned into a kitchen. According to Oliveira, the room is very ludic, with sound and pouffes, for instance.
Parents can accompany their kids and watch the workshop, which lasts around 1 hour. The nutritionist of Sesc Taubaté explains that the duration of the workshop is appropriate to maintain the kids’ attention. With the same purpose, in the workshop, one action is always followed by another. Registration should be made beforehand, but in case the vacancies are not fulfilled, the kids that arrive at the time of the event will be allowed to participate.
Workshop Master Chef Olympics Special
Saturday, March 19, 2016
3 PM (it lasts around 1 hour)
With Flavia Vasconcelos
Admission free (30 spots)
Information: http://www.sescsp.org.br/aulas/87568_MESTRE+CUCA+ESPECIAL+OLIMPIADAS
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
