We often think cooking is time-consuming and difficult, but cooking a nutritious, wholesome meal can take no more time than it takes for takeout delivery. All you need is the right stuff on hand
MARYAM ISMAIL | Caravan Daily
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hinking we were right there we entered the Fashion entrance of Dubai Mall only to find out that one of the most fashionable department stores in the world, Galleries Lafayette, were nearly two kilometers away on the other side of the mall near the cinema and the ice skating rink. It was not a good start of the day.
The mall was just waking up. Grates were still down; the army of sales people fresh faced and wrinkle free marching to their respective shops. All of this just to participate in a kiddie chef event — Jamie Oliver’s annual Food Revolution Day, May 20-teaching parents and children how to eat and cook better.
The event was well organized by Prachi Grover, who blogs at Orange Kitchens as well as team of others including organic garden coordinator Sandra Carden of The American School of Dubai, who help organized the volunteer teen assistant chefs who worked the stations.
I didn’t even know Galleries Lafayette had a food department, until I registered for this free event. I imagined something on par with Marks and Spencer’s — a few shelves and freezers.
To my astonishment though, it had everything from Italian sausage to vegan chocolate and even a smattering of Russian caviar. I also counted 12 different kinds of honey all available for taste-testing. So if you come on Market Day, which is Saturday, get ready to eat more than you shop. But these gourmet treats are not the stuff that make kids jump up and ask for more. Their favorites these days are more trash than treats.
Fifty varieties of bread and cheese, chapattis or dosas served with milk and sugar, chips and juice or fizzy. And if you want to pretend to be healthy, the occasional cucumber or carrot. These are used as quick fixes when the kids are hungry and parents are busy.
We often think cooking is time-consuming and difficult, but cooking a nutritious, wholesome meal can take no more time than it takes for takeout delivery. All you need is the right stuff on hand. During my little trip to the Galleries, I learned just how quick a great meal can go from stove top to table and get the little ones eating healthier. And it can be fun too!
For nearly the past decade, the popular British chef, Jamie Oliver, has been on a mission to get kids eating healthy. He started first by demanding new school dinner menu choices in British public school and is now fighting for a sugar tax in the British Parliament. His teaching points are simple. Eat well; do not waste, and be ethical. A simple enough formula for a better life. However, in our globalized, fast-food dominated world, it is bound to make a few frenemies.
As part of his international campaign Oliver invites people to take the challenge and become a food revolutionary. So far, he has nearly enlisted 700,000 people.
One of the many programs that he has started to encourage people to cook include the Kitchen Garden Project that is aimed at getting primary teachers to cook in the classroom. Then there is the Ministry of Food where communities foster healthy food awareness and finally, the Apprenticeship program which helps introduce youth into the food and hospitality industry. All of these programs are UK specific of course but they could easily be copied elsewhere.
“Buy the best quality that you can afford,” he writes on his website. May 20-21 was a worldwide Food Revolution Day and to celebrate Galleries Lafayette sponsored a cook-in for children aged 6-12 teaching them the importance of a healthy diet and showing them that it could be done.
Also present were real masterchefs like Russell Impiazzi, culinary director of Le Gormet at Galleries Lafayette. Not only that, it showed within two hours children got to try their hands and preparing ten different, simple and very delicious Jamie Oliver recipes.
Fruity muesli for breakfast to roast chicken with veggies for lunch and dinner, a spicy mutton and chickpea stew, accompanied by a tangy salad; all of them available on his website so that they could repeat them at home.
I’ve already got something in the oven and hoping to start a food revolution of my own.
