"Home of My Dreams"

The class for children (ages 6 – 7) in our "Home of My Dreams" series took place on December 24, 2011 at the culinary workshop of the Restaron company. The "Home of My Dreams" project is part of the "Home: A Century of Change" exhibition at the Center.

"Home" is a concept that children imbue with many meanings: the family and the building where they live; the furniture and everyday surroundings. The "Home of My Dreams" program intends to unfold existing knowledge, to encourage the children to think analytically about the presented material, develop perspective, and try on the role of creators of their own "dream homes." Instruction in the classes will stress the ethical, aesthetic, artistic and cultural aspects of home. In light of the audience’s age, the theoretical material will be presented accessibly in diagrams, pictures and interactive classes.

This week’s workshop was dedicated to the topic of "My Home – My Kitchen – My Food." We continued acquainting the children with the various aspects of home. This time the class was dedicated to the topic of food. The kitchen is the center of communication, leisure and emotional recreation that involves the entire family. Nevertheless, the chief function of the kitchen consists in the preparation of food. The class used games to introduce concepts of healthy foods and vitamins, include a presentation on the cuisines of various countries, and discuss the origins of various foods we consume. We used a real (as opposed to decorative) kitchen to put our new knowledge into practice, and taste it. We tried on the role of real chefs, cooking (and then sampling) delicious crepes. The artistic component was completely dedicated to the atmosphere of winter and Christmas holidays, and we moulded and baked salt cookies, and made holiday cards.

The festive mood of Christmas inspired the idea of inviting the children to try their hand at being real chefs at the Wonder Factory in the Taron Fairytale Castle. Gastronomical wonders worked at the real culinary workshop of the Restaron company (network, owning the Taron, Mons Pius: Beer and Meat, and the Centaur restaurants), where the young chefs were given a master class by the magician chefs of the Centaur and the Taron restaurants, assisted by the company’s brand-manager and PR manager. A real waiter led a master class on setting the table, after which the young chefs were able to sampled the croissants and cookies they baked. The children could then take the cookies home to make Christmas tree decorations, or to share with their families. All the participants of the baking master class received delicious presents, chefs’ aprons from the Restaron company, and chefs’ certificates.

Upcoming classes will take place on:

• January 21, 2012 (for children ages 8-10)
• January 28, 2012 (for children ages 6-7)

Participation in the program is free of charge.

The project is realized by the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, as part of the "Home: A Century of Change" exhibition, with the support of the ERSTE Stiftung. The "Home of My Dreams" program is implemented with support of the Rinat Akhmetov "Development of Ukraine" Fund.

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