I receive a lot of surprised comments from others when they discover how much and what things that my kids create in the kitchen. It is something that has become normal for us, so I never thought that it would garner this much attention.
Why is this important?
As I have mentioned in other posts and discussions, we have transitioned our eating habits into a more ingredients-based diet by cutting out a lot of processed foods. We have discovered this to be a good health option for our family. It also takes more time and effort to cook from real ingredients than it does from packaged products.
We are in a busy season of our lives. We love it, but it is very busy. In order to homeschool, co-run a farm-business, and participate in the many different community and interest-led activities for the kids, I cannot physically be in the kitchen to prepare every meal from scratch (we eat a large majority of our meals at home or prepared from home).
As any farm family knows, farming isn't only a business, it is a lifestyle comprised of family members working together for the common goal. The kitchen is no exception. Everyone in my family likes to eat. And we eat a lot!
I had to hand over some of the kitchen duties to ensure that we can do all of the other things that our family enjoys. Luckily for me, my family has been very receptive to this arrangement and even flourished in their culinary skills. In the last week, I have enjoyed maple glazed pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli soup with garlic bread, stuffed peppers, chicken salad, brownies and pumpkin pie, just to name a few things. All of these items were made from base ingredients including homemade bread, mayonnaise and pie crust. I played only a minor role in these meals.
Many of the foods used for these meals came directly from our farm! We eat like royalty in our home. This doesn't come without effort and developed skills.
How did it happen?
Walking away from the kitchen duties didn't happen overnight. And it didn't happen until my kids were of a capable age and ability. This would have been an unrealistic expectation when my kids were younger. However, I now have a spread of kids from teens to a toddler. They are not only capable of taking on this responsibility, but they take pride in their accomplishments. Many of the photos used on our website for our meat selections were created by our teen as he enjoys presentation as well as flavor.
Did I spend weeks hovering over them to shower them with my culinary knowledge? No.
Did I stop them at every misstep along the way? No.
Did I provide a general direction of a meal and then walk away? Yes.
Working from home allows me to be present during the beginning stages of their culinary lessons. I can provide a task, walk away and then check in at various stages of the process. As I become more confident in their safety regarding hot ovens and sharp utensils, I simply walk away.
Pros
This approach develops confidence. We are designed to be creative in our endeavors. One way to show creativity is with our food. As each child takes on the challenge of preparing a meal, they are faced with various obstacles and problems (meat wasn't defrosted in time, we are out of an ingredient, etc). When complete, there is physical, and possibly, delicious evidence of their accomplishment. Overcoming these challenges by creating something new helps to develop a confidence that cannot be achieved with a sticker on a paper or a fake badge on a computer screen. It is tangible proof.
They learn to ask for help. Once I am confident in their safety, I do not micromanage them. If they run into a problem, they can try to solve it on their own or ask for help. I have noticed that each child approaches this differently. We cannot manage in this world alone. There will be times when we need help and there will be times when we provide help. It is a humbling experience to admit that you need help with something as we all like to provide the image of proficiency in everything, especially in this age of romanticized social media posts. They can learn these lessons of humility, the reward of asking for help and the error when they did not ask and really needed it.
They learn consequences. Very few things in life announce your mistakes louder than those made in the kitchen. We all make mistakes, but it is important to learn from them. Today's prevailing culture states that nothing is our fault and that consequences should be mitigated by others. Preparing a disastrous meal for others shows a different perspective. It forces us to admit that we made a mistake and suffer the results of that mistake. I would rather my children learn this lesson with food preparation rather than later in life with other, more serious consequences.
We experience great stories and shared laughs. One thing that families share is their experiences. These can be told to others and future generations in laughter and remembrance.
They have insights and experience teaching others. When one child becomes proficient at preparing a specific dish, they are eager to share their knowledge with others. This lends itself to a "student becoming the teacher" situation and results in shared knowledge overall.
They develop lifelong skills. Eating is an activity that we spend a large portion of our life doing. Why not ensure that it is enjoyable by eating well-prepared food?
They gain an understanding of the importance of nutrition. We discuss the misconceptions of nutritional knowledge. An example of highly advertised false information is that seed oils are healthier than animal fats. We have examined how each of these forms of fats have been created and decided that the fat from a pig raised on pasture, fed non-GMO feed has to be healthier than the bottled vegetable oil that required multiple chemical extractions and modifications to produce.
They learn where their food originates. There are a lot of people that believe that you cannot bake a cake without a brightly colored boxed mix or that soup only comes from a can. By focusing our meal preparation on whole foods, they learn about their food and its source. They learn that mayonnaise is made with avocado oil and egg. They know that real cream is the top layer of the non-homogenized milk. They learn that bread made from scratch, and without preservatives, will only last a few days without developing mold. They have learned that farm fresh eggs may have blood spots or fertilization marks but that it doesn't impact the safety or flavor of the food. Knowing where their food originates prepares them to make good nutritional decisions when they begin shopping for their own families.
Cons
There are a lot of bad meals to endure. Learning is a process. It does not happen without some mistakes. These mistakes have led to some really bad meals and even some inedible ones. When this happens, we have to get creative, and supper will sometimes only be popcorn or peanut butter and jelly. Luckily for us, our dogs are not as picky eaters and will usually clean up the meal.
There will be many missteps along the way. Besides the obvious issue of some bad meals, there have been other mistakes that make me groan a little. Catching our beadmaker on fire because one child didn't want to refill the flour and thought that a small portion of the flour in the recipe would suffice was a difficult one to tolerate. Cleaning up the pieces of a shattered pie plate because little hands dropped the pretty dish did require some deep breathing. Replacing a crock pot because no one really knows why it cracked down the middle was frustrating.
Teens becoming expert cooks. Teenagers are known for having all the answers to life's problems. They simply know everything, and we are a simpleton to question their judgement. We noticed that when a teenager becomes proficient in culinary skills, they can become overly critical of others. This criticism can be taken personally if not presented in a kind manner. Unfortunately, communication of these "tips" from the professional to the new learner can sometimes develop into an argument.
The chef does not clean. In the beginning, we developed a house rule that the chef does not have to clean up after the meal in order to encourage participation in meal preparation. This rule has worked too well. We now have multiple volunteers to cook each evening. In addition, with the knowledge that the cook does not have to clean, the chef will become extra sloppy and utilize twice as many dishes as needed to prepare the meal. This results in an extraordinarily large mess for the rest of the family to clean up. We have not discovered a solution to this problem.
This approach to culinary education is not one that I see employed very often and due to the cons listed above, I do understand. However, we have found that this learning method fits nicely within our overall educational environment by allowing the student to take control of their own learning experience.