SWEET DISCOVERY OF MINI CHEFS
Exquisite tastes of chocolate world were prepared by little hands. Children, with the guidance of students of Department of Culinary Arts and Management of Izmir University of Economics (IUE), baked sweets at Izmir Chocolate festival. IUE Chefs, who wanted to contribute to cognitive and fine motor skills of children, baked mosaic cake with the young ones.
The mini chefs presented the desserts they baked to their parents at the event led by Semen Öner, Trainer Chef, IUE Department of Culinary Arts and Management. Trainer Chef Öner stated that children consumed convenience food, and they weren’t familiar with cuisines or cooking. The Chef said, “They get familiar with kitchen by preparing their own desserts instead of convenience food. One of the major problems today is our children lacking information about what they eat. They believe that strawberries, tomatoes grow on trees. This activity allows them to learn about the ingredients they are using in the kitchen and bake healthy food at the same time”.
Öner pointed that they wanted to contribute to cognitive and fine motor skills of children, and allow them to observe the transformation of ingredients. “We showed them how baking ingredients such as sugar, flour, etc. were mixed together and took a new form. They saw how chocolate changed form when it was melted. They controlled the form of the ingredients. They got involved in conceptual operations such as math, physics, and chemistry. This gives us a chance to introduce and promote our profession,” said Öner.