It sounds like the stuff of flour-covered nightmares, but Adam Liaw has let 13 kids take over his kitchen for the day, making an ambitious menu designed by the kids themselves to celebrate .
The initiative is part of a wider series of “takeovers” to honour the day, which commemorates the adoption of the . This year, the focus is on Article 12 of the Convention - respect for the views of the child - which stipulates that when adults are making decisions that affect children, children have the right to say what they think should happen and have their opinions taken into account.
When kids get to trace their food back before the plate, they start to see how it all fits together and connects.
Liaw is a nutrition ambassador for UNICEF Australia and says that, despite appearances, kids are actually far more capable in the kitchen than we give them credit for. “We tend to think of cooking as difficult or dangerous - so we keep our kids away from it for too long. But what's difficult about stirring something around or putting something into a pot and pulling it out again?” he asks. “Of course, kids need to be well supervised around knives and heat, but with the proper supervision, I think you'll be very surprised at what kids can achieve.” To wit, the kids who took over Liaw’s kitchen, aged 7-12 from Bondi Public School in New South Wales, cooked dishes like acacia honey panna cotta with olive oil sponge, chocolate lace and berries (get the ), and a starter of roasted fermented heirloom beetroot, sheep’s milk curd, puffed grains and toasted poppyseed dressing - a far cry from the Vegemite-and-cheese sandwiches most of us ate in primary school.
Liaw is passionate about his UNICEF work, adding that his family has a history of more than 30 years building and operating care facilities for kids in China. “It’s a cause very close to my heart,” he says.
As for teaching kids the importance of eating well, Liaw says it’s key to begin from an early age, and that cooking for themselves is instrumental. “When kids get to trace their food back before the plate, they start to see how it all fits together and connects,” he says. “I cook with my kids all the time. They help me with their breakfasts every morning and have a great time doing it. There's so much about cooking you can teach them just in making a sandwich or a piece of toast - what happens when bread goes stale, why cold butter is hard to spread, the difference between a bread knife and a kitchen knife. Cooking is all about the basics. It's not like you learn how to fry an egg as a kid, and then fry an egg differently as an adult.”
And it's not just cooking, says Liaw. Teaching kids about the providence of their food, whether you plant vegetables at home, take them to markets or farms, or go fruit picking, gives them a chance to put food in context.
The best start, of course, is to eat well ourselves. “A healthy relationship with food happens at a family level and the relationship we build with food is one that happens by example.”
Of course, there are bound to be a few mishaps when kids get involved in the kitchen, but Liaw says it’s all part of the process. “When my son was three, he tried to teach himself how to crack an egg without breaking the yolk. He was determined to get it right! We went through a whole carton of eggs, but he got there in the end. I was really proud of him… but he was prouder of himself.”
Watch their video here.
It’s a day for children, by children. See #KidsTakeOver around the world. To celebrate this year's on Monday 20 November, UNICEF Australia has invited children from around the world to 'take over' high visibility roles in media, politics, business, sport and entertainment to shine a light on the most pressing issues faced by their generation. For more information on the day and how to get involved check out the .
