Sugar, spice and everything nice. These are the ingredients chosen to create the perfect Erasmus+ project. Although we didn’t turn into the Powerpuff Girls, we did turn into master chefs in the kitchen. Our adventure began by flying to a magical town in Germany called Bremen where we briefly got to be a part of the autumn themed postcard that is this city. After that, we took a bus to our destination house which was located in Osterholz-Scharmbeck where we got to meet our hard-working organizers and the new friends with whom we’re about to make many memories.
The next day started slowly, with getting to know each other better through energizers and games, and then it was time for our first cooking challenge. Throughout the fun and chaos, we got a better feel for each other’s energies and dynamics, who plays a better role in what part of the kitchen and it really set the base for the next cooking experiences that we were about to embark on. After the cooking challenge and a deliciously made meal by us, we were divided into four teams which will be responsible for a different meal each day.
For me, it felt really special and grounding that we were divided into teams which represented the four elements: water, earth, fire and air. It reminded me that our fuel comes from Mother Nature and how we’re all connected from the roots of the trees, through the flow of the river, to the clouds in the sky and the force of the fire. It felt different being “behind the curtains” of a training course, all of the work that goes into not only teaching and creating but also taking care of thirty people and turning that into a learning process. Cooking itself was a very useful and everyday skill to develop, but more than that, we got to be creative with limited ingredients, to brainstorm as a team and unite our individual experiences in order to complete the task efficiently. All of us had the privilege to be in an amazing team with great communication and I loved that we were all able to combine our intercultural competences to create delicious and fueling food for everybody. Despite being in four different teams, the spirit of the community was really noticeable when we all helped the responsible team clean up or set up or whatever they needed. Although, the main focus was the kitchen, we didn’t spend all our time cooking, we had projects and sharing experiences and the evenings were reserved for connecting with each other through intercultural nights, dancing, having a short film festival and deep conversations on the bean bags. During the week, we also had the opportunity to explore Bremen more. Firstly, we went into a community garden and got to help out and connect with nature more. We also learned more about how to incorporate sustainability with healthy meals. Then, we were divided by teams and each team got their own small quests they needed to finish and explore around the city. The rain felt like an added effect to the whole charm of the city, but coming back to the house to warm up with tea and share each other’s adventures in the city made the whole day extraordinary.
To sum it up, this training course called “Kitchen Youth Work” perfectly translated non-formal education and youth work skills into the kitchen. You can really get a sense of what teamwork actually means when you’re put into a new, chaotic and dynamic environment where you have to communicate and really feel the other person, their way of working, their culture and their previous experiences. It created a bond not only through sight and sound, but also through taste. It was a project that managed to teach us teamwork and the work put into youth work projects as well as gaining kitchen skills. I got to leave home with new recipes, skills, memories and friendships that are unforgettable.
Simona Soleva
with chefmates Iva Velkovska, Angela Fichuroska and Aleksandar Sazdovski
The training course “Kitchen Youth Work” was organized by NaturKultur e.V.
