Nadeje Homeless cooking challenge
| Time per session | 2 hours approx. |
| How often | Once |
| Activity Duration | 24/3/2017 Start |
| Reflections |
Once |
Activity Short Description:
In co-operation with Prague's most out-reaching homeless charity Nadeje, I must work as a team with my classmates to plan, prepare, cook, and distribute a meal for 50+ homeless in Nadeje's homeless shelter. There is a 2-hour time limit so efficiency and collaboration are essential.
Personal Goal for the Activity:
With this activity, I hope to be able to successfully and efficiently work with my classmates. Cooking a big amount of food in limited time helps to accomplish the stated objective. I will know I have achieved my objective if our supervisor congratulates us on our work.
Anticipated Learning Outcomes:
5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
In order to cook all the food for the homeless in a restricted amount of time, I will have to work collaboratively with my classmates.
Reflection
On the second day of our class' stay in Prague, the coordinators took us to a big kitchen in the city centre. This kitchen was run by a charity named Nadeje. This charity organization helps hundreds of homeless people throughout Prague and the Czech Republic.
Once there, our guides told us that we would have two exact hours to prepare spaguetti bolognese for around fifty homeless people. In order to do this, we were provided with many utensiles, ingredients, and a recipe. First of all, we decided to divide our work; meaning that there would be a leader organizing every process, people cutting the vegetables, people washing dishes, people cooking the vegetables, people cooking the meat, people cooking the pasta, and people packaging the food. Dividing the task into specialized positions was one of the best decisions we made as a group. I have some previous experience cooking, as shown in other CAS blog entries; and therefore, I would be taking control of cooking the vegetables along with my classmate Carlota.
Once everything was organized, the choppers started to chop celery, onions, and carrots. In the meanwhile, I heated up the pan and put some olive oil. Once some vegetables were chopped and the pan was hot enough, I added the vegetables and carefully began to stir. Once the vegetables were a bit brown, I placed a container on top of the pan in order for the vegetables to get juicy. Finally, when the vegetables were almost done, I added a generous amount of Italian spice that would later on be appreciated in the taste of the bolognese. This process was repeated almost infinitely until all the chopped veggies had been cooked. After I was done with my job, I helped my classmates in almost all of the tasks.
At the end of two intense hours of cooking, we cleaned everything up, and got to taste the final product. I have got to say that the spaguetti was quite tasty! I would have never expected our class to be able to produce such a tasty meal for so many people in such a limited time frame. Our guides congratulated us for our hard work, and I felt very satisfied to make all I could to serve the most needed and to create deeper unforgetable bonds with my classmates.
