Kinderkookkafé is a family restaurant in Amsterdam that is run entirely by children: they cook, serve, bring the bill and wash up, all with a little help from the friendly grown-up staff, of course. The simple set menu includes main course and dessert: ingredients are fresh, the food is healthy and prices are very low. Reservation is usually required to get a table.
The place is part restaurant, part cooking school and part day care. Parents drop their kids off in the afternoon and return to eat the meal the children have made. While the kids are there, they are taught how to cook, serve and wait. With the help and supervision of two adults, and a reservation, kids can prepare dinner on Saturday, and bake cookies and pies for high tea on Sunday. If they want to, they can join the kitchen brigade with other kids or just relax with their families and enjoy the meal.
Picture menus are provided looking at which kids can make sandwiches, milkshakes, and bake cakes. The ingredients, necessary cooking items, and instructions are all at their level. Children can do everything here -- cook, wait tables, wash up, serve behind the bar (soft drinks only), and write checks. The basic idea is to teach kids how to be responsible and helpful by cultivating that behavior in a fun and child-friendly environment.
Certainly beats PLAYING cook and server! And at least it's edible... Although, please, keep the kids who like to play doctor out of real hospitals!!!
ReplyDeletereally great idea
ReplyDelete