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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/schoolchildren-slovenia-sustainable-culinary-heritage/>
"Ten-year-old Erik will be a mechanic when he grows up, but in the meantime,
he’s putting his practical skills to the test by reviving half-forgotten
traditional recipes. With seven of his classmates, he regularly bakes and cooks
in the home economics classroom, practicing for the main event: preparing a
traditional regional lunch for over 200 of his peers at the primary school in
Dobje, a small municipality in the rural east of Slovenia.
Though the country is smaller than New Jersey, it boasts 24 distinct culinary
regions, reflecting a complex history at the intersection of southern, central
and eastern Europe. However, much of this regional culinary heritage is all but
forgotten, due to the strong influence of Viennese, Italian and Balkan
cuisines. “When you ask someone about traditional Slovene dishes, they can
maybe think of five, tops,” says Anka Peljhan, who started project Kuhnapato
(roughly translated as “kitchen and all that”) 14 years ago.
The project’s premise is deceptively simple: Children in participating schools
cook traditional regional meals for their peers throughout the school year.
This seemingly quaint idea touches on a pressing issue: Global food trade has
more than doubled since 1995, and the global food system now accounts for 30
percent of the world’s emissions. Beyond their cultural importance, traditional
recipes are time capsules from a time when food was considered a valued and
often scarce local resource, not a globally traded commodity. Home cooks
depended on local and seasonal ingredients, wasting food was close to
sacrilege, and meat was only eaten on Sundays, if at all. Accordingly, almost
all of the recipes used in the project are vegetarian, and all use local,
seasonal produce, often sourced from local farmers.
In Slovenia, many of these regional recipes are only recorded in the
handwritten notes and memories of older relatives, so children are encouraged
to ask around in their community for ideas and advice. With the teacher’s help,
the fifth-graders in Dobje choose a recipe appropriate for the season and their
skill level: Today, it’s soup with handmade noodles and roasted walnuts. Then
they don their red aprons and white hats and troop into the school kitchen,
quickly dividing the tasks among themselves and getting to work. They’re
already good friends with the kitchen cooks, who are on hand if help is needed
— but it rarely is. “I really didn’t expect how much children in this age group
can already do, it came as a complete surprise. They’re incredibly handy and
resourceful,” says Mateja Pintar, the kids’ teacher."
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
