Grandma's Hands
This Project that i will be leading among other supporting staff will be to emulate the African American documentary High On The Hog off of Netflix however this project will be led by youth. They will be learning there African American heritage through the historical backgrounds of Cuisine and culture. The Youth will have an opportunity to learn the why behind "comfort food." They will have an opportunity to cook fine cuisine and learn from some of the best chefs in the Twin Cities how to cook.
2022-2023 Cultural Heritage and Community Identity Grants - Spring 2022
The proposed outcomes that i am hoping to see are a great lesson learned of our heritage through food, celebration and exploration of our culture.
Youth will primarily create Community dinners accompanied by well know Chefs within the metro
Youth will educate other youth on history of Cultural cuisine and what that means within the African American Heritage
blog there journey through the course of the project
listen to the history of the African American culture from the featured story tellers
* I have recruited 12 children ages 10_17
* I have hired Chefs to conduct lessons and hands on cooking demonstrations with the kids
* I have an advisory team of 5 adults
* I have secured a commercial kitchen and space rental at Northside Healing Space
* I have along with the children designed 8 menu plans plus more to be determined
* The official start date is October 20,2022.;
* Outcomes
* Youth were able to gain historical and culinary knowledge through a series of activities including
* Watching the four-part series High on the Hog
* Learn different cooking styles when it comes to preparing similar dishes
* Gain culinary etiquette
* Teach family how to prepare a southern meal
* Each youth participant was able to leave with new historical information about some of their favorite foods. They are also able to walk away with a recipe book to commemorate what they learned.
* Many participants of the program left wanting it to be ongoing. They are able to gain and retain new knowledge of African American history and food, and are inspired to learn more about other cultures through this universal language.
* We were able to bring the program to a close with a final dinner cooked by the youth along with staff. The youth were able to feed a total 65 people, including family and surrounding community members. Challenges
* Due to youth schedules and the availability of chefs and staff, hands on activities such as cooking and cutting skills were delayed by a few weeks.
* Some children were not able to fully complete the whole program due to their need to participate in fall sports, therefore they left during fall sports and returned after winter break to complete program.