Teaching tomorrow's chefs

Her mum is a brilliant cook and her dad was always ready to try a new dish. As a child she never spent time playing kitchen, but Ioanna Stavarra has always enjoyed her time with food. With her fondest childhood memories centring around the dinner table, it's no wonder she eventually chose to make a career in the gourmet industry. "Sometimes it's the small moments that give you the much-needed boost to believe in yourself," says Stavarra. She takes each day with a generous sprinkling of humour and creativity. An actress by hobby, she earns her living as a media manager for a hotel and also has a passion for teaching.

In her hometown, Larisa, Greece, she worked in the hospitality industry. Together with Greek celebrity Chef Yiannis Baxevanis, she launched the Little Chefs programme in 2005. When destiny brought her to Dubai she took up the challenge of introducing the unique concept here too. And so began the Little Chefs programme at Elia, the Greek speciality restaurant in the Majestic Hotel, Dubai.

Her eyes shine as she explains the beginnings of the project: "It was difficult at first. Cooking classes for children are not a popular idea with hotels here. But I knew it would be a hit. Moreover, Chef Yiannis was willing to support us. We chose to have the first session during the Taste of Dubai event in March this year."

In the programme, eight year olds, under the watchful eye of their energetic chef, learn to prepare dishes good enough to be served to hotel guests. "They wash, clean, cut, pound, grind, shred, bake and even fry it's a great experience on both sides of the cooking table. It goes beyond the spread prepared. "Each time I have involved myself with this workshop, I have taken home more than just the recipes," she says. "You get instant feedback and gratitude from the little ones."

Putting the sessions together is definitely not child's play! Chef Yiannis selects the recipes for the programme, keeping in mind the age group of the participants, their nationalities and the season (so they can use fresh, seasonal produce). "We do a 'get to know' session before the class to acquaint the students with the chef, with each other and with the food they are going to prepare," she says.

Ioanna came up with this project not only because cooking is close to her heart, but also because she is a firm believer in it being a great learning exercise. "It brings together three of my favourite things children, food and creativity! I love kids and I believe in education. When the children measure out ingredients, prepare the elements of the dish and wait for the final product they learn to be patient, they learn to practise and to share. And while I help them, I learn from them too. It's a great feeling, one that you could never gain in an ordinary class or school." What the programme also does is give children an early start in learning about diet and nutrition.

"The best way to get a child's attention is to get him involved in the actual process. In Greece, we once held a class for anorexic children. It was quite a moving experience. First we had a talk by a doctor who helped us understand the condition and then we worked with the children themselves. I am aiming to do such classes in Dubai as well perhaps with obese children or those who have diabetes. I'd also like to take the programme beyond one hotel.

"There is something about food that brings out the child in us and teaching kids about food makes the fruits of the effort sweeter!"