A Multi-cultural Culinary Workshop
Hong Kong being a culturally diverse city has lacked support for teenage cultural integration work.
In light of that, we as psychology students in the CUHK formed up a culturally diverse team, aiming at delivering an insightful and influential workshop to urge better cultural integration among Hong Kong locals and the Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong.
Rundown of Workshop
13:00-13:30 Registration & Introduction
13:30-14:00 Ice-breaking
14:00-14:30 Recipe Discussion
14:30-16:00 Buy Ingredients at markets
16:00-17:45 Cooking Challenge (Main dishes)
17:45-18:30 Tasting Session 1
18:30-19:00 Cooking Challenge (Dessert)
19:00-19:15 Tasting Session 2
19:15-19:45 Award presentation & Reflective session
19:45-20:00 Debriefing & Dismissal
Registration & Introduction
The first 30 minutes of the workshop was reserved to account for latecomers, as well as to allow participants to complete pre-workshop surveys, consent form and other administrative procedures. It it also designed to give participants a brief understanding of the upcoming schedule as well as the content, general background and useful information of the workshop.
Ice-breaking
The Ice-breaking session is divided into two parts. Starting with a self-introduction in which participants will share to their group mates their name, academic background, cultural background, hobbies, fun facts, reason of joining the workshop and etc.. They will also create a group name for themselves which can represent everyone in the group and will be used throughout the workshop. In the second part, their sharing will narrow down to language and cuisine related topics so as to better prepare for the later activities.
Recipe Discussion
The main activity of this workshop is the cooking challenge. In this session, participants would be given a recipe featuring two mandatory dish, a Chinese dish "Sweet & Sour Chicken" and a Southeast Asian dessert "Halo Halo". Recipes of 4 other fusion dishes would be provided also. Participants would then discuss on the methods and needed ingredients as well as decide on their idea of making a fashion dish.
Buying Ingredients
After developing their own shopping and cooking plan, the groups will head out to Shatin or Taiwai to shop for any required ingredients for their dishes. $300 HKD was given to each group to purchase ingredients and group facilitators will accompany.
Cooking Challenge (Main dishes)
Immediately after shopping, the groups have a total of 1 hour 45 minutes to cook the Chinese dish and the fushion dish of their choice. Basic cooking equipment and ingredients like seasonings are provided for the participants' convenience.
Tasting Session 1
After cooking 2 dishes, participants will eat and share their cultural traditions. In many South Asian cultures, it is traditional to eat with their hands, we would encourage participants to share these traditions and etiquette with each other. This period also serves as a break.
Cooking Challenge (Dessert)
After the first tasting session, the groups will be tasked with making the dessert dish. The equipment and ingredients will be provided for the participants.
Tasting Session 2
Whilst the groups enjoy the dessert course, our team will be tasting and judging every group's dish and rating them in 3 criteria, creativity, taste, and teamwork. The groups with the highest rating for each criteria will win the competition.
Award Presentation & Reflection
The groups will be awarded a $20HKD Maxin Coupon for each member. The award given out will be for the most creative dish, the best tasting dish, and the most collaborative team. After the awards presentation, the group facilitators and host will conduct a more guided discussion and reflection period for the participants to encourage deeper thinking and share their views and reflections with their group. The host will restate the consent and privacy terms and remind participants to foster a safe and respectful environment for sharing and listening.
