BENGALURU: Eshaan Raikar had a busy Thursday afternoon at a city restaurant. The 13-year-old kneaded and rolled his pasta dough with utmost concentration as the chefs at Smoke House Deli taught him how to whip up the perfect potato gnocchi. Eshaan, his mother Meghana explained, is on the autism spectrum and was beyond excited to be at the Children’s Day special masterclass organised at Smoke House Deli, Lavelle Road. “We didn’t tell him about the masterclass when we came. It was a fun surprise for him since he loves cooking and it helps calm him down as well,” she said.
Like Eshaan and Meghana, other parents and kids too had a fun time at the event, which saw young ones between 3 and 13 cooking up a storm. Though one of the main aims, promoting inclusivity wasn’t the only agenda of the event. “The idea was to also help children take part in an engaging activity and maybe inculcate a hobby as well,” said Nikita Jaggi, founder of Poppy Pundits, which organises such experiential ventures.
As the masterclass kicked off, the kids in attendance watched chef Saurabh Arora with rapt attention as he explained the process to them. They posed innocent questions like, “But what do we add first?” and “Has the potato been boiled?”.
On one table, five-year-old Tara carefully added some white chocolate ganache to her cake crumbs, not forgetting to stick a finger in to scoop some into her mouth as well. This was sweetly encouraged by Arora (“That’s okay, you have to taste what you make, right?”) as he then showed her how to roll the crumbs into a ball for her cake pop.
But it wasn’t just the kids who had a fun time. For Smita Mantagani, this session was a great way to bond with her granddaughter. “She loves to help me when I bake at home. So besides being interesting for her, I also thought it would be a fun and stimulating activity for her developing limbs,” she said.
The chefs present too got a chance to bring out the child in them as they patiently guided the young sous chefs. “It’s great to see these kids be so hands-on. They are more participative than adults too,” he said with a smile.