As good animals we are, our first instinct is to be nourished. One may argue that this is the first thing we learn once we are born. With this mindset, The Animals Observatory food workshops came to life. Because we care about quality nutrition for children, and believe healthy, well-rounded eating habits should start at the beginning of a day as well as at the beginning of our lives.
Within The Animals Observatory food workshops for children, we have already organised a blind tasting activity as well as a funny cooking class for kids. About once a month, we host a small gathering where children can come with their parents or other relatives in order to explore new flavours, textures, cooking techniques and the most amazing properties of each piece of food.
Our food workshops also aim to be an activity in which children will strengthen their bond and trust with their parents, that’s why we welcome all family members at the event. It turns out that adults also happen to have a great time in The Animals Observatory workshops.
On the occasion of celebrating Halloween, our last food workshop had a really interesting approach. We brought many different kinds of vegetables to let children get to know all of them and interact with them. How so? The aim of the Halloween food workshop was to create cool, funny monsters using all the vegetables we got. Of course, children also could use little accessories like googly eyes or toy goggles to make their monsters more relatable. On the other hand, toy spiders and spooky eyes were provided to make it all more “Halloweenish”.
There was a wide range of vegetables to use. Not only carrots, pumpkins and eggplants, but also rosewood fruit, shallots, okras, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and even quinces. All of them were seasonal vegetables.
Last The Animals Observatory food workshop took place in the district of Poblenou, in Barcelona. The kids arrived there with their families and could spend a few hours creating a monster using all the materials provided. Especially the vegetables. Their imagination just ran wild and lots of original good monsters were created. So pumpkins with a jalapeño in the shape of a smile were born together with a courgette grasshopper, amongst other monster creations. The phrase “I have created a monster” made more sense than ever thanks to those little artists that could see beyond the actual vegetable. Besides, some of them could learn about fruits and vegetables that they had never seen before.
What’s more, all monsters created in The Animals Observatory workshop were given a name by its creators. That’s how, for instance, Rae created “Tita”: a rosewood fruit monster with okras as horns and tiny carrots as its two spooky sharp fangs; or how Gabriel created “Pinchitos”: a one-eyed eggplant whose body was wrapped in toothpicks were other vegetable-people were stuck. The stories they gave to their characters!
After having had a great time at The Animals Observatory food workshop, all monster creations were finally exposed inside bell jars in some kind of museum-of-horrors-vegetable-edition way, really getting ready for Halloween. The adults that accompanied their children also had lots of fun, feeling like children again.
As creating good monsters using food can make people hungry, children and adults alike, the guests of The Animals Observatory food workshop – Halloween edition could enjoy a small fruit-based snack. Therefore, juicy bowls of grapefruit and different kinds of seasonal berries were served with natural juice. Good animals need all the energy they can get when they are about to create good monsters!
