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Cooking Club Has Therapeutic Benefits And The New Orleans Cooking Club

Wednesday July 2, 2003

KANATA ON¡ª A group of residents gathered in a kitchen chat animatedly about their memories of years-past. They share recipe hints, they measure, they chop, they pour, they laugh. The scent of home cooking wafts through the air, piquing the interest and appetites of other residents and staff.

Such is a typical session of Garden Terrace¡¯s new cooking club. Launched in early June, the cooking club gives residents the hands-on opportunity to create cuisine, says Monica Burgess, assistant life enrichment co-ordinator at the long-term care home.

On the first Friday of each month, the cooking club takes place on a different floor, giving all residents the chance to participate in small groups of about 10 to 14. Each unit has its own kitchen, explains Monica, where participants spend about an hour-and-a-half cooking lunch for themselves and their fellow residents on their unit. Sessions are facilitated by life enrichment staff, she adds.

The first cooking club session took place on the first floor with residents with dementia. They cooked home-made pizza, with ice cream cones for dessert, says Monica.

Cognitively-well residents are able to choose their own menus, she adds.

¡°The residents have really been looking forward to this ¨C they¡¯re excited. I spoke with a group of residents on an upper floor, and they¡¯ve already come up with a menu for what they want to cook: ham and scalloped potatoes, and cauliflower with cheese.¡±

Monica says she has gathered opinions from residents about why a cooking club is so special. ¡°They told me that it gives them the chance to cook those foods that they enjoyed at home ¨C and it¡¯s more like home when they¡¯re in a kitchen, doing it hands-on.¡±

Many residents, particularly women, spent a lot of time in the kitchen in years-past, and they miss it, explains Monica. ¡°It brings back fond memories for them, especially with the aromas ¨C it smells so good. It also opens up conversation, and it gives them a purpose.¡±

Cooking Club: New Orleans

A while back, Culinary Fool asked me if I¡¯d be interested in joining her cooking club. I¡¯ve never belonged to a cooking group but the idea has always appealed to me, so I was excited about the opportunity.

The chosen theme was New Orleans and I was in charge of dessert. I had been dying for an excuse to make the bread pudding that my uncle made at Thanksgiving. The sauce has bourbon in it, so I figured that gave it some New Orleans flair.

The night started off with Ramos Gin Fizzes and Crawfish Profiteroles with Citrus Butter Sauce. The drink was very unusual, but also very good. It was frothy and thick, like whipped milk, but also light at the same time. The profiteroles were perfect¡ªI hate it when profiteroles get stale and chewy, but these were tender and delicate. The crawfish filling and citrus sauce were pungent and wonderful.

Our first course was a ¡°New Orleans-style Italian Salad¡±. It was an unusual salad with lots of crazy pickled ingredients, but it was good and oddly refreshing. The main course was Pan-Saut¨¦ed Catfish with Cajun Crawfish Butter and it blew me away. The catfish was perfectly cooked with a light, yet crisp crust and the crawfish butter was to die for. I could have eaten it like a soup, except that it was ridiculously rich. The accompanying side dishes were Dirty Rice and Maquechoux, which was a really great corn salad.

By the time we finished dinner, I was so full that I didn¡¯t think I could eat anymore¡­ but bread pudding called. I had made the bread puddings ahead of time in individual ramekins, so all I had to do was warm them in the oven and prepare the bourbon sauce. I really liked the puddings, but I think I added a bit too much bourbon¡ªor I didn¡¯t let the alcohol cook off enough.

It was a great evening and all the cooking club members were hilarious. They had some great stories and I can¡¯t recall laughing that hard in recent memory. And I can¡¯t wait for the next cooking club, which is going to be Greek themed!

If you need more info about cooking club, please visit Omni Way.

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