"Hey, we could cook for our people for a change!" that was the idea that came to 28-year-old apprentice chef hans christl during the course of this year. "His people", these are young people from the bamberg region. A venue such as the juz am margartendamm, a meeting place for young people, was therefore an obvious choice.
Positive pedagogical aspects
The youth center has adopted the motto "create (free) space for yourself – help shape it"!" written on the flag. And so the three street workers of the institution were also prepared not only to make their premises available for the action, but also to support it financially.
Katharina krocker, a full-time social pedagogue, explains this commitment as follows: "a meal together is simply a door opener". You talk to the young people and get to know some of their problems, too.
Many of the visitors to their facility came from a "socially disadvantaged environment", as your colleague thomas lauterbach explains it. The street workers see actions like this as a good way to get the young adults off the streets.
Padagogin regina jans from the bamberger don bosco jugendwerk also visited the cooking project as a representative of her organization. She was particularly impressed by the fact that "the entire action is initiated by the young people themselves, they invite the guests, arrange the food and ultimately decide everything themselves".
Insights into everyday work
But the concept seems to work not only with the youth workers: because of the great response, the event has already taken place four times. This time the young cooks even prepared a whole menu. About 40 visitors could enjoy a fladle soup, various main courses and a dessert variation.
"You can choose between roast veal, roast pork and roast mush", the volunteer cake helper joseph skrzipek explained the offer, which was created with his help in the cake. He and the five other helpers took up the offer to cook for their friends under the guidance of the two professional cooks hans christl and kevin blevius. 24-year-old unemployed christian simon was also on board when "asked to help out.
Christl, who works at the "sternla" inn learns praises the amateur cooks above all for "sacrificing their free time for the project" . The young people gained an insight into the hard work of a professional: from eight in the morning until serving at 5 p.M., they spent time around the clock in the kitchen.
Florian Schneider, who is also a cook, was not able to participate this time because of the long working hours in his company, but hopes that his profession "will become more interesting for people of the same age".
A successful gala dinner
After the completion of the menu, one or the other chef slipped out of his work clothes into something more elegant. At least the streetworkers had the event as a "gala dinner" exclaimed. Some visitors were more into it, some less so. But according to regina jans, it was "precisely this colorful mixture that made the evening so interesting".