Your child’s birthday is right around the corner. It should be a happy occasion but, six months ago – in a fit of parental generosity and short-sighted wisdom – you promised them a party to remember. As a result, you’re now stuck picking your poison among the migraine-inducing kids’ party venues: a mall Fun Zone guaranteed to take years off your life, or a greasy fast food joint where the ingredients are best described as ‘questionable’.
This is a predicament faced by parents all over Abu Dhabi, so we were pleased to discover an edutainment-worthy solution – kids’ cooking parties at the Parti Perfect kitchen. Just imagine: the hours frittered away on shoot-’em-up video games will be replaced by time spent moulding their own meat patties and measuring out ingredients. And, instead of tottering down the road to diabetes with a soggy McNugget meal, they’ll chow down on fresh food of their own creation. Even better – five Parti Perfect staff are on hand to supervise the whole shebang, so parents are encouraged to escape for three hours of blissful ‘me’ time. If you suspect your child might launch a massive food fight in your absence, the other option is to lounge nearby and, if you order ahead of time, you can even munch on a custom-catered meal as you wait. What could be more satisfying than savouring a fluffy Nutella crepe while watching your kid wreak havoc through a sound-muffling window?
Lana, the chef-turned-exec of Parti Perfect, describes these cooking celebrations as ‘mind-nourishing’ for youngsters. The kids play grown-up for the day, while they slice and dice ingredients, fry up patties and nuggets, and mix and bake their own cakes. Parties are limited to 12 participants, which ensures there is one grown-up to guard every hot pan or sharp object manned by a child. As you can imagine, the little ones are thrilled to get their fingers dirty in the mixing dishes, and the cake affairs often end in flour handprint fiascos. But the mess is worth it because, after the party’s over, more than one parent will take home a new kitchen helper.
According to Lana, kids are thrilled to be trying out taboo cooking tasks that were previously restricted to the grown-up realm. She explains, ‘Some children are quite adorable about it. They take turns passing things around, and get in line again and again to scramble the eggs. And, you’ll be surprised to hear this, but more often than not the boys are more into it than the girls!’ Perhaps we should pass that information onto the makers of Easy Bake Oven. They’ve clearly been targeting the wrong audience.
Parents who plan a Parti Perfect birthday meet with Lana weeks beforehand to pick the menu, which usually involves three meal courses and a dessert. The cuisine sticks to typical kid fare with a healthier ‘made-from-scratch’ twist – homemade chicken nuggets, fruit smoothies, giant pizzas, hand-sculpted ground beef burgers, egg and potato scramble and birthday baked treats. While the food is cooking, the kiddies sit around the giant communal table and decorate their personalised chef hats and aprons.
Birthday events are a relatively new venture for Parti Perfect, and Lana admits they’re still ironing out the details on keeping party-goers entertained during down time. But then she giggled, ‘Of course, once the food’s on their plates they become the most well-behaved kids in the world. They’re so busy munching, they go dead silent for the next 10 minutes. It’s quite a spectacle.’
The minimum age for party participants is about five or six years. Obviously, the older children get to try more exciting kitchen tasks, but even the little ones will have fun using giant frosting piping on their cupcakes, and rolling chicken pieces in breadcrumbs. Throughout the party they learn all about kitchen safety and cooking techniques, which means next time you’re frying up an egg, they’ll probably watch you like a hawk and point out all your mistakes.
If you can handle the culinary criticism from your youngsters, then Parti Perfect is a worthy solution to the birthday planning predicament – there’s no reason for you to ever enter a hyper-sugar-manic Fun Zone again. You’re entirely welcome.
Parti Perfect, 30th Street, next to British Veterinary Centre (050 126 4819; partiperfect@gmail.com).
