Values?

In this hectic fast-paced world time dictates our daily lives. McDonald's Drive Thru, fast-food, video games and reality television are the demands of children, rather than Mum's home cooking with fruit and vegetables from the garden and day-dreaming in fantasy lands.

Walking down the street to buy an ice-cream which is then devoured by grotty and happy children who have spent endless hours playing backyard cricket and other games that child-like imaginations conjure up, now can be equated with Play-Stations X-Boxes and childhood obesity, apparently an emerging epidemic. Fearful of the litigious society we have evolved(or should that be devolved?) into playground equipment has been removed while television, DVD's, computers, the internet, IQ scores and extra-curricular activities for the big-time CV's of small and imaginative children take precedence over the enjoyable art of being a child. Where glossy magazines, the latest must have accessory and Barbie is all consuming and constitute entertainment, rather than the sandpit, home made instruments and inventions, explorations of the never-ending world out the back-door and frolicking inside to make cubbies from Gran's old sheets, which provides a residence and hideout until its collapse when another family member dismantles the master-piece.

People need to spend time to STOP. THINK and if you like LISTEN (as cliche as that may be and no this is not a reference to crossing the road). People need to take stock and consider what really matters.

Most people don't do this. But observing an ever increasing need to return to old-school values and appreciations is the highly acclaimed Melbourne Chef Stephanie Alexander. The launch of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Foundation introduces a program that takes children (and I imagine incidentally adults) on an adventure. An adventure that is wholesome, healthy and value laden (far beyond the Tuesday afternoon tennis lessons, Saturday morning Ballet class and Thursday morning extention French lessons.)

Well done Stephanie what a fantastic initiative.

Side bar: Stephanie previously jointly owned Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder. She has also published many cook books. My personal favorite is The Cook's Companion - this is like a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia for cooking all rolled in to one! A source that would call themselves 'reliable' has told me that Stephanie actively encourages people to annotate and decorate this text as they explore it (alternate experimenting with the content contained within.) I wonder....