WHAT’S YOUR LIFE COOKING?

I N S P I R A T I O N A L W O R K S H O P

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S m a r t c o o k i n g s m a r t l i v i n g

What can your favorite food teach you about life? Is there any connection between knowing your ingredients in the kitchen and knowing yourself in daily life? How can great cooking insipire you to live a smarter, happier life?

WHY THIS WORKSHOP?

rue passion transforms you. You simply love that activity so much that you

start dedicating more and more time and thought to it. True passion also leads to great life lessons. And that is how this workshop came about.

It all started with one man’s love of cooking.

Great cooking is a wonderful combination of creativity and structure. It means mixing ingredients in innovative ways, experimenting with different flavors, but also having respect for food, understanding its basic rules and requirements and truly knowing your cooking tools.

This “dance” between freedom and discipline can lead to deep thought and making new connections, outside the kitchen.

What it takes to be a great cook can also teach us a lot about what it takes to be a great human being.

This workshop’s objective is to shed some light on some of the most important life lessons that came out of one man’s kitchen and inspire participants to experiment, think and find their own.

IntroWho is the speaker? What’s your favorite food? - 15’

The knifeDemo, interaction, making the point - 15’

The onionDemo, interaction, making the point - 15’

The whiskDemo, interaction, making the point - 15’

The salad

Demo, interaction, making the point - 15’All participants have the chance to cut at least a few bits of vegetables. These will become a great salad at the end of the workshop, which the whole group will enjoy.

Keep it green. Keep it clean.Green basket, interaction, making the point - 15’

What’s your life cooking?Group exercise. Debriefing. Conclusions. - 30’

Where did this workshop come from?

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Smart cooking. Smart living.

Brief Agenda

Key points

The knife

The best knife to use in your kitchen is the one that suits your hand and serves your purpose.

Stop looking for universal solutions and theories generated by other peoples lives. You are one of a kind, your life story is unique. You are not an FMCG product!

The point: analogy regarding the choice / the use of the knife in the kitchen and how you decide what suits you or not in your life journey and how to choose the right people, the right tools, the suitable path.

The onionPeel without struggleSlice evenlyDice geometrically

The lesson: Think and plan aheadPrepare for successEnjoy the beauty of your own work

The point: analogy between how you correctly peel and slice an onion and the precision and the determination you decide to treat your goals with. Peel with three cuts – plan your tactics and spend the correct amount of time. Slice evenly, so that the onions cook at the same time – in order to reach success, pay attention to details and stick to your own plan.

The saladWhen you cut your ingredients in very small pieces, you definitely loose the savor and the crunch.

The lesson: If you concentrate too much on details, you will lose the savor of your own life.

The point: when you cut your vegetables into very small pieces, you tend to focus too much on details and, in the end, you will have nothing to stick your fork into. The process becomes too difficult, the result is wrong. Enjoy your life plate in bite-size pieces, and you will feel much better, having a chance to truly “taste” life.

The WhiskThe whisk is not a poor relative from the countryside of the electrical mixer. It was meant to be used by hand, in accordance with its natural abilities.Using a whisk shouldn’t make you sweat just because you are working by hand and not with an electrical device.

The lesson: Speed spoiles the journey.Speed may cause injuries.Speed consumes you before reaching the finish

line. Speed is not all you need ;)

The point: a great life should mean less effort and hard work, and more smart work and joy. As long as you are on a wild race towards achievement, you may spoil the beauty of the journey and even the final result. Enjoy your life project by working smarter, not harder.

Keep it green. Keep it clean. Green basket interaction.The “green” choice keeps people healthy, fit and happy.

The lesson: You are the only person that feeds your own mind. It is your choice how you do it.Try not to fry your thoughts as you don’t fry your lettuce.

What’s your life cooking?

In groups, share what your favorite food is and the little story behind it. Why do you like that certain dish? Is it because how your mum used to make it and plate it? Is it because of the taste? Is it about a certain ingredient?

Can you identify the life lessons that you can extract from your favorite dishes? What are the common values you can extract from totally different foods enjoyed by totally different people?

Wanted to become an actor, but studied Journalism in order to be able to work in Marketing for about twelve years so that he could finally dedicate to cooking for the rest of his life.Worked for several media companies and political candidates.Hosted many corporate, private and cooking events as an MC and entertainer.

Cooks, serves and talks to the guests of his own restaurant in Bucharest.

About Viorel Copolovici

Tools and ingredients

Onions – 2 kgs

Eggs – Two for each participant plus two for the speaker

Basket of green leaves and vegetables (lettuce, bell pepper, broccoli, spinach, leaks, peas etc.)

Big salad ingredients – about three or four kilos (tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, cheese, extravirgin olive oil, salt, dry oregano)

Whisks – one for each participant plus one for the speaker

Knives – one for each participant

Cutting boards – one for each participant and one for the speaker

Medium plastic bowls – one for each participant and one for the speaker

Big salad bowl – one piece

Plastic or wood salad stirrer – one piece