Who
is Alex Krutov?
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St Petersburg, Russia
I would
like to tell you how my first cooking class went. I came to the orphanage at
3:30 p.m. My favorite care-giver Lenina wasn’t there, because she got sick
so I had no where to go. Then I went to the social worker and asked her if she
was able to get the key from the culinary class and she said no. Then I went
upstairs to find the boys that I was planning to teach and they weren’t
there either so three disappointments. I didn’t know what to think or say. I
was talking to myself saying I bought all of this food and did preparation and
it is for nothing, but at the same time I was telling myself that I am not
giving up since I am
already here. I had to come up with another plan. Well, I prayed and thought
and God gave me a wisdom. I went to the orphanage director to ask her if she
had a key for the culinary class and she said she did. I took her key and
opened the class. Then I went to find the boys and I did, but only one,
because the other one was somewhere. There was a girl whose name is Ulia. By
the way it is the same Ulia that takes classes at the Harbor every Thursday,
but lives in the orphanage. I asked Ulia if she would be interested and she
said yes so we went to the class. On the way we found another girl and she
went with us.
I began my class cooking healthy version of Oats Crepes with Apple and Cottage
Cheese toping as you suggested. By the way this was a very good idea so thank
you. During the class many other kids came, but didn’t stay long so they
left. Then another boy whose name is Sasha came in and I was excited, because
my class was complete and I had the kids that I wanted to teach and they
wanted to learn and this is only what matters to me. They were having a good
time. I showed them the first step of preparation, but during the cooking
crepes I allowed them all to do the cooking. I actually let them do the entire
cooking. They did a fantastic job and I was very proud of them.
After our crepes were done many kids came by and wanted to eat with us, but I
said that I am here not to feed the hungry kids I am here to teach them how to
cook and try what we prepared so I asked them to leave. This might sound mean,
but this is the only way for me to control the kids and explain to them that I
am paying for it and I am the boss and I want to teach and not feed. My goal
is to help them to be socially prepared for the life after they leave the
orphanage.
After everything was done I showed the kids how to serve the crepes. Then we
prepared tea and sat around the table. We have invited Lenina’s colleague
Irena and her son to join us to taste our crepes. We also invited another boy
who helped us to clean the dishes and set the table. After they ate the crepes
I told them that my American mom, Sue Gregg, has a custom. When someone tries
something new we would like to know how many points he/she would give to this
dish. The highest you can give 10 and the lowest 1. One by one told me their
grade. They gave between 5 to 9 points. The boy who gave 5 points said that I
am not used to eating crepes made of oats. However I think in the reality he
just didn’t get enough of crepes to taste and get the true and good taste of
it, because the portion that he had he ate with a great appetite and speed.
Other kids said that it was little bit unusual for them to eat crepes made of
oats, which I guess makes sense since they always eat junk and not used to eat
healthy or right so it takes time for them to get used to. I really liked what
Irena had to say. She liked the taste, but her favorite part is the way it was
served. It wasn’t just put on the plate like a pile of crepes with the
sour-cream. It was rolled with the cottage cheese inside and placed on the
center of the plate and apple topping on top of it. If I had more money I
could have bought some pretty strawberries and other goodies that would make
crepes to look even more prettier. Oh, well, one by one. This was the end of
my first class.
Next week I told them that I
am going to teach them Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes. I told them that it is one
of my favorite dishes. I don’t know how many kids will come next week
besides Maxim, Sasha and Ulia. I will let you know.
Alex Krutov
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