ŠKMER is starting “Cooking Without Limits”, a project running from September to November with eight interactive cooking workshops for children and adults with disabilities, supported by the City of Split. The aim is not only to learn how to put together a simple, healthy meal, but to use cooking to build independence, healthier habits, company and a place in the community.
“The reason for it is concrete. There are not enough adapted educational and recreational programmes for people with disabilities in Split, and cooking is a skill you learn with your hands, one that directly raises how independent you are day to day. That is why the programme is built on practical work. The ŠKMER Culinary Academy covers 191 m² and is fitted with professional kitchen equipment. For this project ŠKMER installed a wheelchair ramp, so the space is now fully accessible. The size and layout allow work in small groups and safe work with people with reduced mobility. We arranged the workshops in small groups because there is no other way to do it. Every participant needs their own pace and someone standing next to them while they cut, stir and weigh. The chefs we work with know that from practice,” said Nives Delić, the project lead.
Four workshops are for children and young people with developmental disabilities aged 10 to 18, in groups of six to eight. Each runs two hours in four steps: an opening educational game or quiz about food and health, cooking in pairs or small teams at an adapted pace, a short session on ingredients and their nutritional value, and a shared tasting and conversation about how it went.
The other four are for adults with disabilities, in groups of six to ten, running three hours. The focus is on preparing daily meals independently — breakfast, lunch and dinner — cooking economically with locally available ingredients, the basics of nutrition for different types of disability, and a zero waste approach in the kitchen. Every participant takes an active part in the cooking, with a chef supporting them.
The workshops are led by professional chefs and pastry chefs from the ŠKMER team of educators: Željko Neven Bremec, Petar Vlak, Marin Vučković, Bruna Elez and Ivana Bradarić.
The project builds on some fifteen years of ŠKMER’s work on educational cooking programmes. Among them are “I want to eat healthy!“, which has brought together more than 130 children aged 6 to 14 every year since 2008, “Cooking is cool!” for young people aged 15 to 25, “Let’s cook together” for parents and children, and “Golden Age” for older people.
As part of the AMPLE Split-Dalmatia project, ŠKMER held an independent living course at the Academy, with workshops on basic cooking skills and managing personal finances, for young people in Split-Dalmatia County facing the challenges of living on their own.
“After each workshop participants fill in a short satisfaction survey. At the end of the project ŠKMER produces a collection of adapted recipes in an accessible format, with large type, visual instructions and plain language. Every participant and their family gets a copy, so what was learned in the workshop stays with them at home.
Our aim is that someone who has so far only watched in the kitchen ends up cooking a meal themselves, and knows they can do it again at home,” says Delić.
ŠKMER’s educational programmes were developed as part of the project Competences for Excellence in Hospitality, supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, to build professional knowledge and strengthen the competitiveness of Croatian gastronomy.
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