Written by Javier Lim, Edited by Chey Jedd and Kaden Teo
On 6 and 13 August 2022, the Troop held two 集合 on stove cooking, the first since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Through these 集合, the Scouts learnt basic cooking techniques. Not only is cooking an important skill to have when camping, it is also a practical skill that can inculcate a sense of independence and self-sufficiency. It also instils discipline and organisation in the Scouts as both are required to ensure safety and hygiene.
During the first 集合, the focus was on teaching the Scouts basic knife and stovetop cooking skills. Sec 1s were taught scrambled eggs, the Sec 2s sambal kangkong, and the Sec 3s stir-fried chicken.
Above: Photo by Venture Scout Chey Jedd
The Scouts got to test out the skills they learnt during the second 集合 in an Inter-Patrol Cook-Off. Each Patrol was to prepare 4 dishes: 1 rice, 1 egg, 1 chicken and 1 vegetable. The Scouts were assessed based on presentation, taste, knife safety, and hygiene.
Each Patrol did a fantastic job, creating mouth-watering dishes which they got to enjoy afterwards. In the end, the winner of the Inter-Patrol Cook-Off by a slight margin was Eagle Patrol. Congratulations to Eagle!
Below is a short reflection by our 2022 Wolf Patrol Leader, Javier Lim:
"As a Secondary 3 Scout, my scouting life in Sec 1 and 2 had been disrupted by the circuit breaker and I, unfortunately, did not get to experience as varied of activities as previous batches. Before this 集合, the only cooking experience I had was during backwoodsman training and when I was attaining the Cook Proficiency Badge. Both of which were primarily individual, so cooking together as a Patrol was a new experience for me.
As the PL and the only person who had knowledge about cooking outside of Scouts, I had to teach the rest of my Patrol who were not as experienced. Thankfully, I was with Patrol members who were eager to learn, and they picked up the skills rather quickly.
Cooking was not without setbacks though, as there were times when someone made a mistake like adding too much soya sauce and we had to find a way to rectify it. However, I had foreseen such situations due to the relative inexperience of my Patrol and was quick to adapt. It is through learning from our mistakes and failure
that my Patrol learnt how to cook better and improve upon ourselves.
Above: Photo by Venture Scout Chey Jedd
The Cook-Off was very fun since the ingredients provided were somewhat limited, therefore to make our dishes stand out amongst the rest we had to stretch our creativity and ensure that the taste is on-point. It also tested my skill as a Patrol Leader because I had to act like a "head chef", giving clear and precise instructions to each of my members to ensure that we can cook everything in a systematic order within the duration; a challenge since we had to create 4 different dishes while only having 1 gas stovetop to use.
Although my Patrol did not win the Inter-Patrol Cook-Off, it was still a great opportunity for us to bond together and work on our teamwork as a Patrol. I am happy that my Patrol did their utmost during the competition as the product we got to eat afterwards was delicious.
I felt that these stove cooking 集合 were a great opportunity for everyone to learn new cooking skills as it is an important life skill that we can apply in our lives. After the 集合, I noticed that some Scouts who initially had no cooking experience became more interested in cooking, few even stated that they are interested in taking courses outside. I am also excited to share what I had learnt today with my family as a small sign of gratitude to them.
I hope that since we are finally moving towards a new normal where proper scouting training can resume and restrictions are eased, there would be more opportunities during 集合 to learn new interesting skills beyond the standard ones."
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