A workshop on making a sweet Pan Bagnat and a discovery of Niçoise cuisine were offered last Thursday and Friday to the little ones at the Terra Amata daycare in Nice and the children from the Nikaïa school, in the presence of Lauriano Azinheirinha, Deputy Mayor of Nice in charge of Education and Youth and Françoise Monier, Deputy for Early Childhood.
Franck Viano, a member of the Cercle de la Capelina d’Or and the technical committee of the Cuisine Nissarde Label, offered two sessions combining play (the children had to recognize typical Niçoise recipes) and hands-on practice by making what was later to be their snack. The Nice Tourism and Convention Bureau supports this initiative, which is part of the city’s culinary heritage and thus promotes the revival of the Cuisine Nissarde label.
“The basic idea is to introduce Niçoise cuisine to children by explaining where it comes from, what it is, and why we protect it through a label. Then, the workshop is meant to get their hands ‘in the dough’ and encourage them to make a simple recipe, full of fruits. It is both fun and dietary,” explains the initiator of these workshops in Niçoise schools.
Thus, to move from the traditional version consumed on the beach in summer, bread is replaced with orange blossom brioche, vegetables with fruits, and other ingredients with sweet goods, always maintaining a corresponding color scheme: Strawberry replaces tomato, kiwi for green peppers, crumbled gingerbread in place of tuna. Finally, a syrup made from water, orange blossom, star anise, and sugar deliciously replaces the vinaigrette.
This recipe, imagined by Daniel Silvetti, chef of the restaurant Lu Fran Calin and member of the Capelina d’Or, aims to show that variation is possible in cooking as long as it respects tradition. It also allowed Franck Viano to win the local edition of the culinary show “Un dîner presque parfait.”
The two workshops ended with a joyful tasting before departure for holidays during which these little ones may dream of Cuisine Nissarde…
