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Tiana's gumbo

Work together to cook gumbo like Tiana does in ‘The Princess and the Frog’
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Chopping boards
  • Knives
  • Pans
  • Wooden spoons
  • Ingredients (see recipe)
  • Oven gloves
  • Access to cooking facilities, either in a meeting place or on a campfire
  • Aluminium foil (for the campfire recipe)

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment can be found here, including examples. 
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.
  • Decide whether you'll cook your gumbo inside at your meeting place, or on a campfire and buy your ingredients. 

Preparing to cook

  • Check for any dietary requirements or allergies within your group before you begin. Make sure you have suitable areas for storing and preparing food.
  • Wash hands regularly at the start and throughout this activity.
  • Follow our food preparation guidelines to avoid the cross contamination of different, or raw and cooked, foods.
  • Depending on where you are making the gumbo, and the amount of young people in your group, set up enough space and equipment for everyone to help prepare the vegetables.
  • If you are cooking on a campfire, build the fire and light it in advance, so that it's hot enough to cook on.

Set in the great city of New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog features Tiana, an enterprising young woman who has big dreams of one day opening her own restaurant, and who isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves to make it happen.

Tiana is a visionary who learns the joy of sharing good food with others from her father.  She believes the only way to get what you want in this world is through hard work, but despite the fact she’s worked diligently and would be ideally suited to be a business owner, a number of overwhelming obstacles are making her dream seem increasingly impossible.

Tiana shows great resilience and courage when the evil machinations of Dr. Facilier transform both Tiana and Prince Naveen into frogs, leading them on a hilarious adventure as they become lost in the Louisiana bayou. In their quest to regain their human form, they are forced to work together and overcome their differences to break the curse. In the end, Tiana comes to discover that dreams really can come true. Tiana honours her father’s memory when she becomes the owner of Tiana’s Palace, a beautiful restaurant and jazz club on the banks of the Mississippi River.

 

Tiana’s story

  1. Gather everyone in a circle.
  2. Have a chat about Tiana. Does anyone know what happens in her story and how she had to be brave? You could talk about how Tiana had to believe in herself when everything seemed to be going wrong around her, and how that believe helped her achieve her dreams of opening her own restaurant.
  3. Explain that, just like Tiana, everyone is going to be doing some cooking. Talk about what a Gumbo is and how it fits into her story. Tiana’s dad cooked Gumbo. It's a traditional dish from Tiana's local area of New Orleans. 
  1. Gumbo is full of vegetables and some meat or fish. Ask everyone what vegetables they think can be used in the Gumbo.

 

Time to cook

  1. When you're ready, make sure everyone gets ready to prepare the food by washing their hands with soap and water.
  2. It’s time to create your Gumbo. Use one of the recipes below to make it.
  3. When the food is ready, divide it into portions, so that everyone can try the gumbo.
  4. It'll be quite hot, so consider giving it a few minutes to cool down before eating

Campfire gumbo

Ingredients

  • 1 stick of celery 
  • 1 carrot 
  • 1 pepper 
  • 1 clove of garlic 
  • 1/4 cup of frozen sweetcorn 
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • Pinch of salt 
  • 1/4 sweet chorizo (optional)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30-45 mins

Serves: 4

  1. Chop the celery, peppers, garlic and carrots and add them to a bowl. Make sure everyone's being closely supervised while chopping and that there are enough adults around to help anyone who needs it.
  2. Chop and add the chorizo to the bowl, if you're using it.
  3. Sprinkle the salt, thyme, oregano and paprika over the vegetables and give them a stir.
  4. Next, add the vegetable stock cube and mix everything together.
  5. Add the tinned tomatoes and stir everything again.
  6. Divide up and add the mixture into foil packets.
  7. Place the packets directly into embers for 30-45 minutes, depending on the heat of your fire.
  8. An adult should remove the packets from the fire, using heat-resistant gloves and tongs.
  9. Let it cool, then serve for everyone to taste.
  10. Put the fire out safely and wash up.

Scout hut gumbo

Ingredients

  • 1 onion 
  • 4 sticks of celery 
  • 3 large carrots 
  • 2 red peppers 
  • 1 green pepper 
  • 4 cloves of garlic 
  • 1 cup of frozen sweetcorn
  • 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika 
  • ½ tsp dried oregano 
  • ½ tsp dried thyme 
  • 1 vegetable stock cube 
  • 1 tbsp flour 
  • Pinch of salt 
  • 1 sweet chorizo (optional)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Serves: 6

  1. Chop the onion, celery, carrots, peppers and garlic. Make sure everyone's being closely supervised while chopping and that there are enough adults around to help anyone who needs it.
  2. Put the chopped vegetables into the pan and sweat them slowly in olive oil, until soft. 
  3. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture then fry the mixture for one minute 
  4. If you're adding chorizo, chop it into thin slices and add it directly to the pan. Again, make sure everyone's being closely supervised while chopping and that there are enough adults around to help anyone who needs it.
  5. Sprinkle the paprika, oregano and thyme into the pan, stir and let it fry for 2 minutes. 
  6. Add the tinned tomatoes and a pinch of salt then stir again. 
  7. Cook the mixture on a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
  8. Turn the hob or cooking device off. 
  9. Let it cool, then divide the mixture up equally and serve for everyone to taste.
  10. Don't forget to wash up.

© Disney

Reflection

This activity needed you to try something new and work together as a team to create the Gumbo.

How was Tiana brave in her story? How can you help other people be brave and achieve something they didn’t think they could?

Gumbo is a recipe from the United States of America. Did it look similar to anything else you have tried before? Have you eaten Gumbo before? If not, did you give it a go? What did it taste like? Was it easy to prepare all the vegetables? How did you help other people with their vegetables?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Sharp objects

Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

Cooking

Teach young people how to use cooking equipment safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Make sure it’s safe to use and follow manufacturers’ guidelines for use.

Fires and stoves

Make sure anyone using fires and stoves is doing so safely. Check that the equipment and area are suitable and have plenty of ventilation. Follow the gas safety guidance. Have a safe way to extinguish the fire in an emergency.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Hot items and hot water

Kettles, cookers and microwave ovens produce a lot of heat by the very nature of them. Caution is needed when in contact with items that have been heated and young people should use them under adult supervision. Use on a suitable surface, protecting it if necessary. Never leave hot items unattended and make sure there’s a nearby first aid kit, with items to treat burns/scalds.

Think about prepping the vegetables before this activity, so you can go straight into the cooking.

If anyone finds chopping things more difficult, think about pairing them up with another young person, young leader or adult to help them. They might also be able to do another task, such as stirring or washing up.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Squirrels Super Chef Activity Badge

Now you've made the Gumbo once, why not let everyone take the recipe away with them so they can cook it for someone else, such as a family member or friend?

Some people may be more confident with cooking than others. If you've enough adults to supervise the chopping and stirring of the Gumbo, make sure everyone has the opportunity to do so.