5 June 2023
A recent post on the Maritzburg College Facebook page caught the eye. It showed boarders and their moms spending time together in the College kitchen, where they learnt to make bread and a peppermint crisp pudding. It looked like fun, but it offered a whole lot more of real value than a glance would reveal.
Maritzburg College Head of Boarding, Kyle Emerson, explained that the idea behind the initiative was to create an event that was interactive, which brought boarders’ parents onto the school’s campus.
Emerson became Head of Boarding in 2022, but before that he was the Housemaster of Hudson House. Then, he had come up with the idea for a Spring Day Tea. There was a guest speaker, high tea, lucky draw prizes and it was fun. Most importantly, it honoured the moms.
“We have always done Dads and Lads, and those kinds of things, but we want to look after our moms. It was very cool. They loved it,” Emerson told Pinnacle Schools. “The next year, Covid-19 stopped it.”
Seeking interaction
While the Spring Day Tea was definitely a success, it was wasn’t as interactive as he wanted, Emerson admitted. “You sat there, and you sat with your friends. I always wanted to do something to make the moms get to know each other, and the moms can meet their son’s boarder friends. If you don’t take a boy home with you, or he’s not in your same sports’ team, you never actually meet them.
“The idea was for the boys and the parents to meet each other. Maybe, they will allow you to go home with that family because now they get to know you. Now, they know who the other family is.”
Emerson pitched his idea about interaction to Danielle du Toit, whose son, Luc, is the Head Prefect in Hudson House. Danielle has a company called Pheka – home – pheka – (isiZulu for “to cook”), and he thought something could be done that incorporated cooking. He also chatted with Heather Lawson, College’s Catering Manager, from Grannie Mac’s – Granny Mac’s | Facebook.
Making bread and dessert
It was decided that making bread would be a winner, because it would require the boys to work with their hands, and they would enjoy that. Then, catering to everyone’s sweet tooth, a South African favourite, peppermint crisp pudding, was also included. It was an easy recipe, which anyone could make.
With the moms and sons working together, “It was informal, noisy, there was laughing, there was mess, dough falling on the floor, which is what we wanted!” Emerson reckoned. “I spoke for three or four minutes up front, and gave them the heart behind it, and thanked the moms for being here.
“Danielle took over. It was bit of fun, a bit of chaos. We had some tea in between. We had some lucky draw prizes, which they enjoyed. There were some Coffeebox – CoffeeBox | Drive Thru Coffee Shop Pietermaritzburg (coffeeboxsa.co.za) – vouchers, which went down well.
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“There’s your 1st XV flyhalf making a pudding and whipping cream”
“Danielle’s boys, Luc and Dom, helped demonstrate. It was cool for the others to see, too. There’s your 1st XV flyhalf making a pudding and whipping cream. It was quite a nice little balance, I thought.”
The event, because of the size of the kitchen, had to be restricted to 50 moms and their sons, and places were snapped up in no time at all. “It was quite sad to have to turn a lot of people away, actually. But we have promised to do another one, because it was great fun,” Emerson said.
Questioned about who did the cleaning up afterwards, he laughed: “Luc and Dom du Toit, being good College boys, helped with the cleaning up, as they finished. The boys were pretty good at tidying up their areas.
“Grannie Mac’s, our caterers, laid everything on. They had everything measured, like the flour. Even the pinch of salt was there. It made it that much easier. They put a lot of effort into it.”
Positive feedback
Feedback from the moms has been very positive, he revealed. “The moms absolutely loved it because they had their sons’ attention for two hours. They appreciated that. Plus, we gave them their bread to go and bake at home. They made the dough, but they had to bake it at home. It was a nice little go-home-and-bake-it idea.
“We asked them to send photos back, so we have the photos of the moms and sons. That generated a good response. They showed their appreciation, and they had a nice pudding to eat, as well.”
Boys being boys, they were more guarded in their responses, but the way they took to the tasks in the kitchen gave it all away. They had a blast.
“You know what boys are like,” Emerson said. “It’s a competition: whose dough didn’t rise as much, or who did it better. It was quite cool.”
Two thumbs up
The moms’ and sons’ kitchen event was also used to gauge how much interest there might be in similar events, he said. The answer was a very clear two thumbs up.
“We want to do a fathers’ event in some capacity,” Emerson said. “I want the boarder parents to see the Housemasters, that they’re not just a person behind a phone call or email.
“Next term, we’re going to open up some of our exchanges and have some braais for the boarder parents. There’s never a perfect time. But we want that interaction to happen.”
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