Putting a smile on their plates

Children supported by the Future Society for Youth’s Smile Initiative, which raises awareness and provides assistance to young cancer patients and their families in Bahrain, enjoyed a fun day and cooking experience at one of the kingdom’s five-star hotels.

The 25 children, aged five to 12, were treated to a culinary class by executive chef Ramadhan Younis at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence & Spa, as well as games with hotel staff members and charity volunteers.

“We were very delighted to have Smile Bahrain with us,” said Zaher Al Ajjawi, chief executive officer of the National Hotels Company, the Diplomat’s parent company. “The main focus of this event was for children to enjoy, have fun and learn something new. And, the most important thing was to see big smiles on everyone’s faces and that was achieved.”

Zaher also added that even with the effect of the pandemic on the hospitality industry, the hotel wanted to use the opportunity to give back to society, as well as to those who had lost more than a job.

“The children’s interaction and enthusiasm to participate and learn something new made us forget the woes faced by the industry during the pandemic,” Zaher added. “The youngsters deserve our full attention and kindness - that’s how this initiative was born and brought to light.”

Chef Ramadhan was all smiles as the children scrambled to him with eager eyes and attentive ears, capturing his every word during the healthy food demonstration. He prepared a Caesar Salad and the children then enjoyed making their own version of the dish.

“It was overwhelming to see so much energy in their eyes,” said the executive chef. “In the end, we witnessed many versions of the Caesar Salad. Maybe we should have a ‘special edition’ of Caesar Salad called the ‘Smile Bahrain meets The Diplomat Radisson Blu’!

“They showed us how we should enjoy each day and not to overthink our problems. I’m looking forward to another collaboration in the future.”

Smile volunteer Husnia Karimi believes there should be more programmes like this and thanked the hotel for being one of the first to approach Smile Bahrain with this kind of initiative.

“This programme was conducted so that all the children could see each other, learn from each other, as well as enjoy spending time together and they did,” said Husnia. “We need this awareness. Our children need to be given a chance to be in the forefront and we want to thank everyone involved in putting it together.”

Gifts were also distributed to the youngsters before they left the property.

A number of activities have been planned by the hotel in the upcoming months including supporting this month’s Think Pink breast cancer awareness campaign.