This evening, as a bonding activity, my committee organised to go, en masse to a restaurant located in the sleepy beach town of Scheveningen (only sleepy due to Winter's inclement weather). Due to various curfews and tight train schedules, we ended up scheduling at early dinner starting at 6:30 but inevitably, when it came time to arrive, we were all late.
The restaurant that we had chosen was Het kleine Pannenkoekenhuis: a restaurant which specialised in pannenkoeken or dutch pancakes. For those of you that do not know, pannekoeken are not like traditional pancakes at all, but instead more like non-sweet crêpes. Additionally, while you can get them served with sweet toppings ranging from the traditional butter and powdered sugar to the more exotic: Grand Marnier, apple, and ice cream, most people prefer to eat them savory (my personal favourite: Spek en Kaas, or Bacon and Cheese). Irregardless of which you opt for, pannenkoeken are delicious and definitely a full meal as they are normally more that 30cm in diameter.
Though some of my participants could not make it, most everyone did come (including some extras from one of the American delegations who were required to travel in packs). Also, though many participants were wary about the concept of 1) pancakes for dinner and 2) savory pancakes, they all were raving about the food by the end of the meal and having a blast.
I always really enjoy the committee dinners that we have in TYA because it really gives people an opportunity to relax and enjoy each others company without having to stress about their projects or the fact that they are spending 8.5 hours a day discussing politics. So much about this conference is about being excited and passionate about the issue that the participants are discussing and working on and that is really helped by promoting and ensuring a positive space. To me that is what these committee dinners are really about, connecting people and making sure they feel comfortble and at ease with everyone else in the committee so they don't go into the conference trying to compete, but instead trying to cooperate.
And on that note, the dinner was a success.
The restaurant that we had chosen was Het kleine Pannenkoekenhuis: a restaurant which specialised in pannenkoeken or dutch pancakes. For those of you that do not know, pannekoeken are not like traditional pancakes at all, but instead more like non-sweet crêpes. Additionally, while you can get them served with sweet toppings ranging from the traditional butter and powdered sugar to the more exotic: Grand Marnier, apple, and ice cream, most people prefer to eat them savory (my personal favourite: Spek en Kaas, or Bacon and Cheese). Irregardless of which you opt for, pannenkoeken are delicious and definitely a full meal as they are normally more that 30cm in diameter.
Though some of my participants could not make it, most everyone did come (including some extras from one of the American delegations who were required to travel in packs). Also, though many participants were wary about the concept of 1) pancakes for dinner and 2) savory pancakes, they all were raving about the food by the end of the meal and having a blast.
I always really enjoy the committee dinners that we have in TYA because it really gives people an opportunity to relax and enjoy each others company without having to stress about their projects or the fact that they are spending 8.5 hours a day discussing politics. So much about this conference is about being excited and passionate about the issue that the participants are discussing and working on and that is really helped by promoting and ensuring a positive space. To me that is what these committee dinners are really about, connecting people and making sure they feel comfortble and at ease with everyone else in the committee so they don't go into the conference trying to compete, but instead trying to cooperate.
And on that note, the dinner was a success.
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