Songs to Enrich Cooking and Dining Experiences

How often do you slave in a hot kitchen and are discouraged when the food is gone in 3 minutes and everyone just leaves you with the dishes?

Well, there's a great song that will help fix this problem-- the Cook's Thank You Song.

Cookie, Cookie,
Listen while we sing to you.
Cookie, Cookie,
You're a part of camp life too.
Anyone can make a bed and anyone can sweep,
But it takes our cookie to make the food we eat.
So Cookie, Cookie,
Listen while we sing to you.

This should be sung BEFORE the diners leave the area to do other things.  Best sung together (to drown out the off-tunes) with gusto!  Even better, sing WHILE doing the dishes.  After all, the cook has done enough and should be given a break!

Another great song that should be a part of the cooking/dining experience is the Handwashing Song.  This is sung to the tune of 'Happy Birthday to you" and if sung twice through, your hands are CLEAN!  Any shorter time and germs may linger.  Remember to focus on areas like between fingers and under nails to really get good clean hands.  All cooks should prepare to cook by doing this first and often while cooking.  And all diners should wash hands before eating.

Wash hands well each day
to keep germs away
Wash with soap and water
and be on your way.

This song is especially fun in an operatic voice.  Loudly!

On a personal note, we have a family tradition involving mealtimes and songs.  When meals are ready, I call the kids to eat.  Sometimes they are busy doing other things and don't want to come down right away.  This makes saying our prayer of thanks difficult, as we don't want to leave any children out of our prayer.  Sometimes we waited quite a while before kids came to eat, and the food got cold.  Very annoying!  So we came up with a great incentive to come quickly-- a silly song.  The rule became that if you missed the prayer, you had to sing for your food, and you had to pick a silly song.  The favorite song was 'I'm A Little Teapot" with motions.  This sped up the slowpokes and gave the kids who made an effort to come down quickly a good chuckle.

I'm a little teapot, short and stout
Here is my handle (link arm to hip); here is my spout (stretch other hand out to side at shoulder)
When I get all steamed up, hear me shout,
Tip me over (lean toward spout arm) and pour me out.

For really silly food songs, look these up:

"Lard" by the Greene Chili Jam band
"Dinner Bell" by They Might Be Giants
"O Lonely Peas" by Adam Bryant and Michael Ford
"9 Bowls of Soup" by They Might Be Giants
"Don't Give Me That Broccoli" by Sandra Boynton
"Cake for Breakfast" by David Yazbek
"E Eats Everything" by They Might Be Giants
"Sarah Silvia Cynthia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" by Shel Silverstein
"Eat It" by Weird Al Yankovich

Songs sure can make cooking or dining better...