My work with Schools

Working as a consultant to schools and youth groups I also help encourage children to cook and appreciate the advantages of cooking and eating fresh "real" food. This work involves getting small groups of students to prepare and cook food under my supervision. I have visited schools both primary and secondary and demonstrated either single dishes or a complete menu. Involving students in the preparation and cooking is always important. One recent event was with two groups about to select their GCSE options. The idea was to show them what catering involves enabling them to see the possible result of choosing the “food technology” path.

From these jobs in schools mini-projects may spring like creating such things as a school composting scheme and an initiative organised by the RHS to run a free programme with schools who join the scheme. I also undertook field trips with an officer from the Soil Association getting school children to feedback on an interactive site showing where food comes from and various aspects of organic farming.

A recent initiative has been working with a local secondary school to refurbish their greenhouse and to grow fruit and vegetables that the students can then sell through the local farmer’s market. A good way of working within the tenets of the National Curriculum and still allowing children access to plants and food.