Brakes Scotland has partnered with the Food for Thought programme and has been visiting schools once a month in order to educate children on the benefits of healthy eating and cooking from scratch.
Food for Thought is a three-way partnership between the Scottish Government, Education Scotland and Business in the Community Scotland. It offers cooking sessions which are not just about cooking, they are about having role models, who can inspire children and encourage them to learn more about food, where it comes from and perhaps motivate some to work in this thriving industry of food and drink.
Development Chef for Scotland, Derek Lockett has conducted a marathon of hands on cooking sessions for all P7 children in Kirklandneuk Primary (63 children - split into two groups), developing interest in vegetables, peeling, chopping and cooking a tasty vegetable soup from scratch. Louise O’Brien, the lead for Food for Thought activities at Kirklandneuk Primary mentioned that the session was really useful for her, as she just started her cooking journey in the school.
At another session in Newmains Primary, the children transformed the P7 classrooms into a bakery. Smells of freshly baked soda bread wafted through the classroom and certainly inspired children to bake more. Many of the children had never baked bread before and over 90% wanted to bake the same bread at home. Amber from P7 said that she loved the bread with jam and she is keen to make more at home. Using simple ingredients, developing measuring skills, and kneading were amongst the skills gained in the session.
John Mclintock, Operations Director for Brakes Scotland, said, “It’s great to see so many children being inspired by our chef and our food and it’s great to increase the understanding of food from farm to fork. These children could well be the chef stars of tomorrow and as part of our commitment to the Government we want to make sure every child in Scotland has a better level of understanding about healthy choices, provenance and cooking.”
Mark Bevan, Operations Director for Business in the Community Scotland, said, “Our thanks go to Brakes Scotland for their invaluable support of the Food for Thought programme. We’re delighted to be able to introduce so many children, from early years right the way through secondary school, to healthy eating and a range of roles in the food and drink industry which is of such great importance to a sustainable Scottish economy. ”