Five for life Food skills on menu as pupils discover joys of cooking
ABRISTOL food writer has used a city school to launch a national campaign enabling young people to cook five healthy meals before they leave home.
Kate Percy ran a pilot scheme at Merchants’ Academy in Withywood and two London schools before rolling it out to schools nationally in September.
Kate says the aim of #Cook5withKatePercy is to “revolutionise the health of the next generation”.
Using the simple concept of the power of five (five recipes, five nutrition tips, five key skills) she wants to provide a basic foundation for young people to enjoy cooking for the rest of their lives.
Following an initial assembly where the 11- to 12-year-olds at Merchants’ Academy were introduced to the course, every child in Year 7 signed up.
From a choice of 20 recipes reflecting different ethnicities and cultures, the children made oaty banana pancakes, pasta shells with tomato sauce, risi e bisi (rice and peas), chicken fajitas and ‘healthy’ burgers.
Kate said: “At the start of the course, many students had never cooked before. After five sessions, however, they had gained key skills such as peeling and chopping an onion and cooking rice and pasta.
“They had also gained a knowledge of macro and micronutrients, what this meant in terms of food and what constitutes a healthy, balanced meal. I was also struck by how open every child was to trying new flavours and foods they had never tasted before.”
Parents and siblings were invited to the final session.
Students have also started using their cooking skills at home, introducing healthy eating habits into the family. Part of the campaign is to provide a foundation for young people to make healthier food and lifestyle choices and gain the skills and the confidence to enjoy cooking for the rest of their lives.
Sam Williamson, principal of Merchants’ Academy, said: “I am over the moon that we have had the opportunity to work with Kate. Her positivity and energy are infectious and our young people have loved learning to cook family recipes from scratch with her.”
Diet-related disease is putting a huge strain on the nation’s health and finances, especially since the pandemic. Around 40 per cent of 10-year-olds are either overweight or obese.
According to a recent study, one in four Brits can cook just three recipes from scratch.
The addictive relationship with processed and ultra-processed foods, as well as a movement away from eating together as a family, has meant that more than 50 per cent of the nation’s diet is now processed or ultra-processed, resulting in problems with gut health, mental wellbeing and weight management.
“Children pick up cooking skills and understand nutrition basics super quickly. They just need the opportunity,” said Kate.
“Many of the amazing Year 7s at Merchants’ Academy had never cooked before. After five sessions they are chopping veggies like professional chefs!
“It’s amazing to see them readily trying new foods and flavours when involved in the preparation and cooking of them.”
In its ‘levelling up’ White Paper, the Government has committed £5 million to launch a ‘school cooking revolution.’ One of the initiatives is for every child leaving secondary school to know at least six basic recipes that will support healthy living later in life.
For more information, go to katepercys.com
It’s amazing to see them readily trying new foods and flavours Kate Percy, above