Rachel: School cookery class would f ight obesity
CELEBRITY chef Rachel Allen has called for schools to introduce compulsory cooking classes to battle childhood obesity.
‘Should they be taught in school? Absolutely,’ she said. ‘I cannot understand how the link [with childhood obesity] hasn’t been made. It’s obvious. We are like cars – what we put in affects how we perform.
‘It’s extraordinary that there are now less and less kitchens in schools. It should be obligatory that every child learns to cook in school because so many aren’t learning at home.’
The 45-year-old mother of three said youngsters should be introduced to cooking in primary school and, by secondary school, ‘Every child should know how to make soup or a simple casserole’.
‘My daughter is eight and she can make biscuits and pancakes from start to finish. I let her use the hob because she knows the danger of heat and I am there to watch her and supervise her. You have to let them try.’ Rachel was speaking at the launch of the new season of TV3’s The Restaurant, which she is joining as a critic with Marco Pierre White. And she promised she would not be too harsh on the mystery celebrity chefs.
‘I think I’m fair,’ she said. ‘It’s easy for me to sit there and eat and say, “Oh, this is underseasoned or over-done.” They are working so hard and, oh my goodness, some of their food has been incredible…the meal we had last night was amazing but I can’t tell you who cooked it.’