Let's Get Cooking: a report from Carclaze Junior School
"I loved cooking this year. It was really fun making all the things like curry, noodles, muffins and scones. I love cooking at home. We made lots of things and we learnt grips, the bridge grip, claw grip and lots of other things." Marisa, aged 8.
Let’s Get Cooking is a Big Lottery funded project to introduce cooking into schools, with the ultimate aim of promoting family cooking and healthy eating habits. The first phase of clubs receive £1000 in the first and second years (£500 for equipment and £500 for ingredients) and £500 in their third year. The Cornish schools began training in the summer term 2008, with demonstrator and start-up days for club co-ordinators and pupils. These sessions were pure inspiration, the enthusiasm of the trainers was infectious and it was impossible not to go away and cook with our own children at home.
Carclaze Community Junior School was lucky enough to be part of the first wave of Cornish schools involved in the scheme. We purchased five portable induction hobs (which we had used on the start-up days) and various other pieces of small equipment. Let’s Get Cooking provided us with a useful list of suppliers of equipment that offered value for money and quality products. Trago had a few visits too!
www.letsgetcooking.org.uk was our one-stop shop for recipes and ideas. The site is always being updated and the pupils had their own passwords to get into a club zone, which they loved. Our club runs from 2.30 to 4.00 with the help of two parents and one fantastic Teaching Assistant. Ten Year 3 and 4 children took part this term, Year 5 and 6 will get their chance in the spring term and all year groups will be offered a turn in the summer. The club has a huge waiting list and none of the members have dropped out. The children are not charged for the activities and take home what they make along with a copy of the recipe - most of them have tried recipes out again at home. To secure funding, the club needs to provide three community events per year. This term the club members are making some of their recipes at home and selling them at the Christmas Sing-a-long.
We love running this club, almost as much as the children enjoy it. It takes a fair bit of organisation, including shopping and washing the tea-towels. Kids with sharp knives are scary, hobs with bubbling pans of curry are a health and safety co-ordinator's nightmare, and power cuts in the middle of baking muffins cause a cooking disaster. But the children have learnt so much, hardly ever cut themselves (any more!), are aware of dangers and how to prevent accidents, have had a brilliant laugh and more than anything have achieved the aims of Let’s Get Cooking. Check out the website if you already run a cooking club to become an associate member. If not, look out for Kernow Cook, our very own Cornwall Healthy Schools version, contact us for information.
"I really enjoyed it when we made the curry. It was fun! It was a really fun club. I really enjoy cooking it was the best and learned lots of new things like the claw grip and bridge grip. The teachers were really great at helping us if we were stuck and your parents can come in and help." Alana, aged 8.
