Last Thursday, we teamed up with environmental not-for-profit organisation Red Rose Forest to show pupils from Thames Primary Academy School in Blackpool about the benefits of growing - and eating - home grown fruit and veg. Red Rose Forest have helped the pupils to create an allotment as part of the Big Lottery Fund's Local Food Project and we ran a cookery lesson using fresh produce plucked from the plot.
When your critics are made up of 30 lively and opinionated children, you know you've achieved success when each one says ‘thank you’ for the session. Although not all were great fans of our now infamous quesadilla recipe, stuffed with refried beans and served with a cold salsa and sour cream, they each appreciated that they were being introduced to new ingredients and had been taught some useful cooking skills.
Many had never held a knife before, used a masher or grated up cheese, but this didn't stop them from being keen - all wanting to smell the herbs and spices and try the dish… even if onions weren't their thing! We never get dispirited when met with unwillingness to try because the participants always take something (knowledge and skills) away, which they can always apply to other dishes. Still, it did raise a smile knowing that this young chap went away fully satisfied: "Best I’ve ever had, I enjoyed the session and the food - I had two plates," said Marcus from Year 6.
More photos from this session can be viewed on the Cracking Good Food Facebook page here.
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