Compulsory cooking classes for English kids

by Kaitlin | January 22, 2008 at 04:45 pm | 751 views | 6 comments

I'm not convinced that this move will cut obesity levels but I'm all for kids being able to cook healthy food.

What dishes do you think pupils should learn to cook?

Cooking lessons will be made compulsory for English teenagers from the start of the next academic year as part of a battle to cut spiralling levels of obesity, the government announced Tuesday.

Boys and girls aged between 11 and 14 will have to attend the classes from September and will learn to cook eight classic healthy British favourites, including roast chicken and shepherd's pie.

Education Secretary Ed Balls, who made the announcement, told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Teaching kids to cook healthy meals is an important way schools can help produce healthy adults."

"My mum was passionate about all this and bought me my first Delia Smith book," he said, referring to a popular television chef.

Balls, who has asked the public to suggest other dishes pupils could be taught to cook, told BBC radio that the nation would have "real problems" with obesity in the coming years unless the issue was tackled.

It doesn't look like it's going to be all that easy to implement the compulsory lessons - the BBC's reporting that some teachers are sceptical about the practicalities and say one in seven schools won't be able to comply.

But refurbished or newly-built schools might not have the necessary kitchens, says heads' union leader John Dunford.

There is also a shortage of staff qualified to teach cookery, he says.

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Barry Artiste

at 10:12 on January 23rd, 2008

good stuff:

Kaitlin, excellent point, what will kids learn to cook? British Chef Jamie Oliver tried a campaign to stop crap junk food from being served in school lunches and failed miserably due to school government funded budgets being limited to pennies a child, and as par for the course the governments paying lip service to him in media interviews. Perhaps kids learning to cook is a start, any attempt to get kids away from greasy foods and fast food is a start.

scotay

at 12:24 on January 23rd, 2008

My Son is exactly that age and has made only one dish at school this year which is such a shame.My Son loves cooking and it should be a fundamental skill we should all be taught. Besides being something you will use all your life, its an excellent way to educate about where food comes from, the value of home cooked meals, ethics, gardening, hygiene...etc.
Its about time!

Barry Artiste

at 13:09 on January 23rd, 2008

As long as they also learn to do the dishes afterwards, to me that is important when my kid uses every pot, pan, spoon, collander to make an egg

jordan

at 16:09 on January 24th, 2008

good stuff:

Kids should learn to cook pasta quatttro formaggio... yeah, it's a fancy version of Macaroni & Cheese, but with no fewer than four real cheeses!

Barry makes a great point: cleanup and kitchen maintenance is just as important as the cooking of the food. Also, how to choose proper ingredients, and what to look for on a nutritional label. My childhood job, when grocery shopping with my mother, was to select the fruit and veg: a task I still enjoy. I'm like those squirrels in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, minutely each avocado or tomato.

Barry Artiste

at 21:19 on January 24th, 2008

My Mom being pretty much vegan all her life, grocery shopping sucked, Dad on the other hand ohhh yeah, sort of Homer Sinpson type of the grocery aisle.

Swan

at 22:16 on January 24th, 2008

good stuff:

Hello Kaitlin,

When I went to school in Australia, it was compulsory as part of "Home Economics" to learn how to cook. We all loved it, boys and girls alike. In fact, I still have my high school student cookery book on my shelves.

I could never understand why it wasn't part of the school curriculum, when I came to live in the States - it seems like such a fundamental skill that everyone should be able to master.
~ Swan