Teaching Kitchen
There has been so much activity in the kitchen this year. A few of Chef’s highlights from the teaching kitchen so far this year from September 2023 into 2024…
Nursery have been working on the fine and gross motor skills with recipes to help their hand strength and coordination. Something as simple as cheese and chives scones involved rubbing in butter (hard work for little hands!), snipping chives with scissors, grating cheese and mixing the dough. This alongside all the useful skills such as turn taking and following instructions.
Reception have had a term of traditional tales – we incorporated the 3 little pigs, Hansel and Gretel and the Gingerbread Man into one of our sessions. The children had to make gingerbread dough which was then shaped into all the requisite shapes for a simple gingerbread house. The challenge then was to assemble the baked biscuits into a stable structure that the wolf would have trouble blowing down. With only icing for cement, some of the houses may not have passed building regulations but it was all good fun! The term ends with a fairytale ball for which the children will make a vibrant rainbow sponge to serve as the centrepiece of their celebrations.
Year 1 have been using the kitchen for their DT curriculum. Following a fruit tasting session in class, the children chose their top 5 fruits from a selection of 8. They were then able to design and draw their ideal fruit kebab which we then prepared - the children in charge of all the cutting and skewering. They will evaluate the finished product in class. As part of their Geography topic on the UK we also made a selection of teatime treats from the 4 nations – soda bread, scones, welsh cakes and shortbread – to create a very British afternoon tea.
Year 2 had a science investigation to see how to create a rainbow drink using the concept fo liquid density. The children had to measure different liquids and carefully layer them in a glass to create a colourful mocktail. We also have been using the kitchen as a means of gathering data. The children made pizzas from scratch with 5 different topping options. Once consumed the class was surveyed to rank the favourites. The data was then drawn up as aa bar chart in their maths books.
Year 3 - It has been all about chocolate! They have learnt about the origins of the cacao plant and where in the world it is grown. In the kitchen we made a savoury Mexican mole with dark chocolate included to serve over chicken totopos. Not only that but the children were able to experience the chocolate making process. Starting with a fresh cacao pod, they were able to see most of the stages to transition from the bean to the bar. They also made their own Aztec-style Xocolatl, spiced hot chocolate.
Year 4 have focused on RE in the kitchen this term. They have been looking at Hinduism and Judaism in the class and we have used the kitchen to create foods for Hindu gods – Modaks for Lord Ganesh and a chickpea curry which would form part of the Chapphan bhog. In Judaism the most recent festival was Tu b’shevat or Festival of the Trees. A celebration of the natural world and the environment, in particular the’ 7 species’ mentioned in the Torah. We used these ingredients (plus a few others) in a delicious muffin recipe.
Year 5 explored reversible/ irreversible, chemical/physical changes in their science topic. The kitchen is a great place to demonstrate how these happen and why. The transformation of the raw ingredients into a simple cheese and vegetable omelette gives a practical visual example of what would otherwise be on a screen or in a book. We also looked at the history of Cornish food as part of their topic on rural/ urban cities and counties. Cornish pasties and Cornish saffron bread both became popular due to the industry and agriculture of Cornwall. The children very much enjoyed tasting a little slice of Cornish culture!
Year 6 visited a local Gurdwara as part of their topic on Sikhism this term. In preparation for that we looked at the types of food served in a langar meal and made our own vegetarian curry as well as fresh paratha and roast spiced potatoes. They have also been learning about French weekend customs in MFL and as such we decided to try out galettes, the traditional buckwheat pancake. Delicious at any time but especially nice for a lazy weekend brunch.
Our Teaching Chef, Joe Grollman, consults with class teachers, researches all of the various topics and then leads the sessions in the kitchen as well as the very popular afterschool clubs.