The two week course in August took place at Slough and Eton CE Business and Enterprise College, teaching students basic chef techniques such as knife skills, butchery and fishmongery and how to cook, as well as learning about food and nutrition.
BHFT’s public health dietitian for Slough, Pip Collings, has been working with Craft Guild of Chefs vice president Steve Scuffell, for more than 13 years to deliver the course primarily to 13 to 19-year-olds.
“Unfortunately many young people lack basic cooking skills, which can have serious consequences for their health in later life,” said Collings. “The Cook Project not only provides young people with valuable cooking skills, but key to the course is that young people learn about the nutritional value of food and get a better understanding what is in the meals we cook and eat. It gives them the skills and knowledge to improve their diets and eat healthily.”
Each day the students were assessed on the dishes they prepared, their punctuality and cleanliness, and this year the youngest student, 11-year-old Tia Dhaliwal, was the highest achiever scoring 91% on the course.
The more accomplished students will be offered work experience with Scuffell at the Crown Moran Hotel in London where he is executive chef.
“It makes sense for dietitians and chefs to work together to introduce young people to the pleasures and practical advantages of cooking,” explained Scuffell. “The absence of cooking skills in the younger generation is having an impact on the catering profession too.
“Young people who have attended past courses have told us how much their confidence in cooking has improved and, for some, attending the course sparks an interest in a career in cooking.”
The Cook Project is one of numerous programmes BHFT’s Public Health Dietetic Service delivers as part of the Trust’s strategic goal to work with partners to develop caring and compassionate communities.
The service will partner with Scuffell again in the autumn school term to deliver ‘What’s Cooking’, when they will support Year 10 food technology students at Slough and Eton CE Business and Enterprise College over six weeks to develop their cooking skills.