The St Gabriel’s KS4 students are studying GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition which encompasses food choice and provenance as part of the curriculum, as well as a practical cooking assessment.
Bury Market dates back over 500 years with both indoor and outdoor stalls selling everything from fresh fish to a variety of meats. It prides itself on sourcing local produce from around the North West of England.
Founder of CMC School Food Gary Stewart is a regular visitor to Bury Market and thought it invaluable that the students would be able to chat with stall holders and learn about the provenance of the food they were buying.
A spokesperson for CMC School Food said: “Like most in the industry, we’re concerned by the difficulty we have in recruiting catering managers and staff and feel that, as chefs, we need to be part of resolving the problem.
“We were delighted to be given the opportunity to work with GCSE students at St. Gabriel’s, taking them to the market to buy fresh produce and then creating recipes back in school. Hopefully by meeting and working with chefs, the students were encouraged to see that it is a viable career path for them.”
The students were tasked to form small groups to work together to choose what produce to buy with a focus on sourcing fresh fish and meat to create their menu offer.
Back in school, the students were asked to produce a mains course but most students went beyond the remit and also created tasty side dishes, such as flatbreads & celeriac and sweet potato puree.
Beauty Bennett, Teacher of food and nutrition at St Gabriel’s RC High School, added: “We had a great day at the market, despite regularly being within walking distance, it's a place our students have rarely visited.
“They had the opportunity to talk to vendors first hand before using seasonal local produce under Gary's guidance. It was a brilliant enrichment opportunity and both staff and students had a great day. The students still talk about it now, weeks after the day.“