Cookery in Schools

[BigG]

I went to scool in the 80's and I did basic cookery in Primary school (fairy cakes mostly ) , but by the time I went to Juniors it has been phased out. This was about 1982 IIRC

I was taught to cook by my mum and by myself when reaching Uni.

[laterontoday]

Surely there are only so many hours in a day. If schools are supposed to offer every last subject then it simply waters down the basics. Industry are critical of the reading writing and adding up skills of most kids suggesting more time is needed on the basics. We then get kids being told they are fat and don’t take enough exercise so that probably means they need more PE.

I did cookery at school but only for a couple of terms one year.

Cookery or Food Tech is available in most schools but generally at GCSE stage. The course covers a lot more than just cooking and includes food science.

Parents don’t teach kids to cook because in many homes the parent or parents are at work until 5/6pm and little ethan or kylie came home at 3pm so has already cooked themselves a pot noodle. How many adults actually cook for themselves each evening? How many families eat take aways 2 or 3 times a week? Or rely on the microwave?

Teaching basic cookery skills in school is essential. It does not need to be done in detail but just enough to show kids that cooking can be fun.

[SoggyFox]

Originally Posted by BigG

and by myself when reaching Uni.

yep hunger was a great incentive to learn to cook, maybe thats an idea for the yooof of today, starve them for a couple of weeks and then leave the ingredients for a sunday roast and a cook book on the side and see what happens.

[purple vonny]

We did cookery at school in the 70s. During the second year, the boys from the school next door came over to do cookery and we went to the boys' school for woodwork and metalwork!

My sons both did cookery at secondary school and made some quite impressive things, both still love cooking. Whereas I hate it!

[Ian@1904]

No lessons at the boys school.
Went to college and discovered that girls like having a meal cooked for them- and not just spag bog.

So I became quite good at cooking

[purple vonny]

Originally Posted by Ian@1904

No lessons at the boys school.
Went to college and discovered that girls like having a meal cooked for them- and not just spag bog.

So I became quite good at cooking

I told my boys that women loved men who could cook. And they especially loved blokes who could wash and iron and kept the hose tidy too. It worked.

[hogen-deifar]

Originally Posted by Fiona

I am not blaming schools, I don't have kids so I have no idea what they are taught nowadays

But if you teach kids how to cook then at least they are taking something home and then they might actually cook something at home or influence what is eaten.

I wonder if you can sill get cookery baskets

It's not all doom and gloom, Fiona! Honest! Mini-Dazs is taught it. She has lessons weekly for it, but only cooks once a month. Very odd stuff too, if I say so! However, she IS taught in school and it's a normal comprehensive.

I went to a private school (can't believe I've admitted that on a forum!? ) and we had "Home Economics" every week. We also had a needlework lesson, which I hated. The other thing we were taught was the basics about electricity. Things like how to wire a plug. I came out with a qualification from an association called EAW (Electrical Association for Women). Because we were an all girls private school (explains a lot, doesn't it?? ) we didn't learn the nitty gritty stuff that boys learnt, which gutted me. I'd rather have done physics, TD or woodwork, though having been married to a joiner for 12 years I'm fairly handy with a chisel, saw and plane!

I think it was DSD who said it on the Jamie/Hugh thread. I think this should be taught at home. Yes school teach some of the basics, but the same as DSD I was making pastry at about 7 and did my first roast at 10. I loved helping Mum and she cooked every day, we never had takeaway. By the time I was 14 I was doing 3-4 meals a week at home. It's a shame the same isn't said for society today, IMHO!

Oh, and someone also mentioned Delia Smith. IF you don't know the basics and weren't taught by your Mum then this is the book for you:-

Amazon.co.uk: Delia's Complete Cookery Course - Classic Edition: Vol 1-3 in 1v: Books: Delia Smith

It's all you ever need to know to get started. I still follow her instructions when doing roast beef, and it's always turned out spot on! My sister in law and I called it the 'Food Bible'. It may not do the exotic, but it's a great all rounder and will cover boiling and egg, to doing a full roast dinner!

[Jay_Benson]

If they taught making curries and chillis at school I would be sooooo impressed - especially if it was an authentic curry rather than an "at this point add your curry paste" type. However I think that unlikely.

[alrhem]

I was taught Home ec in school and i had to do a project planning the food for one day for a diabetic and had to make the main meal....

this was when i was in year10 (3rd year to me).

Its all well and good doing some things like this at that age but the last I heard the govt were tryign to bring "life skills" and "core skills" in.

Should cooking or food education not be in there too?
would someone age 15/16+ be more receptive to learning how to cook? rather than younger when mummy/daddy are still cooking for them...


BTW - my main was a curry... made from scratch... :P

[CatB]

I was taught Home Economics (inc cookery) at middle school (ages 9 to 13) during the 1990's but it was pretty pointless. They tried to teach us 'healthy eating' - one week we'd make a nice shortbread, cake etc then the next week we'd make it 'healthy' by replacing butter with margarine, normal flour with wholewheat and taking out most of the sugar which just taught people that 'healthy' food tastes revolting!! They'd have been far better off having us make fruit salad or pasta with tomato sauce if they wanted healthy.

Once I got to secondary school I'm not exactly sure when they'd have fitted it in the day between all the other compulsory subjects - we had to do one technology/art subject which could have been home economics but would have meant you then couldn't do art or design technology etc. If they are going to make cooking compulsory something else will have to give.

I learnt to cook at home and to be honest that was because I did my homework at the table in the kitchen/dining room and chatted to mum while she cooked and occasionally stirred sauces/gravy. I didn't starve or eat ready meals when I got to uni and if I spent more time at home I'd probably cook more. My sister who had the same education but took more interest in cooking has no problem doing a full roast dinner with all the trimmings and home made desert for 6!!