I have recently started working with The Food Teacher on the Young Chef of the Year awards.

We’re a team of teachers and registered nutritional therapists so the programme content is fully mapped to the national curriculum (KS1, KS2 and EYFS) and nutritionally evidence-based.

Here’s a snapshot:

• Young Chef of the Year award was developed in 2017 with NHS funding for Fleetwood, Lancashire to improve the long-term health outcomes of the community by educating children and their families about food and health.
• Following 2 years of success in Lancashire the award was rolled out across the country with support from national sponsors, the NHS, MP’s, schools, governors and parents. To date over 4,000 pupils have taken part.
• We now have 3 awards. One for nursery/reception (Youngest Chef), Year 2 (Younger Chef) and Years 5 or 6 (Young Chef).
• Most schools initially sign up for the Young Chef Award for Years 5 or 6. However, when pupils start in the younger age group awards they look forward to progressing through the other two awards

In a nutshell:
Each award contains 5/6 stand-alone lessons that can be delivered during an enrichment week, weekly, or across a school year. Once signed up the school receives full access to website resources for teachers including a scheme of work, lesson plans, assessment, resource planners, teaching videos and recipe cards. All printed material is also then sent out which varies per award but can include pupil workbooks, certificates, and copies of our award winning books ‘No Kitchen Cookery for Primary Schools’ and ‘Now We’re Cooking’. Each award also has a make at home/cook at home link to promote with parents/carers.

In the Year 5 and/or 6 award pupils plan and create a £10 three-course menu for their ‘HERO’. Teachers are given detailed resources via a website and deliver 6/7 two-hour lessons. The teaching covers the National Curriculum and includes chef skills, where food comes from, sustainability and healthy diets. Local supermarkets are often prepared to engage with school pupil councils and agree to donate £10 vouchers to each child wishing to cook their meal in the final week.

Pupils receive a printed pupil workbook, certificates and recipes to access at home. During weeks 6/7 pupils create their planned menus either at school, at your local secondary school, community kitchen or at home.

I will be talking about the award to all Bristol schools as part of our South West launch and if a large cluster of schools sign up we hope to also arrange a grand final and prize giving event across the city. This works really well when a school is part of a group of academies, or several schools in a similar location.

If this is something you’d like your school to get involved with I’d love to chat with your teachers about the awards and get set to deliver the content. We have space to get schools started either in term this school year, or in September.

Young Chef of the Year is brought to you by The Food Teacher.