School Food Trust: Lessons will be enjoyable
Tuesday, 22 Jan 2008 13:00
Compulsory cookery classes in schools will improve the nation's health while being enjoyable for children, the School Food Trust has said.
The organisation's comments follow the announcement that all children aged 11 to 14 will be taught to cook at school from 2011.
Lessons will emphasise healthy eating habits as part of the government's drive to reduce the number of obese Britons.
School Food Trust chair Prue Leith said she is "really pleased" with the decision.
"If we had done this 30 years ago we might not have the crisis we have got now about obesity and lack of knowledge," she told the Today programme.
"Every child should know how to cook not just so that they will be healthy, but because it is a life skill which is a real pleasure and we deny children that pleasure."
She added: "For some schools who have less equipment or they are very short of teachers or food technology is being taught by the geography teacher or something, it has been much easier to [teach] food technology with much less hands-on cooking.
"That is a pity but this is an opportunity to change that."
