FEAST
Meeting with National Union of Teachers

On Friday 12th February, Sara Jayne Stanes OBE and Michael Coaker took FEAST to the National Union of Teachers. FEAST - Food Education at Schools Today is Chefs Adopt a School's campaign to increase the amount and quality of food education on the Primary Curriculum and we need the support of the NUT. We had a great meeting and its clear that the NUT share some core principles with the FEAST campaign. The NUT is going to send a regular representative to the FEAST Task Force meetings and we may also work on some joint teaching materials. Watch this space!

Chefs Adopt a School 20th Anniversary
2nd February 2010

On Tuesday 2nd February, Chefs Adopt a School celebrated its 20th Anniversary with a very special event at St George's Primary School, attended by Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. The whole day was about showcasing Chefs Adopt a School, which Idris Caldora and Michael Coaker demonstrated brilliantly. Idris delivered the Taste & Sensory session while Michael made bread rolls with the pupils. Their Royal Highnesses participated in both sessions; tasting lemons and kneading dough! After the workshops and a short debate on the merits of food education – from plant to plate – on the Primary curriculum, The Prince and The Duchess attended a lunch reception (where, thanks to Rob Kirby, Mutton broth was served - naturally! – by students from Thames Valley University) and had a chance to meet and speak to members of the Academy, such as Heston Blumenthal, John Williams, Raymond Blanc, Gary Rhodes, William Curley and Cyrus Todiwala and all those people who have made a difference to Chefs Adopt a School. As a fantastic finale, The Prince of Wales made a very generous speech, saying he had "tremendous fun" as patron of the Academy and that "Chefs Adopt a School is the model that should be used across the country". The occasion was hosted by Brian Turner CBE, President of the Academy, Sara Jayne Stanes OBE Director of the Academy and Chefs Adopt a School and Malcolm Lothian, Head Teacher of St. Georges School (one of the first schools to be ‘adopted’ by the Academy in the early Nineties).

CAAS wins Education Award
November 2008

Chefs Adopt a School has been recognised at The Springboard Awards for Excellence winning the Education Award (Small Organisation).

CAAS at The Restaurant Show
Wednesday 10th October 2007

Today CAAS gave the whole hospitality industry food for thought as Giles Thompson (one of CAAS' founding chefs) and Rob Kirby delivered an adopt a school session on the main stage at the Restaurant show. Children from St. George's Hanover square were the stars of the show as they participated in the session.

Giles and Rob guided the children through the five senses and the four tastes, and reinforced one of Adopt a School's important lessons: that you shouldn't decide about a food before you have tried and tasted it. They did this by giving the children vanilla flavoured red jelly and yellow jelly tasting of mint.

The final stage of the session was blindfolded fruit and vegetable identification, where the children all did excellently - correctly identifying banana, aubergine and parsnip - although they were stumped by artichoke! Usually at this part of the CAAS session, the chef will begin with a few easy fruits, but not so with this workshop. When Giles and Rob asked the blindfolded child's class mates whether they should be given an easy or difficult test all the children yelled out: 'HARDER!!'

CAAS chefs out in force
Friday 28th September 2007

This Friday saw some serious CAAS activity. Sam Harper delivered his first CAAS workshop to Hawesdown School, Chris Pulfer was at Fairhouse Infant school and Alain Roux, son of Michel Roux and head chef at the Waterside Inn, visited Holyport Special School. Holyport Special School teaches children with learning difficulties and disabilities and they were thrilled to see Alain again.

Together they rustled up cheese biscuits topped with cream cheese and chives and parma ham or smoked salmon, popcorn and fruity milkshakes. Naturally all the food they produced was absolutely delicious!