The recipe
Every year, a new recipe is created for the Chef in the Classroom event. This year it is Olé Tabouleh. A salad containing bulgur, vegetables and egg, among other ingredients. The recipe was created in collaboration with chef and cookbook author Ramon Beuk. All the ingredients in the recipe are included in the Wheel of Five. Ramon Beuk gives the recipe his own twist. He would like to teach the children how to grill vegetables in order to add extra flavour to the dish.
Some of the children had cooked at home before, while others had never done so. They first cut the vegetables. Then they cooked, fried and grilled. The pupils enjoyed it. “I liked grilling the vegetables the most,” said one of them.
At the end, the pupils were allowed to eat the dish they had made themselves in the classroom. Teacher Pascale: “Everyone tasted it. If they had not made this dish themselves, it would never have happened.” Joske Meijer is convinced that the event will continue to have an effect afterwards: “By learning cutting techniques and tasting food, children are inspired to help out in the kitchen at home more often.” Lisa van Antwerpen, Jong Leren Eten coordinator, was also present at Chef in the Classroom in Zoetermeer. She too believes in a lasting effect: “Future chefs were born today.”
Why is cooking with children important?
The advice of the Health Council shows that our way of eating must change if we want to live more healthily and sustainably. The advice is to eat more plant-based food than we currently do. To change dietary patterns, it is important that (young) consumers learn about products and also start cooking themselves. Where does an aubergine come from and how can you turn it into a tasty dish?
Project leader Marlies Willemsen–Regelink of Wageningen University & Research: “During the cooking lesson, you can see that not all children have experience with cooking. For example, they find it difficult to cut vegetables. But after half an hour of cooking together with the chef, these children already feel like real chefs!” A recent WUR-poll conducted in 43 school classes shows that 17% of children help in the kitchen every week. So there is still room for improvement.
Smaaklessen
Chef in the Classroom is part of the Smaaklessen educational programme. Smaaklessen is an effective programme about food and taste for primary school children. Smaaklessen stimulates children's curiosity and interest in healthy and sustainable food. Experiencing food is central to the lessons. Knowing where food comes from helps children make conscious, healthy choices. Various studies have shown that nutrition education is more effective when experiential teaching methods and activities are used.
Organisation of the Chef in the Classroom event
The Chef in the Classroom event was made possible through the national Jong Leren Eten programme and the Food Education Platform. The VEP is a collaboration between government, business and academia (WUR). An independent Supervisory Board and Review Committee monitor policy, independence and objectivity.
The Smaaklessen Support Centre of Wageningen University & Research is responsible for coordinating the Food Education Platform.
Photography: Henk van der Giesen.