With healthy eating and children’s diets remaining high on the national agenda, Andy Bourne, Head of Food & Beverages at Bents Garden & Home’s Fresh Approach Restaurant and member of the Academy of Culinary Arts, is looking for a local primary school to adopt as part of the national Adopt a School initiative.
Developed by the Academy of Culinary Arts - whose membership comprises 300 of the UK’s leading chefs - Adopt a School aims to educate children in the pleasure of eating balanced with nutrition, hygiene and health. It introduces children to the importance of ingredients and the processes involved in creating meals.
As part of the scheme Andy has already worked with two children from St Edmunds Arrowsmith School in Ashton-in-Makerfield who between them - and supported by just one other chef from The Fresh Approach Restaurant - prepared the dessert and cheese course (1) for over 300 guests at a special dinner to celebrate Liverpool’s Year as Capital of Culture.
The Academy of Culinary Arts, in association with Foods Northwest, organized the catering operation for the event which was held at the Liverpool Echo Arena. Also involved were a number of other prominent North West Chefs and their young assistants including Matt Nugent from Heathcoates and Steve Doherty from First Floor Café, Lakeland.
Andy is now looking for a local primary school to take part in the Adopt a School scheme which incorporates 2 – 3 hands-on sessions per year which he will run himself at the school. The structured hour long visits aim to not only promote the benefits of healthy eating, but also to provide practical demonstrations to get children involved.
Says Andy: “There is so much on the news at the moment telling children what they should and shouldn’t be eating. But it is also important to get them interested in good food and making meals, discovering different ingredients, taste sensations, textures and smells; using all their senses to understand that healthy eating can be a pleasure.”
The Academy of Culinary Arts’ Adopt a School is a long term project which has celebrity chef Brian Turner as one of its Trustees. As Head of Food and Beverages at The Fresh Approach Restaurant and a long term member of the Academy, Andy is keen to get local schools involved in the scheme. For further information about how to register for Adopt a School contact 01942 266 300.
Bents Garden & Home is based in Glazebury near Warrington and its Fresh Approach Restaurant is the current holder of the Garden Centre Association’s Restaurant of the Year. The Centre has also been recognized as Cheshire’s Best Tourism Retail Business at this year’s Visit Chester and Cheshire Awards.