Curriculum Statement
At the Hackney School of Food, children have a unique opportunity to get hands-on in the kitchen and garden with our seed-to-spoon approach. Using ingredients picked from the garden, children will understand how food is grown and learn how to make seasonal dishes while mastering technical cookery skills that increase in complexity through the age groups.
These days are planned, and can be adapted, to directly support the progression of any individual school’s DT curriculum. Days can also be created by the chef educator to link in with other areas of the curriculum and cultural events, such as History, Diwali or Spanish, providing a cross-curricular approach to cooking and nutrition.
Learning Objectives:
- Simple recipes and food preparation skills
- Basic measurements
- Intro to ‘healthy’: fruits and vegetables
- Introducing flavours and cooking
Reception, half-day lesson (2 hours):
- Veggie topped pizzetta
- Fruit ‘rocket’ kebabs OR
- Smashed cucumber and cress salad
Learning Objectives:
- Simple small knife skills: cutting, peeling, grating
- Following simple recipes
- Simple preparation techniques: measuring, mixing
- Identifying fruits and vegetables
- Nutrition – portion size, 5-a-day, eat the rainbow
- What happens to ingredients when they are cooked?
Year 1, half-day lesson (2 hours)
Savoury scones and slaw:
- Seasonal greens and cheese savoury scones
- Apple and rainbow carrot slaw
Year 2, half-day lesson (2 hours)
Muffins and fruit salad:
- Savoury vegetable muffins
- ‘Eat the Rainbow’ fruit salad
Learning Objectives:
- Knife skills: Chef’s knife
- Following recipe steps
- Baking – accurate weights & measures, wholemeal flours, baking powder and yeast
- Seasonality
- Nutrition:, vitamins, minerals, fibre, balanced plate, starchy carbohydrates/ wholemeal, salt and fat levels
- Tasting, seasoning – introducing herbs and spices
- Reducing sugar in baking
Year 3 half-day lesson (2 hours)
Seasonal soup and Irish soda bread
- Simple baking: soda bread
- Knife skills: soup prep
- Seasonal soup
Year 3 full-day lesson (4.5 hours)
As above, but after eating lunch we will also cover:
- Beetroot chocolate brownie
Year 4 half-day lesson (2 hours)
Tuscan bean stew and seeded buns
- Baking with yeast: wholemeal seeded buns
- Knife skills: sofrito base and veg prep
- Tuscan ribollita, borlotti bean and veg stew
Year 4 full-day lesson (4.5 hours)
As above, but after eating lunch we will also cover:
- Seasonal fruit sponge cake
Learning Objectives
- Advancing knife skills
- Following multi-stage recipes
- Creating marinades and curry pastes
- Creating basic sauces: adapting with herbs & spices
- Preparing and cooking protein; meat, fish, eggs and pulses
- Cooking starches: couscous, rice, potatoes
- Methods of cooking vegetables and seasonality – roast and sautée
- Nutrition: protein and its sources, portion sizes and the Eatwell Plate
Year 5 half-day lesson (2 hours)
Moroccan kofte tagine and jewelled couscous
- Knife skills: slice and dice vegetables to create tomato based sauce
- Prepare & cook: minced meat meatballs (vegetarian alternative: baked falafel)
- How to cook carbohydrates: wholemeal couscous
Year 5 full-day lesson (4.5 hours)
As above, but after eating lunch we will also cover:
- Protein: eggs
- Tomato, pesto and feta fritata
YEAR 6 half-day lesson (2 hours)
Thai green curry and sticky jasmine rice
- Knife skills: finer accuracy skills – curry paste and veg
- Marinating ingredients for flavour: curry (chicken, vegetarian alternative: tofu)
- Prepare & cook: meat cuts
- How to cook carbohydrates: rice
Year 6 full-day lesson (4.5 hours)
As above, but after eating lunch we will also cover:
- Protein: fish
- Seasonal fishcake
