Christchurch Food Festival Education Trust takes on services of Flavours Cookery School in Southbourne

A COOKERY school has stepped in to run healthy eating workshops in schools on behalf of the Christchurch Food Festival Education Trust.

Flavours Cookery School in Southbourne will be taking on the role after dedicated trustee Mary Reader announced she is no longer able to deliver workshops personally. She and her team have been visiting schools for the past 18 years.

Mary said: “Lessons have included food labelling to help children understand more about what is being put into their food, maths exercises to calculate the amount of sugar in popular food and drinks, and hands-on cookery to introduce pupils to new and healthy options.

“They are frequently amazed at how much they enjoy food that they thought they didn’t like or hadn’t tasted before, and the schools tell us how well the pupils react to these sessions.

“But with the passage of time, I am no longer able to run these sessions personally, so I am delighted that the prestigious Flavours Cookery School has agreed to take on the delivery of the CFFET healthy eating workshops.

“I am continuing, on behalf of the trust, to liaise with the schools and with Flavours about the organisation and content of the sessions. We already have a very active programme, covering eight primary schools in spring 2025.”

Mary added: “The need for children to be educated in healthy eating cookery and issues has never been greater.”

Liz Hagger, head chef at Flavours, said: “With all today’s pressures to eat less healthy foods, it is vital for young people to understand what makes for a balanced diet, and to experience the joy of cooking for themselves.

“We at Flavours actively promote an understanding of healthy and enjoyable eating through all our work in the community, and we look forward to extending our work with schools through this partnership with the CFFET.”

For more information about the CFFET, visit www.cffet.org