Students show off cooking skills
Aspiring mini-master chefs from Woy Woy Public School have shown off their cooking skills in the kitchen, creating a variety of dishes to impress a panel of teacher-judges.
Member for Gosford Ms Liesl Tesch was as a guest judge and got to sample the dishes.
Judges considered three elements when assessing the students' dishes: flavour of the dish, the skill that went into making the dish, and the overall finished presentation.
Ms Tesch said she found it a challenging process with all dishes prepared spectacularly and tasting sublime.
"The students had created such delicious meals and desserts that I had to remind myself that they were made by primary school students.
"My favourite dish was the cherry-ripe chocolate brownies, but this just narrowly beat the potato bake.
"It was great to see students learning such important life skills at school and being shown the steps to create their own meals instead of relying on pre-made or nutrient-low frozen meals," Ms Tesch said.
Coordinating teacher Ms Lina Williamson spoke about the hard work and determination that students put in to create their dishes.
"Students worked in teams to create their dishes so a lot of 21st century skills like problem-solving, collaboration and effective communication are demonstrated by the students.
"At the end of the day, it is about getting students excited about cooking and having fun in the kitchen, we want our students to know how to cook meals that are healthy and nutritious," she said.
Ms Williamson said the competition built upon the cooking skills students had learnt through the school's kitchen garden program which educated students about positive food habits, through fun and hands-on learning.
"Students are taught how to grow vegetables and fruits in the school garden and approaches to maintaining and harvesting produce.
"Students from Years 3-6 are then given the opportunity to cook, using the produce that has been grown in the school garden over the last six years, to create and prepare healthy and nutritious meals," she said.
SOURCE:
Media release, 11 Sep 2019
Liesl Tesch, Member for Gosford