Getting involved at the Kids Cookery School
From the restaurant cooking of my past to the home cooking of my present, for all the different things I do and have done with food all over the world, helping at The Kids Cookery School in Acton is the most rewarding.
My first class was a group from Aiming High for Disabled Children, some of the kids have autism and one has down's syndrome; some are joined by siblings and occasionally parents; but Fiona, the inspirational principal, encourages parents to stay away to give the kids as much independence as possible.
We start with pizza dough (the kids love the feel of the flour). Next we smell the yeast together and, one at a time, the kids add a teaspoonful. They learn names for the different sizes of spoon; which spoon to use for which ingredient is part of the lesson and the game, a game that involves them all. Fiona verbally turns the yeast into a person as they measure.
"What do you need to grow?” Fiona asks.
“Food,” the kids chorus, “food and water, food and water and sun.”
“That’s right, warmth, warmth from the sun, but this yeast will need warmth from the water.” Fiona says with a smile.
Fiona has taught me to curb my natural tendency to get excited; these kids are easily over excited and 6 foot 4 of me bouncing around them will only bring chaos. Some of the kids find the way that the dough feels is the most exciting thing; others don’t like the way it clings to their fingers, some use their spoon to mix. All of these kids, mostly aged under 10, will make their own fresh pizza from start to finish.
Fiona gradually gets them used to the taste of good health with half brown and half white flour. “Strong flour.” She tells them while she does a Popeye impression with her arms.
I learn as I go with every different kid and class at The Kids Cookery School, I learn when to stand back and I learn when to help. I’ve learnt from Fiona and the kids that sometimes doing nothing is the best way of helping. But I still find this hard, both with my boys at home and here; sometimes so hard that I have to hold my hands behind my back!
Mixing the dough wears some of the younger kids out, so we hold hands to stir together and this feels like a reward. Fiona keeps the pace brisk, having taught 25000 kids in over 10 years, she knows that the kids need to learn at their pace, but they always need to go home with the rewards of their work to help what they learn sink in and stay. By taking their food to their families they also learn to share with pride.
The kids choose their own toppings and their pizzas are as varied as their personalities. Fiona starts their selection by saying:
“Don’t tell me what you don’t like; I only want to know what you do like.”
So one pizza is only cheese and tomato, another is a mountain of mushrooms and another a happy face made with multicoloured peppers.
There is one young boy who I’ve met before; he doesn’t talk but we do high fives and link fingers after he does a job and I feel proud; like I get more from him than he does me. I keep coming back but try not to spend more time with him than the others.
As soon as the pizzas are in the oven, we start the muffins; apple or banana? Look, feel, make a choice. With vanilla or cinnamon? Look, smell, make a choice. Each kid makes their own choice then they mix, smell, mash, learn that the baking powder will make the muffins rise and count the tablespoons of flour. Each step is an education; fast enough to hold their interest and slow enough to be useful. We bake the muffins in foil trays for the kids to take home. They learn the dangers of raw eggs and hot ovens, they learn not to share germs and they learn to share food.
While the muffins bake Fiona does a fruit and vegetable quiz:
"Is this a vegetable or a fruit?”
“Does it grow above or below the ground?”
“Where are the seeds?”
Most of the kids jump and raise their hands, they want to answer each question and they want to be involved; there is magic in every minute with these kids. When they leave they take their bag with their name on the outside, their still warm pizza and their just cooked muffins hold their culinary identities inside. The Kids Cookery School is the type of success we need more of, a place where everyone is happy and everyone is special.
I’m exhilarated and exhausted but the day is not over yet. The Kids Cookery School can travel in a van and has everything including the kitchen sink. My next job is to give it a clean!
The next time I write about The Kids Cookery School I’ll tell you about a trip in the van. Click here to hear from Fiona as The Kids Cookery School goes mobile.