> January 2008

TYLORSTOWN PRIMARY, RHONDDA
The headteacher at Tylorstown Primary was overjoyed at the experiences gained by staff, pupils and parents when the Focus on Food Cooking Bus, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government visited the school at the beginning of January.
“Both Richard and Sian ‘oozed’ enthusiasm which made cooking fun”, said Judith Lewis the headteacher.
During the week pupils, staff and parents created some healthy dishes including Leek and Potato Soup, Fruit Crumble, Sunset Pasta Salad and Herby Cheese Scones. Following the visit the school is aiming to add at least one cooking session per half term for each pupil.

BADEN POWELL PRIMARY SCHOOL, CARDIFF
Fruit and vegetables, healthy lunchboxes and bread were the topics explored during the Focus on Food Cooking Bus visit to Baden Powell Primary School. The bus, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government welcomed three different year groups onboard to make Calzone and Bread Rolls, Kaleidoscope Couscous Salad, Lunchbox Wraps and Fruit Kebabs.
The school cook even took an afternoon out from the school kitchen to hop aboard and join the teachers during the INSET training. Rachel Davey the Healthy Schools Co-ordinator said the visit was very good and staff now have more confidence to develop food as part of the Design and Technology lessons.

YSGOL MAESYDRE, WELSHPOOL, POWYS
Leek and Potato Soup, Caerphilly Salad, Herby Cheese Scones and Smoked Haddock and Leek Parcels were all on the menu for pupils at Ysgol Maesydre Primary School when the Focus on Food Cooking Bus, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government spent a week there. Following the visit the school hopes to review its Design and Technology scheme of work and try and identify more opportunities for teachers to cook.

ALEXANDRA SCHOOL, PARK AVENUE, WREXHAM
Healthy lunchboxes were packed in to busy week of cooking when the Focus on Food Cooking Bus, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government visited Alexandra Community Primary School.
Children were introduced to some healthy snacks for their packed lunches including Lunchbox Wraps, Vegetable Samosas, Sunset Pasta Salad and Fruit Smoothies A community session showed parents how to create a healthy lunch box with Fruit Kebabs and Roasted Vegetable Couscous. After the session they were able to take home their own packed lunch, full of the dishes they had made on the bus.

ATHELSTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL, SHERBURN-IN-ELMET
The headteacher at Athelston Community School was overjoyed to receive a COOKIT during the visit to the school by the Yorkshire Forward sponsored Cooking Bus. Headteacher Karen O’Donnell said, “Staff are now fired up to do cooking.” She said they also wanted additional INSET training in cooking.
The school are looking to convert a room into a kitchen classroom just like the one on the Cooking Bus. During the week a variety of delicious dishes were made including Tomato and Basil Tartlets, Flavoured Foccacia, Spicy Salmon Triangles and Mint and Tomato Kachumbar. The pupils’ knowledge of ingredients was very good and one year four pupil could even identify capers.

BEDMINSTER DOWN SCHOOL, BRISTOL
The Food For Life Partnership School visited Bedminster Down School in Bristol in the middle of January. The school has about 1,000 pupils and is working towards a Food for Life Partnership Bronze mark. Daniel Goater, the Healthy Schools Co-ordinator, said the visit had helped the school gain more confidence in developing food as part of Design and Technology and helped develop better resources to support food teaching. There is a food technology room in the school and teachers are planning cooking clubs after school. Mr Goater praised the Cooking Bus staff for their organization, professionalism and dynamism. He said they gave excellent ideas that were appropriate for the young people they were teaching.

HAYDONLEIGH PRIMARY SCHOOL, SWINDON
Parsnips, greenhouse-grown peppers and free-range eggs were just some of the fresh, local and organic ingredients used in the recipes onboard the Food For Life Cooking Bus when it visited Haydonleigh Primary School.
Pupils made Fruit Crumble, Potato and Beetroot Salad, Parsnip and Apple Soup and Butternut Squash Thyme Bread whilst learning about the importance of seasonal fruit and vegetables in the diet. The pupils enjoyed the practical cooking sessions with comments such as “It’s more fun than I thought” and “This is just like heaven”.
Following the visit the staff were going to organise a training session with the teaching assistants to support more cooking sessions.

FAIRFORD C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
The Food for Life Partnership Cooking Bus made an enormous impact on everybody during its visit to Fairford C of E Primary School, according to Headteacher Jane Sparling. As well as cooking lessons with pupils and teachers, members of the local community were welcomed onboard including a Colonel from the RAF and the local Vicar.
The emphasis during the visit was to improve practical cooking using seasonal, local and organic produce. Dishes created onboard the bus included Pudine Chatni, Leek, Smoked Cheese and Pear Triangles and Honeyed Kebabs. The Cooking Bus left staff and community at Fairford Primary with a raised level of enthusiasm for cooking.

TRAWDEN FOREST PRIMARY SCHOOL, LANCASHIRE
The Food Standards Agency supported cooking bus visited this small rural school to teach young people how to cook. Throughout the week they made a variety of foods including Aloo Tikka, Cheesy Vegetable Parcels and Chickpea Salad. Some of the pupils tasted Indian food for the first time and were delighted to be taking home the food they had made. Even the headteacher donned an apron and joined a session on the bus and was taught to cut and chop using the “bridge” and “claw” techniques. The school sent a wonderful thank-you letter to Focus on Food including a much-appreciated drawing of the Cooking Bus by Lorna.

PETERSGATE INFANT SCHOOL, PORTSMOUTH
Children were able to demonstrate their love of cooking when the FSA Cooking Bus made a stop at Petersgate Infant School. Being involved in the Open Futures (Grow it, Cook it) project the children were particularly skilful at identifying food ingredients and cheerfully could tell their pumpkins from their olives! Using seasonal fruit and vegetables grown in the school garden, the children made dishes including Tomato and Basil Tartlets, Secret Garden Salad and Cranberry Rise.

> February 2008

GREENLEAS LOWER SCHOOL, BEDFORDSHIRE – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY SUPPORTED BUS
Is a tomato a vegetable or a fruit? Children at Greenleas Lower School know the answer following a visit from the Focus on Food Cooking Bus. During the visit they explored the origins and growth of food, healthy eating and food safety. The children were very open to trying new foods including spices and olives.
The children left the cooking bus smiling and excited at the prospect of trying their dishes and the teachers left eager to make use of their new found resource the ‘Cookit’.

JOHN TAYLOR HIGH SCHOOL, STAFFORDSHIRE – FSA BUS
The Cooking Bus visit to John Tayor High School sparked the interest of both pupils and staff to get back into the kitchen. Staff found the visit from the bus both valuable and inspiring, which really ignited their passion for food and cooking. Head of Food, Delia Harrison said there was a real ‘buzz’ around the school during the visit. Dishes made during the week included Stilton and Pear Bruschetta, King Crab Fish Cakes and Caribbean Red Pepper Salsa. Sessions on the bus incorporated various curriculum connections to show how food links can be made to other subjects such as science, maths and geography.

THE HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC HIGH, GOOLE – YORKSHIRE FORWARD SUPPORTED BUS
The Greek recipes were a huge hit with children when the Cooking Bus visited Holy Family Catholic High in Goole. Being introduced to new and multi cultural dishes such as Tzatziki, Spanakopitta and Pissaladiere really inspired the children who were a little reluctant to taste new foods. They left the bus totally enthused.
The school are very keen to reinstate cooking and basic skills back onto the curriculum and are looking to develop the enthusiasm of the pupils by linking with food based competitions and challenges.

KINGSTONE SCHOOL, BARNSLEY – YORKSHIRE FORWARD BUS
The Cooking Bus visited Barnsley to bring cooking into the classroom but to also highlight the career and further education opportunities available in the South Yorkshire area. Children and staff from five different schools attended sessions on the bus which included making Potato and Beetroot Salad, Phul Chatt, Pirozkhi, Spanakopitta and Tzatziki. The response from the students was very positive. After attending a session on the Cooking Bus, a pupil from year eight emailed the Cooking Bus teachers to say how much she had enjoyed her visit to the bus and after trying the dishes she had been converted to Greek food and was really keen to try more!
The school said it was a “brilliant opportunity for staff development”.

CORNELI PRIMARY, BRIDGEND – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT SUPPORTED BUS
The teachers of the Cooking Bus received a round of applause from staff flowing the INSET training at Corneli Primary. The headteacher and 14 staff attended the sessions to learn how to cook Roasted Vegetable Couscous Salad and Smoked Haddock and Leek Parcels. Children from reception to Year 6 enjoyed some hands-on practical cooking and learnt how to make Cornbread, Tomato and Basil Salad and Chinese Vegetable Spring Rolls. The school really enjoyed the visit and now intends to run an after-school cooking club.

YSGOL LLANFAWR, HOLYHEAD – WELSH BUS
Healthy eating and preparing healthy dishes for St David’s Day were part of the programme during the Cooking Bus visit to Ysgol Llanfawr. Children were taught how to make traditional dishes including Leek and Potato Soup, Smoked Haddock and Leek Parcels and Herby Cheese Scones. Those who attended the community session were introduced to Chicken Ruby, Lunchbox Wraps and a refreshing Berry and Lime Smoothie.

YSGOL GWAUN-Y-NANT, GLAMORGAN – WELSH BUS
Ysgol Gwain Y Nant Primary School was preparing to celebrate ‘St David’s Day’ when the Cooking Bus visited their school. The focus of the week was to produce items suitable for a healthy snack using traditional Welsh ingredients such as leeks, cheese and fish. The Cooking Bus teachers delivered all the sessions in Welsh. Pupils, teachers and members of the local community enjoyed making delicious dishes of Caerphilly Salad, Herby Cheese Scones and Glamorgan Sausages. At the end of the week the Cooking Bus teachers were invited to judge the Year 6 Urdd Cooking Competition. Three pupils cooked and prepared their dishes before the judges had the difficult task of deciding the winner. Deputy headteacher Rhydian Lloyd said the children enjoyed the whole Cooking Bus experience and were very proud of their finished products.

FRANCHE PRIMARY SCHOOL, KIDDERMINSTER – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP BUS SUPPORTED BY THE BIG LOTTERY
Local community groups benefited greatly from the Cooking Bus visit to Franche Primary according to teacher, Tracy Price.
The Cooking Bus, part of the Food For Life partnership, used locally sourced organic produce to create Vegetable Honeyed Kebabs, Smoked Paprika Sausage Hotpot and Parsnip and Apple Soup with Herby Cheese Scones.
It was felt the staff and community sessions provided an excellent forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences and the school is now looking to establish stronger cooking links with the community.

ST PETER’S CE CONTROLLED SCHOOL, SHROPSHIRE – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
A wonderful resource is how Ms Fiona Russell, the Deputy Head Teacher, described the Cooking Bus when it visited St Peter’s CE Controlled School.
The Food for Life Cooking Bus showed pupils, parents, teaching assistants, teachers, lunchtime supervisors and even the school governors how to cook using local, seasonal and organic produce. The school is looking forward to introducing cooking in to the classroom on a more regular basis and plans to utilise the Hungry for Health packs and the CookIT when planning their sessions.

ABBEY ROAD, NOTTINGHAM – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
A life changing week is how Sharon Rookes the Headteacher of Abbey Road, described the visit from the Cooking Bus. She said: “Nothing could have prepared us for the sheer ‘magic-ness’ of it all.”
The Food for Life sponsored Cooking Bus made a huge impression on staff, children and parents, with everyone enjoying their visit to the bus. Using seasonal, local and organic produce during the week they made Minestrone Soup, Mint and Tomato Katchumbar and Green Pea Pate with Seasonal Crudites. One member of staff said “The kids’ reaction was amazing – they walked into the bus and said ‘wow’. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if they walked into the classroom and did that?” Following the Cooking Bus visit the school plans to continue cooking in the classroom on a weekly basis, giving every child the opportunity to learn and develop the vital life skill of cooking.

SELE SCHOOL, HERTFORD – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
Leaving the Cooking Bus with enough Peach and Raspberry Golden Crunch to share with family members, put smiles on the faces of children at Sele School. The FSA bus visited Sele School and welcomed pupils from surrounding schools and members of the local community to hop on board to cook dishes including Cheesy Vegetable Parcels, Caribbean Red Pepper Salsa and Chilli Bean Potatoes. One session invited young parents to get cooking. They learnt new recipes and dishes to encourage their children to try new food but also how to share the enjoyment of cooking with their children back at home. The extended schools coordinator, Michelle Martin said of the visit “It was amazing and the staff were fantastic. Everyone who came loved it!”

> MARCH 2008

MERSEY VALE PRIMARY SCHOOL, LIVERPOOL – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY SUPPORTED BUS
‘Fantastic!’ was the verdict from the head teacher at Mersey Vale Primary School following the Cooking Bus visit. The school is now planning more cooking in the curriculum and more promotion of healthy eating. The visit by the Cooking Bus made links with the school’s healthy living week. Dishes were made with fresh fruit and vegetables and included Super Sprout Salad, Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble and Butternut Basil Bread.

TWERTON INFANT SCHOOL, BATH – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
Bake but not cake was one of the activities enjoyed at Twerton Infant School. Using local, fresh and organic ingredients the reception pupils made Pea and Wensleydale Salad and Citrus Strawberry Smoothie. A parent and toddler group learnt about healthy eating and how to adapt recipes to use less salt. They made Broccoli and Basil Soup, Lunchbox Wraps and Fruit Kebabs. The school is working towards gaining the Food For Life Partnership mark and has already started turning its waste into compost. The next step is for the school to grow its own produce.

THE ASLOP SCHOOL, WALTON, LIVERPOOL – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
Dishes from around the world were made during the Cooking Bus visit to Alsop School. The visit placed an emphasis on cultural cooking to support Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture Year 2008. Dishes made during the week included Pissaladiere, Canarino, Mint and Tomato Kachumbar and Pudine Chatni. The school now plans to raise the profile of cooking by introducing more cooking into the curriculum, after-school cooking clubs and by developing more resources for teaching cooking in the classroom.

BARLOW CE PRIMARY SCHOOL, DRONFIELD – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
Barlow CE Primary held a ‘food themed week’ to coincide with the Cooking Bus visit. Pupils cooked food from different cultures including Indian and Chinese foods and tasted Chinese Spring Rolls and Vegetable Samosa. A healthy café was also organised by the school during the food themed week. The teachers now intend to use the techniques and skills they learnt on the Cooking Bus in future food technology lessons.

ALMA PRIMARY SCHOOL, ENFIELD, LONDON – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
‘I want to be a chef’ was the comment from one pupil, following their visit to the Cooking Bus. Alma Primary is a multi-cultural school with English being a second language for many of the pupils. The focus of the Cooking Bus visit was to cook healthy dishes based on cultural themes. Children made Spinach and Feta Triangles, Mint and Tomato Kachumbar, Vegetable Samosa and Aloo Tikka. A variety of skills were practiced to make the dishes including mixing, whisking, folding and juicing. The Cooking Bus teachers discussed the origins and growth of food, healthy eating messages and food culture. The head teacher said the children had a fantastic time.

ST AIDAN’S CE SCHOOL, HARROGATE – YORKSHIRE FORWARD
Emmerdale star Marlon Dingle, played by Mark Charnock, visited the Yorkshire Forward Cooking Bus when it stopped at St Aidan’s School. He watched pupils make Stuffed Peppers with Vegetable Wild Rice and Wensleydale Crumble Topping, although he admitted his attempt at making stuffed tomatoes at home had not been as successful! Mark’s visit to the school was to support a conference hosted by St Aidan’s called ‘Serving them Right.’ The conference was to showcase the success of the school’s catering service. On the day of the conference pupils onboard the Cooking Bus made dishes adapted from the school meals recipes, which included Broccoli, Brie and Sunblushed Tomato Quiche and Greek Salad.

MONNOW INFANTS SCHOOL, NEWPORT – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Eating your five-a-day was the focus of the Cooking Bus visit to Monnow Infant School. Pupils were shown how to make healthy multi-cultural dishes using a variety of fruit and vegetables. Dishes included Jamaica Patties, Honeyed Vegetable Kebabs and Caribbean Fruit Salad. The head teacher described the Cooking Bus as ‘amazing’ with all staff and pupils gaining so much from the visit. The school plans to have a dedicated area for Food Technology.

PEMBROKE DOCK COMMUNITY SCHOOL, PEMBROKESHIRE – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
“The total package was fantastic and we would welcome another visit in the future,” said acting head teacher Amanda Edwards, following the Cooking Bus visit to Pembroke Dock Community School. Local and seasonal ingredients of potatoes, carrots, leeks, cauliflower, swede and savoy cabbage were used to make a Harvest Soup and Cauliflower Cheese.
The school already holds ‘Healthy Eating Challenge Days’ with pupils tasting new fruit and vegetables and plans to continue these sessions in the future.

HOLLYBUSH PRIMARY SCHOOL, TORFAEN, – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Healthy homemade food to pack up in your lunchbox was the focus of the Cooking Bus visit to Hollybush Primary. Children, members of the community and teachers were shown how to make Fruit Muffins, Lunchbox Wraps, Cornbread and Vegetable Samosas. The community session focused on teaching the skills and knowledge to cook with confidence at home. The visitors were shown how to create simple and easy recipes from fresh, healthy food including Chicken Ruby, Sunset Pasta Salad and Red Alert Smoothie.

ST ANDREW’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, SHIFNAL, TELFORD – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
New beginnings were very much the focus when the Cooking Bus visited St Andrew’s. The visit coincided with the launch of the school’s Independent Learning Centre, which features a new cooking area. The new centre was officially opened by Jeanette Orrey and will be a major venue for the school’s Food for Life partnership activities. The school has an established garden and freshly picked produce was served at the centre’s opening event and also used in recipes on the bus. The Cooking Bus welcomed children, pre-school workers, teachers, parents and kitchen staff to create some fantastic seasonal and organic recipes including Apple and Apricot Filo Parcels, Potato and Beetroot Salad and Twice Baked Cheesy Jackets. The visit was a great success, leaving behind the skills and knowledge to benefit the school and their commitment to the Food for Life Partnership.

CALDERSHAW PRIMARY SCHOOL, NORDEN, ROCHDALE – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
‘An excellent experience’, is how the head teacher Lesley Isherwood, described the Cooking Bus visit to Caldershaw Primary School. She said it had provided an opportunity to bring the whole school and community together in a common project. Children, members of the community and teachers cooked up some delicious dishes including Leek, Smoked Cheese and Pear Parcels, Sunshine Carrot Salad, Chilli Cornbread and Mexican Bean and Tomato Salad. The school now hopes to involve more families and members of the community in developing cooking skills in the school.

> APRIL 2008

ALMA PRIMARY SCHOOL, ENFIELD, LONDON - FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
Vegetable Samosas, Luscious Lime Lassi, Fruit Kebabs , Aloo Tikka and Phul Chatt were some of the delicious dishes made by pupils at Alma Primary School. The school said the visit by the Food Standards' Agency sponsored Cooking Bus had been fantastic and it inspired one youngster to decide he wanted to be a chef when he grew up. The school now hopes to set up an out-of-hours cooking club for parents and children.

SHERINGHAM HIGH SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM, NORFOLK - FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
Peach and Raspberry Golden Crunch, Caribbean Red Pepper Salsa, Olive and Caper Berry Mixed Salad were among the delicious and varied dishes cooked by pupils at Sheringham High.
An emphasis was given to cultural cooking, inspirational ideas for including more fruit in the diet, and The school said pupils and staff were very positive about the visit and that it hoped to develop more varied short activities for cooking with students.

MANOR FOUNDATION COLLEGE, WEDNESBURY - FSA
"It was a fantastic week!" was the verdict of Manor Foundation College which is developing an after-school cooking club making healthy options food. On board the Cooking Bus youngsters from the school and from neighbouring primary feeder schools made a selection of dishes from around the world including; Spanakopitta, Apple and Apricot Filo Parcels, Flavoured Foccacia, Coconut Fish Curry and Aloo Tikka.

BEDFORD MODERN JUNIOR SCHOOL - FSA
Staff said the children loved every minute of their time on board the Cooking Bus. "The visit has given us the foundations and confidence we needed to further develop or food technology curriculum. We will now develop our resource to support a new and exciting food curriculum," they said.

BOSTON SPA SCHOOL, BOSTON SPA - YORKSHIRE FORWARD
Promoting healthy eating, the use of a variety of fruit an vegetables, introducing cultural cooking recipes and giving staff ideas and confidence to cook in the classroom were all aims of the visit to Boston Spa School near Leeds. Youngsters made a selection of food including: Rhubarb and Ginger Crumble, Secret Garden Salad, Chickpea Salad, Flavoured Foccacia and Tomato and Basil Salad. Afterwards the school said it hoped to upgrade cooking resources and said the visit had really raised the profile of food technology and got a lot more pupils interested in cooking.

SETTLE MIDDLE SCHOOL, SETTLE - YORKSHIRE FORWARD BUS
"The Cooking Bus visit has certainly been a true highlight of the school year for staff and pupils alike. The excited "buzz" was seen around the corridors of the school," said head of technology Mrs Gail Coulson after the visit. "Thrilled pupils showing off their carrier bags full of fantastic food. They were talking "food" and could not wait to take their recipes home to cook!" King Crab Cakes, Spicy Salmon Triangles, Spanakopitta and Caribbean Fruit Salad were among the delicious dishes which proved an inspiration for pupils.

OAKWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL, OAKWORTH, NEAR KEIGHLEY - YORKSHIRE FORWARD
Pupils made various dishes including Oriental Spring Rolls, Super Sprout Salad, Vegetable Samosas, Mint and Tomato Kachumbar, King Crab Cakes, Lemon and Pinenut Stuffed Peppers, Kaleidoscope Couscous and they tasted different fresh fruit smoothies. The school said it was a very successful and positive visit.

TIR MORFA PRIMARY SCHOOL, PORT TALBOT - WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Staff at Tir Morfa Primary School said having the Cooking Bus had inspired them to introduce more cooking across the curriculum. Among the tasty treats made by pupils were Calzone and Bread Rolls, Fresh Fruit Salads, Roasted Vegetable Couscous, Vegetable Samosas and Pasta Salads. There were also cooking sessions for parents and members of the community and teacher training.

YSGOL TIR MORFA AND YSGOL MAIR, RHYL, WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
These two schools enjoyed a visit from the Welsh Assembly Government supported Cooking Bus. Youngsters learned the art of making healthy pizzas, super salads, delicious scones and fruit muffins whilst their parents got to try their hand at making delicious, nutritious and healthy lunchbox options.
The schools said the visit had been very beneficial and had given them the confidence to do more cooking in the classroom.

ST JAMES' PRIMARY, CAERPHILLY - WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Youngsters were delighted to roll up their sleeves to make Honeyed Vegetable Kebabs, Caerphilly Salad, Herby Cheese Scones, Smoked Haddock and Leek Parcels and Calzone on board the Cooking Bus. These were just a few of the dishes made when the bus visited St James'. Parents also came on board to cook and there was a teacher training session. The school now hopes to do more cooking in school.

LLWYNYREOS PRIMARY SCHOOL, ABERYSTWYTH - WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Children, teachers, parents and other members of the community had the chance to cook on board when the Cooking Bus sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government went to Llwynyreos Primary School. Healthy food was the order of the day with Twice Baked jacket Potatoes, Vegetable Samosas and Calzone and Bread Rolls among the favourite dishes.

GREENFIELDS COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL, NOTTINGHAM - FFLP
Greenfields School is one of the 180 schools nationally which have signed up to the Food for Life Partnership programme. Staff said the Cooking Bus visit provided a superb experience for the children to develop basic cooking skills and enthused staff and gave them the confidence to try teaching cooking themselves. The school is now set to hold regional cooking sessions, set up after school cooking clubs and involve more parents in cooking.

LINDEN ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL, TAMESIDE - FFLP
Linden Road is another flagship school which has signed up to the Food for Life Partnership programme.
The school welcomed the Cooking Bus visit which provided the opportunity for nearly 150 staff, parents, governors and children with the opportunity to enjoy cooking lessons, learn new kills and sample different tastes. They said the visit was a real boost and that children, staff, parents and governors were all very complimentary and enthusiastic.

BOWBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL, NOTTINGHAM - FFLP
A celebration of English ingredients to tie in with St George's Day was the theme for cooking at Bowbridge Primary School - which was also celebrating its birthday.
Delicious English delights including local, rhubarb, haddock, peas and seasonal vegetables were incorporated into a variety of recipes. Parents, pupils, school kitchen staff, community members, governors and teachers all took part in sessions on board the Cooking Bus.

CORPUS CHRISTI PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHADDERTON - FFLP
The school described the visit as a wonderful experience for all pupils and staff. The school said it now planned to introduce more cooking into the curriculum by using the COOKIT and also developing more cooking in the curriculum.
The school said: "The Cooking Bus has equipped us with some of the skills to take back into the classroom to enable us to teach children that cooking can be fun."

> MAY 2008

OVERHILLS COUNTY PRIMARY SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
There was high praise for the Cooking Bus from this school and the visit has made a lasting impact on staff, parents and pupils. “We shall definitely be doing more cooking in the curriculum,” said headteacher Margaret Light, who added that the Cooking Bus visit had been enjoyable for staff and pupils alike. “It is an excellent resource. It was so beneficial to the pupils and even those who did not usually eat vegetables or fruit are now making smoothies at home. This has astounded parents – who I might add are extremely grateful.” The delicious food made by the pupils had encouraged them to eat their five-a-day. On the menu were Strawberry and Rhubarb Twist, Potato and Beetroot Salad, Peach and Raspberry Golden Crunch, Fruit Kebabs, Vegetable Samosas, Luscious Lime Lassi and Tomato and Basil Tartlets.

JJB STADIUM, MANCHESTER - FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
Early years teams, environmental health officers and health workers from local authorities throughout the North West swapped their usual roles to tie on an apron for some practical cooking lessons. The sessions, organized by the Food Standards Agency in the North West took place at the JJB Stadium. The sessions were held to help staff develop practical cooking as part of health promotion programmes in the region. The dishes they made included: Lamb Samosas, Salmon Fish Cakes, Wild Horse Red Saad, Chinese Spring Rolls, Kaleidoscope Cous Cous, Chilli Bean and Cheese Potatoes and Apple and Apricot Filo Parcels.

REDDISH VALE TECHNICAL COLLEGE, STOCKPORT – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY
The Cooking Bus was at Reddish Vale to support and extend the out-of-school cooking experiences for young people aged 11 to 13 in the school. Everything had a very summery flavour for the pupils who made various dishes including Peach and Raspberry Golden Crunch, Pasta Salad with Lemon Balsamic Dressing, Herby Cheese Scones, Flavoured Foccacia and Summer Fruit Parcels. There were staff sessions to give new ideas and confidence to cook and continue to work with food in and out of the classroom.

NORLAND SCHOOL, HALIFAX - YORKSHIRE FORWARD
The Cooking Bus was “super” according to Mrs Catherine Dewick, deputy head teacher at Norland School. The school, which recently started an after-school cooking club, wants to put more cooking into the school curriculum and develop its resources to support food teaching. Pupils made a variety of dishes including Tomato and Basil Tartlets, Fruit Kebabs, Vegetable Samosas, Caribbean Red Pepper Salsa, Twice Baked Cheesy Jacket Potatoes and Salmon Jalousies. They also tasted several delicious fruit smoothies including the Kiwi and Apple Zinger and Berry Lime Refresher. The school was delighted to receive a COOKIT which will be a huge asset to cooking in school in the future.

PUDSEY BOLTON ROYD SCHOOL, LEEDS - YORKSHIRE FORWARD
Food from around the world was cooked up by pupils at Pudsey Bolton Royd School, which is an Open Future school involved with the GrowIt CookIt programme. As well as teaching pupils and doing staff training, there was an opportunity for parents to cook, providing them with ideas for simple nutritious meals to give their children. Parents made Cheesy Vegetable Parcels, Roasted Vegetables and Couscous Salad and Caribbean Fruit Salad, whilst the dishes made by pupils included Saag Aloo Tikka, Mint and Tomato Kachumbar, Tsatziki, Spinach and Cheese Triangles and Tomato and Basil Tartlets.

ST ILLTYD'S PRIMARY SCHOOL - WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Vegetable Samosas, Fruit Kebabs and Roasted Vegetable Couscous were just some of the tempting delights cooked up by pupils and people from the local community when the Welsh Assembly Government sponsored Cooking Bus visited St Illtyd’s Primary School.

URDD EISTEDDFOD, LLANDUDNO – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Welsh TV Chef Dudley Newbery was cooking with youngsters at the Urdd Eisteddfod. Pupils from local schools took part in cooking sessions as well as visitors to the Urdd Eisteddfod and the Cooking Bus was also the used to host the finals of the Urdd Eisteddfod cooking competition. The emphasis was very much on promoting healthy and delicious food and what they cooked had a distinctly Welsh flavour. Youngsters cooked food for healthy snacks, including Welsh Lamb and Vegetable Samosas and Caerphilly Salad, whilst others tried their hands at Carrot and Pineapple Squares and Lunchbox Wraps for a healthy lunchbox. There were cooking sessions for healthy breakfasts, which included Raisin Bread and Muesli and Yoghurt Layer and for healthy and hearty meals which included Leek and Potato Soup, Herby Cheese Scones and Smoked Haddock and Leek Parcels.

YSGOL GWYNEDD, FLING – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT
Flintshire was on the route of the Welsh Assembly Government sponsored Cooking Bus this month. At Ysgol Gwynnedd youngsters were encouraged to smell, touch, taste and try a range of delicious healthy and nutritious foods. Among the food they cooked were Dinca Fala (Apple Scones), Sunset Pasta Salad, Kaleidoscope Couscous Salad, Herby Cheese Scones and Vegetable Samosas. Of course staff climbed aboard the Cooking Bus for a teacher training session and, as always with this Cooking Bus, a special session was organized for members of the local community, including grandparents and parents of pupils, to join in.

EASTWOOD COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL, NOTTINGHAM – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
Peter Redgate , of Redgate’s Farm Shop, visited the Cooking Bus when it stopped at Eastwood Comprehensive School. He showed year 10 and 11 pupils studying GCSE Food Technology how to joint a chicken. Redgate’s Farm Shop also supplied ingredients for some of the cooking sessions, including chicken and locally grown produce. The pupils then went on to make Italian Style Chicken Wraps, accompanied by Morzarella Caprese. During the visit there was a session for school council members from years 7 to 11, one for students from the Nurture Group, who made Tomato and Basil Tartlets and Muesli and Yoghurt Layer, Year 9 gardeners made Cheesy Vegetable Parcels and New Potato Salad. Sessions were also organized for adult community leaders, learning support staff, a local youth group and for year 6 pupils from local primary schools who will be moving to Eastwood Comprehensive in September.

NORTH MANCHESTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, MOSTON - FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
The Cooking Bus visit gave the school more confidence to develop food as part of Design and Technology and gave those who are not specialist food teachers encouragement to develop cooking activities across other curriculum subjects, according to Jean Rose, assistant headteacher. She said: “This was a marvellous event. It really helped to bring the school community together. The Cooking Bus also helped us to develop our links with the wider community. The Bus was a catalyst to moving the food agenda forward. As well as organizing cooking sessions for students from the school there were also sessions for pupils from a nearby boys’ school, one for local Cubs and their leaders, sessions for local primary pupils and their teachers, a session for parents and one for members of the school’s catering staff.

COPPICE FARM PRIMARY SCHOOL, NOTTINGHAM - FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP
The Cooking Bus couldn’t fit into Coppice Farm Primary School, but nearby Arnold Hill Secondary School kindly let the Bus park there for the week. It meant training sessions could be held involving teachers, teaching assistants and catering staff from both schools. There were also cooking lessons for pupils from Coppice Farm and a parent and child session. A host of delicious food was made, using local and organic ingredients, including Rhubarb, Strawberry and Local Cheese Crumble, New Potato Salad, Spanakopitta, Greek Salad, Honeyed Vegetable Kebabs with Fresh Herb Dressing and Saag Aloo Tikka.

> JUNE 2008

BROOKBURN PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHORLTON CUM HARDY, MANCHESTER – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

If variety is the spice of life as well as the basis of a healthy diet, then the children of Brookburn Primary in Manchester should be well on the way to prosperity! Over the week that the FFLP-supported Cooking Bus visited them - and with the help at one session of Simon Rimmer from the celebrated Greens restaurant, plus his four-year-old son - pupils were kept busy creating Tomato and Basil Tartlets, Local Cheese and Pear Bruschetta, Potato and Beetroot Salad, Saag Aloo Tikka, Cheesy Stuffed Courgettes and Mediterranean Potato Salad – and for the ‘icing on the cake’: Berried Treasure! Attractive and eye-catching presentation from the clever pupils made the results even more mouth-watering and tempting. And not only that: but many of the ingredients used during the week were sourced locally and organically, doing the school’s high-focus food agenda even more credit. Keep up the good work, Brookburn. You have Silver (National Healthy Schools award); now aim for Gold!

WOMBWELL PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL, BARNSLEY – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

‘Properly peppered with people’ is how most of the Wombwell Park Primary School community in Barnsley might describe the week’s visit of the Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus! Not only were parents and staff in evidence in abundance, but the school was visited by BBC Radio Sheffield, Dearne Valley FM and the Barnsley Chronicle – plus school nurses, school governors, Healthy Schools co-ordinators, the Extended Schools co-ordinator, two representatives from Sport for Life and a policeman (only there to sniff out the cooking, of course!). What a cross-section of the community – all eager and interested to see, if not achieve hands-on, the healthy food sessions on offer from the Cooking Bus team. Not forgetting, of course, the pupils – who had a fine time preparing their delicious dishes. The staff training sessions were chock-a-block as well: attended by the Headteacher, teachers and teaching assistants, the ladies who run the cookery club and member of staff from the Barnsley ‘5-a-day’ team! Now that’s the spirit that earns Healthy School status and helps the whole region get healthier!

ROBSACK WOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL, EAST SUSSEX – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Robsack Wood Primary School near St Leonards in Hastings has already brought home gold: a Gold award in Healthy School status, and so is already a fine model in food and health for other schools in the region to follow. The school is an Eco school, with its own abundant vegetable garden where they grow lots of seasonal produce. With the Cooking Bus sited at the nearby high school, Robsack Wood pupils, teachers and parents made the short journey each day for the noble cause of developing enhanced food-preparation skills such as whisking (salad dressing), mixing (ingredients for Spinach and Cheese Parcels), folding (Vegetable Samosas), juicing (lemon juice for dressings), pouring (salad dressing into salad) and spooning (salad into serving dish). Staff also benefited from the sessions and were particularly delighted at the prospect of a brand-new COOKIT for the school. The overall levels of enthusiasm from the various quarters of the school over the week were very heartening indeed.

LINDSEY SCHOOL, CLEETHORPES – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Interest and curiosity were summoned from many quarters – not least the media – when the Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus visited the Lindsey School in Cleethorpes. Thanks largely to good organization and enthusiastic planning from the school itself, pupil, staff and parent involvement were harnessed successfully to create a fascinating week of eye-opening cooking sessions. Even the BBC felt impelled to come and have a look – and to interview pupils and staff for a live radio interview at the same time! What proved most rewarding for the Cooking Bus team was the number of people – pupils especially – who, while they may have been reluctant at first to try new foods and tackle new recipes, were amazed at their own achievements and returned to the Bus to tell the staff so. Hopefully, all those much-enlightened new chefs will go on to improve and enhance their own – and their family’s – diet and lifestyles for many years to come!

TROEDYRHIW COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL, MERTHYR TYDFIL – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

It is in the eating that we find the proof of the pudding - and people at Treodyrhiw Community Primary School on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil, if tentative to start with, were by the end of the week eating their words, literally, having hugely enjoyed all the activities relating to food and cooking that had been tailored to them by the Cooking Bus team. Sited in the local fire station, the Cooking Bus was accessed each day by pupils in the school minibus. Pupil, Community and teacher training sessions were all offered, and amongst the culinary achievements of the week featured Calzone, Fresh Fruit Salad and Smoothies. The local newspaper covered the visit, and it was clear that all at Troedyrhiw were sad to see the Cooking Bus leave and will be more than keen for a return visit.

TAKELEY PRIMARY SCHOOL, HERTFORDSHIRE – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Going for gold - despite limitations on space and other facilities - is the ongoing goal of Takeley Primary School in Hertfordshire, following their visit from the FFLP-supported Cooking Bus. The ongoing aim at Takeley is to get their complement of cooking teaching increased – and this goal will remain firmly on their food and health agenda. The school responded most enthusiastically and courteously to the week’s cooking and food-related activities, with pupils taking particular interest in the making of their Tomato and Basil Tartlets, Potato and Beetroot Salad, Pear and White Stilton Bruschetta and Fruit Kebabs. Adult enthusiasm was greatly in evidence as well, with both parents and teachers keenly supporting the training and Community sessions. Food ingredients were, where possible, both local and organic, another important sign that Takeley has the health of school community very high on its agenda.

STUDY UNITED CENTRE, SCUNTHORPE – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

‘The day could not have been better.’ ‘I couldn’t believe the Bus. It was out of this world.’ These were some of the remarks made at the end of the Cooking Bus week by youngsters who began it with a perhaps slightly less positive outlook. This was the week when the FSA-supported Cooking Bus visited the Study United Centre based at Heslam Park Cricket and Rugby Club in Scunthorpe - and left with only praise and improved cooking motivation amongst its learners! Groups of children from Scunthorpe attend the centre during and after school – as do other community groups, including this time a senior citizens community group. As so often happens in this case, mixing the two age groups together worked well, with the adults supporting the children and the children then becoming very enthusiastic about the delicious dishes they were making and more willing to try different foods. Simon Sparks from BBC Look North filmed part of the session and spoke to some of the amazed young chefs, and to the staff from both the Centre and the Cooking Bus. The Cooking Bus team reported that the Study United staff could not have been more friendly and helpful, and that they were very impressed with the skills that the children had developed from the sessions. All participants have registered their enthusiasm for a return visit from the Cooking Bus.

ST HELEN’S PRIMARY SCHOOL, SWANSEA – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The visit of the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus to St Helen’s School in Swansea – or rather to the nearby recreation ground in Oyster Mouth Road, to which the pupils happily walked each day – was voted both hugely enjoyable and highly successful by the Cooking Bus team, largely due to the enthusiasm received from the school from start to finish. This well-run establishment helped enormously to make the whole week run smoothly, and parents pupils and teachers were all truly ‘on side’ to put healthy food high on the agenda. With a high proportion of Bangladeshi and Pakistani children on the school’s roll, multicultural dishes were high on the menu – classics such as Vegetable Samosas and Chicken Ruby, the latter featuring both free range and Halal meat - but some old Focus on Food favourites featured as well: Sunset Pasta Salad and Fresh Fruit Salad and Berry and Lime Refresher, for example.

KINGS MEADOW PRIMARY SCHOOL, AINSDALE, SOUTHPORT – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The FFLP-supported Cooking Bus team will long remember Kings Meadow Primary School, for a number of positive reasons, but not least of which will be the memory of luscious lettuces delivered – freshly harvested and beautifully presented - to the Bus each day for use in the recipes the children who had grown them were to prepare. Kings Meadow takes its cooking and healthy eating very seriously indeed: in addition to its well-appointed cooking area, the school has an established growing and composting area and Year 6 are currently growing a wide range of vegetables and herbs, including the memorable Curly lettuce, Swiss chard, Webbs Wonder and a selection of herbs, such as mint, chives, flat- and curly-leaf parsley. Additional ingredients were sourced locally and organically, where possible. Decidedly ‘rural’ in most ways (Kings Meadow lies on the edge of Ainsdale village and is bordered by a lot of woodland and green spaces), the school is currently involved in the Sefton Healthy School scheme, aiming to raise standards, support the personal and social development of pupils, and improve the health and well-being of the whole school community. The school has achieved all of the 12 standards in the scheme. A credit to you, Kings Meadow.

BRYNAMAN (AND YSTRADOWEN) SCHOOL(S), CWMLLYNFELL, SWANSEA – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

It was pats on the back from not just one, but two, schools as the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus prepared reluctantly to leave Brynaman School in the beautiful Amman Valley in Carmarthenshire - right on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park – after a very successful week. The Bus, for logistical reasons, needed to be sited four miles away from Brynaman: at Ystradowen School whose pupils and teachers also got the benefit of some of the expert cooking lessons on offer. And much of it in the Welsh language, to boot! In addition to the delicious recipes prepared, Welsh Food Fortnight was introduced and the box of INSET resources were much in use by the teachers for ideas on further teaching after the departure of the Cooking Bus. It was a real feather in the cap of all involved in this ‘diverse’ week when the Headteacher from Ystradowen declared that the whole Cooking Bus experience would be something she would warmly remember long after she retires.

HEATHWOOD LOWER SCHOOL, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, BEDFORDSHIRE – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

It was a family affair at Heathwood School in Leighton Buzzard during the week of their Cooking Bus visit – with the community well represented at many of the sessions and parents, children, teachers all working in enthusiastic teams. To complement and reflect the inclusive theme, dishes were prepared from many parts of the world: Spanakopitta from Greece and Caribbean Red Pepper Salsa, for example. Perhaps most popular of all, however, was the Strawberry Ice Cream made from the very strawberries that Heathwood children grew in their own garden. With their own sensory garden, a well-developed vegetable patch, plus a small woodland area with a nature trail, Heathwood children are well along the path to understanding how we grow our food and where the healthiest, freshest food comes from: right under their noses! They even compost and recycle - and additional ingredients for the cooking sessions, where possible, were local and organic. Heathwood should be proud of its efforts to teach children about real foods and real health!

> JULY 2008

COTTENHAM VILLAGE COLLEGE SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Cottenham Village College, a mixed 11 - 16 rural community school in Cambridgeshire made it an all-year-groups affair during the week of their visit from the Food for Life Partnership-supported Cooking Bus. Sessions were planned to encourage and support the whole school community in developing cooking activities in pursuit of the Food for Life Partnership Mark and to improve practical cooking skills, using seasonal, local and organic produce. Recently, students at the school have started to develop their own growing area and, while this is still work in progress, it looked very impressive and showed the commitment the school is making to the FFLP project. And also in line with work towards the FFLP Mark, the school sourced high-quality local ingredients (from Les Ward, the local greengrocer) such as tomatoes, raspberries and courgettes, and thereby helped support the sessions about local produce; sessions also focused on the importance of composting and recycling. We were very impressed too by the enthusiasm of the students, not least by the student members of the SNAG group and the Year 7 FFLP Ambassadors, who were very knowledgeable about - and discussed their input into - the FFLP, thereby highlighting the positive outcomes that this project has on students who participate fully. Also worthy of praise and admiration were the students of the GCSE Catering group whose finished products looked very professional indeed; and, during their session on the Bus, the Headteacher presented them with a commendation for their recent work in hosting a community evening meal. These students were not only conscientious with their own cooking work but also most willingly supported the prospective new Year 7 students – and even cheerfully washed-up! Thank you, Cottenham folk, for an excellent week.

BRIERTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL, HARTLEPOOL – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

It was good to visit Brierton Community School in Hartlepool, not least because the school is due to close down next year, with both pupils and staff needing to find new schools to attend or to work in. But, for the week of the Food Standards Agency-supported Cooking Bus visit at least, according to contact Sue Smith, the students of the school were simply ‘buzzing’ with life. The Cooking Bus, sited at the Sports Centre beside the school, welcomed aboard the eager pupils who were always very punctual and well prepared for the cooking sessions. The focus of the week was upon the benefits of making food from scratch rather than relying on convenience foods – with Brilliant Burgers and Chicken Ruby Curry the dishes chosen to be the ‘proof of the pudding’. Another main focus, linking to Year 10 current coursework, was upon strategies for encouraging teenagers to eat more fruit and vegetables. The message certainly filtered through as it was not long before a local police officer and community support officer were also on the Bus, removing their bullet-proof vests and donning aprons instead, ready for a slightly new angle on young people’s abilities! They watched and helped as the children made delicious Thai Fish Curry and Caribbean Red Pepper Salsa. During the week, Brierton was visited by Dave Hammond from BBC Radio Teeside who conducted a live interview with Cooking Bus staff and Kayleigh, a Year 8 student who impressed us all with, not simply her clear and convincing manner on air, but also with her total support of the importance – and fun – of cooking and how she would like to work in food in the future - perhaps on a Cooking Bus! Our best wishes to Kayleigh – and to all at Brierton for a happy future school – and food education!

KYMIN VIEW PRIMARY SCHOOL, MONMOUTH – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The people from Kymin View Primary School in Monmouth – a brand-new school opened in September 2007 - were keenly anticipating their visit from the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus, not least because they knew that the foods from different parts of the world, so consistently on offer from the Cooking Bus team, would fit perfectly into their themed project for the term: ‘Countries of the World’ – with each year group taking a different country as its focus. Consequently, there was a real multicultural reality to the children’s making of such dishes as Tabbouleh, Calzone, Vegetable Samosas, Chinese Vegetable Spring Rolls and Mint and Tomato Kachumbar. And keen about food – and health - is what Kymin View seems to be all about: it is an Eco School as well as a Healthy School; they run a breakfast club; they offer healthy fruit snacks at break time; they have recently developed a small garden area. They also have a fruit and vegetable co-operative for parents - and they even recycle rainwater to flush the toilets! And the school’s already high levels of enthusiasm only increased as the week went by – with huge mutual thanks expressed at the end of the week.

STOCKBRIDGE TECHNOLOGY CENTRE, SELBY – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Stockbridge Technology Centre is located in Cawood, a rural area of North Yorkshire, close to the town of Selby. The Centre carries out commercial research and educational projects involving 1,000 children from schools within North Yorkshire. A large plot of land is allocated to growing crops, which the children plant and harvest at various times of the year. During the week of the Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus visit to Stockbridge, the children from six local primary schools were busy harvesting and cooking with their own - their very own - potatoes, carrots, broccoli, courgettes, lettuces and tomatoes. Naturally, the children were very positive about their Cooking Bus day at the Centre; they really enjoyed cooking their own produce and were hugely impressed with their own new skills. And as a creditable culmination of their cooking work over the week, the young chefs were visited by BBC Radio York: broadcaster Jonathan Cowap interviewed the Cooking Bus staff and the children and the teachers involved in the activities at the Centre. And like the food, it was live!

BARKWAY V.A. FIRST PRIMARY SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGESHIRE – FOOD FOR LIFE PARTNERSHIP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The Food for Life Partnership-supported Cooking Bus team had a delightful week at Barkway First Primary School in Cambridgeshire. There was a real community spirit prevailing, making them feel very welcome and valued all throughout the week. Barkway is a distinctly rural school where the children really know their onions: perhaps because they live in an area where so much growing happens, they already know lots about seasonality and locally sourced foods. The Cooking Bus was sited beside fields of crops where the children were even able to recognize different strains of wheat and barley! The pupils from Barkway grow-their-own, right down to the littlies in Reception whose very own new potatoes were used to make their Potato and Beetroot Salad. Other fresh, local produce was sourced from Bury Lane Farm Shop. The children were also well versed in recycling and had a really good knowledge of Food for Life messages. The levels of overall excellence went beyond just the children: there were the clever parents who run the Cooking Club (who, along with others, had a go at making Butternut Squash Cannelloni) and the wonderful group of local senior citizens who put their energies into Saag Aloo Tikki and other Indian dishes. A smoothie workshop with the children was also a great hit. So it’s credit, not just to the school, but to the Barkway community, for being a shining example of a really high-quality food culture.

BROADWINDSOR PRIMARY SCHOOL, DORSET – FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

‘Cookie about cooking!’? ‘Cooking keen!’? Perhaps Broadwindsor Primary School – in a small rural community in Dorset - could coin itself a new (or extra) school motto, following the crowning glory to their positive food work across the year: a visit from the Food Standards Agency-supported Cooking Bus. The team arrived to find that Broadwindsor walls are crammed with pictures of the school’s food work - and to be greeted with the gift of a box of Dorset Apple Cakes! And the school clearly meant to go on as they started: the staff at the school were receptive and enthusiastic, the children were competent and dextrous, and the after-school cooking club team used the week to build on their already strong passion for including cooking activities within the curriculum. And when it was revealed that the school would receive a 100 per cent grant for the purchase of a COOKIT, there were almost tears of appreciation! The COOKIT will certainly be put to good use in this school. As if to reward and recognize Broadwindsor’s eager food work, the school was visited during the week by the Bridport News who made a five-minute video clip of the happy young cooks to play on a weekly video slot on the paper’s website. At the end of the delightful week, with the enthusiasm never waning, the Cooking Bus team were even invited to a whole-school assembly where they were presented with a huge thank-you card and a box of Dorset biscuits. Much appreciated!

ST MARY’S R.C. SCHOOL, HOLYHEAD, ANGLESEY – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Focus on Food had been to St Mary’s School in Holyhead, Anglesey once before so they knew what to expect: a warm Welsh welcome and masses of support for the food-education and cooking programme offered by the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus team. St Mary’s, situated near the centre of the port town, shares its site with St Mary’s Catholic Church and serves the local Roman Catholic and wider community of Holyhead – so they are well used to being open and flexible: as indeed they needed to be, with the Cooking Bus sited at the Leisure Centre to which the children from the school travelled daily by bus. True to St Mary’s form, both school staff and pupils were amenable and positive from the start and ensured that this was, once again, a very successful visit. Amongst the dishes created, tasted and held up for admiration were Vegetable Samosas, Dinca ‘Fala, Roasted Vegetable Cous Cous and Berry and Lime Refresher: a veritable rainbow spectrum of varied dishes from various cultures. And interest was widespread amongst the community, much helped by the visit during the week of a team from the Holyhead and Anglesey Mail newspaper – who were tremendously impressed with the cooking and food work of the community’s youngsters.

HORBURY SCHOOL, WAKEFIELD – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The week that the Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus visited Horbury School in Wakefield was designed to support the Healthy Schools initiatives already in place at the school, and to support the work that Horbury’s Key Stage 3 pupils are doing in Food Technology. The sessions were also designed to encourage students to extend their experiences of ingredients and recipes. But to make the picture even richer, the visit coincided with the school’s Activities Week, so that the range of healthy living options being offered to students that week could be extended and reinforced by the activities on offer on the Cooking Bus. Among the dishes that were made by the increasingly enthusiastic students were Salmon Fishcakes, Kaleidoscope Cous Cous and Banana and Mango Smoothie. By the end of the week, the Cooking Bus team could see that real progress had been made in the pupils’ skills, experience and knowledge – and the children and their teachers were finally pretty positive all round!

PENPYCH COMMUNITY SCHOOL, TREORCHY – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Penpych Community School is situated almost at the top of the Rhondda Valley in a small village called Treherbert – where a brand-spanking-new building now houses what were once two schools - who amalgamated to form the Community School. And what a successful school it is, running like clockwork and devoting much attention to the food and dietary health of the children: it is an Eco school as well as a healthy School; they run a breakfast club; they offer healthy fruit snacks at break time; and they have recently started to cultivate a small garden area – which provided the lettuce for the Lunchbox Wraps session on the Cooking Bus. In fact, staff and pupils were all so consistently supportive of and enthusiastic about the cooking activities offered on the Cooking Bus that the Headteacher came to every session and made sure that he was on hand to help out with sampling all the dishes! (He also took lots of photos!) There is already a specialized facility for teaching Food Technology at Penpych Community School, but they will nonetheless appreciate their new COOKIT so that they can provide consistent follow-up to the new Focus on Food knowledge and skills they all received. And as a fine example to the nation, Penpych was visited during the week by ITV Wales who filmed cooking activities and Year 6 pupils on the Cooking Bus as part of a programme promoting the teaching of cooking in Welsh schools. And the school thanked us effusively for the experience? Well, we thank them for being such guiding lights in their new national food culture!

> AUGUST 2008

WETHERBY DAY CENTRE, DERBY – FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

It was an all-inclusive week during the FSA-supported Cooking Bus’s visit to Wetherby Day Centre in Derby where the Cooking Bus team taught cooking activities to folk between the ages of 18 and 70, mostly with a variety of moderate learning and physical disabilities. The aim of the week was to give the service users sensory a range of opportunities that they might not otherwise experience, so a focus was put on touch and taste, using a wide selection of fruit and vegetables. In addition, all work on the Cooking Bus at the Wetherby Day Centre was linked to the Healthy Lifestyle work covered in the Centre. And it was an experience treasured by all. ‘The buzz in the Centre is amazing,’ one of the Centre’s personnel was heard to say. And both Wetherby staff and the busy cooking bees – the service users - are ‘eating their words’ in the positive, culinary sense of the term and are buzzing-keen to apply for a return visit by the Cooking Bus.

BROADWATER CHILDREN’S CENTRE, TOTTENHAM – FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

A rich multicultural and multi-age experience was awaiting the Cooking Bus team when the FSA-supported Bus pulled into Broadwater Children’s Centre in Tottenham, east London: situated on a large council estate where children abound and where Polish, Somalia and African-Caribbean are amongst the nations represented in the population. The Broadwater Centre works with children and parents to promote the outcomes of the Every Child Matters initiative - focusing especially on the under-fives – and aims to target 900 families annually. The Cooking Bus visit was intended, not just to whet the children’s appetites with the making of delicious food, but also to train staff at the Centre so that they can develop cooking activities further and entice parents into family cooking activities. Amongst the themes selected to attract parents were healthy family meals, summer eating and cooking with children, and the dishes chosen were intended to be easy suggestions for cooking from scratch: such as Tomato and Basil Tartlets and Chilli Bean and Cheese Potatoes. Children attended sessions with their parents and both groups enjoyed the interaction and the opportunity to cook with each other. Best of all, they reported that they loved having the opportunity to make new friends as well as delicious, achievable dishes. The Centre Manager voted the whole week a really valuable self-esteem-building project, especially for the Broadwater parents: ‘Excellent, excellent, excellent!’ in fact!

TORBAY COUNCIL – ACORN CENTRE, TORQUAY – FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The Acorn Community Centre is situated in Lumington on the outskirts of Torquay where, during the summer holidays, the Centre runs a very popular and successful holiday club. It caters for children between 5 and 16 years of age, some of whom have moderate learning difficulties, and it is the focus of a special group of local young people called Junior Street Wardens – who aim to make a really positive difference to relationships within their community. All these groups were to be catered for in the cooking departments of their lives by the visit of the Cooking Bus. And what a successful week it was, partly due to the brilliant organization and co-ordination by the Centre manager. And with numbers attending the sessions changing and growing by the minute, it was a good thing that the Cooking Bus team is such a flexible bunch! And many local people came along to watch and admire the clever cooking work of the participants: the local press (the ‘Torquay Herald Express’), a photographer from the Torbay Council, and Simon Hulstone, chef proprietor of the acclaimed ‘Elephant’ restaurant in Torquay – all of whom voted the cooking work done by the young people as really heart-warming and good to see!

REDDISH VALE TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE OUT-OF-SCHOOL COOKING ACTIVITIES, STOCKPORT, CHESHIRE - FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Reddish Vale Technology College has a very active Extended Schools programme. The Cooking Bus was visiting Reddish Vale to work in conjunction with the programme’s aim to offer out-of-school activities to both young people and their families. Although sessions were originally planned for students aged between 8 and 14, in fact children as young as four attended with their parents; participants also included teenagers, youth workers and community health workers. Sessions were, as usual, informative and stimulating, with the dishes chosen able to be compared in flavour and cost to some of our traditional take–away foods (Chicken Ruby Curry and Fish Cake, for example). An emphasis was placed on how easy it is to cook from scratch and the nutritional benefits of doing so and, by the end of the week, the families - from the tinies to the worldly-wise - were enchanted and tantalized all at the same time. Much of the rest of the holiday, especially given the unrelenting rains of August, was no doubt spent by Reddish Vale families in their kitchens, cooking up a feast!

BAIRD MEMORIAL PRIMARY SCHOOL, CUMBERNAULD, GLASGOW – SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT/FSAS-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Baird Memorial Primary School people in Cumbernauld were the lucky ‘winners’ of one of the first school visits of the brand-spanking-new and freshly launched Scottish Government/FSAS-supported Cooking Bus as it began its tours of schools and community centres all over Scotland. And, in true start-of-year spirit, children (from Primary 4 –7), their teachers and families got active in all the sessions which were designed by the Cooking Bus team to support, amongst other things, the ‘Hungry for Health’ campaign within the school. And positive was the word: right from the start and from everybody. Pupils were positive about trying new foods and were eager to taste the dishes they had made; teaching staff from the school were positive in their encouragement of the children; and the headteacher, a frequent visitor to the Cooking Bus over the week, stated positively how impressed she was with the work that was being done on the Cooking Bus and that the school supported our healthy eating messages wholeheartedly. Further, she felt that, once the visit was over, more staff would now be inspired to develop cooking within the curriculum, beginning with an after-school club. And continuing the positive spirit, celebrity chef Nick Nairn – a long-time supporter of the Focus on Food Campaign - made a guest appearance on the Cooking Bus and demonstrated how to make two dishes: Vegetable Samosas and Mint and Tomato Kachumbar. He was a great success, impressing both the adults and children – and the interviewer from BBC Radio 1! If all subsequent Scottish Cooking Bus visits are to be as positive and enjoyable as the visit to Baird Primary was, then this new Bus could really positively change the entire eating nation!

> SEPTEMBER 2008

September saw a smart start to the academic year for all the Cooking Buses in Focus on Food’s fleet! Starting the year – like most of the pupils they met – as they mean to go on, they were active, up, running and all over the country! The schools and communities visited are already feeling enriched and better prepared in all things to do with food, health and diet - and sad only to see the Bus leave their locale!

BA SCIENCE FESTIVAL LIVERPOOL – FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The Science Festival is an annual event which takes place at a different university each year. It includes talks, debates, exhibitions, hands-on activities and performances, all with a science focus. Academics from other universities attend to give and to visit lectures, and schoolchildren and their teachers attend for a day of science – to include fascinating cooking sessions on the Cooking Bus. And this year, people and pupils from Norden High School and Sports College, Blackburn, Archbishop Blanch High School, Liverpool, and Beech House School, Rochdale were all represented at the food-preparation benches on the Bus. The sessions were fun, informative and interactive, with many Science connections made, including to microbiology (food-poisoning bacteria, good bacteria in natural yoghurt, and yeast and its function in bread-making), to food acids and alkalis, and to oxidation and enzymic browning. During the week, the Food Standards Agency’s Chief Scientist Andrew Wadge gave a thought-provoking lecture: ‘Dispelling the myths - the truth about science and food’. It included advice on healthy-eating trends, and was extremely resonant with the work consistently done on the Cooking Bus.

PARKLAND JUNIOR SCHOOL EASTBOURNE – FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The FSA-supported Cooking Bus visited Parkland Junior School – for the second time - to make links with the school’s involvement in the Open Futures, GrowIt, CookIt, AskIt, FilmIt project. Parkland is a very food-active school where they have a well-run after-school cooking club and a well-kept school garden where crops are grown. And true to the whole-school ethos of Parkland, sessions on the Cooking Bus were attended by all:
in addition to the pupils, there were governors, teaching staff, office staff and the school gardener! The adults were very lively when making Spanakopitta and Butternut Squash Cous Cous Salad and many were amazed at how easy it was to make them. Not only did the teachers vote the cross-curricular session as the best Inset they had ever been on, but the children also had their evaluations to give: ‘This smoothie tickles my taste buds,’ said one of the pupils when interviewed by the team from ITV Meridian. ‘This spinach is good for giving you gas,’ said another to the reporter from the Eastbourne Gazette! Above all, the children had a fantastic time on the Cooking Bus and the team, of course, had a really enjoyable week teaching the Parkland children.

ORCHARD PRIMARY SCHOOL, MILTON KEYNES – FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Orchard Primary School in Milton Keynes is a proactive sort of place when it comes to food, diet and health. Cooking activities already take place regularly within the school, and it has a garden where crops are grown and which is carefully maintained by members of the gardening club. During the week of the Cooking Bus visit to Orchard Primary, the cooking programme was tailored to the schools’ current curriculum: based on Countries of the World, with each class making dishes from a different culture. Generally, the school appears to have a passion for integrating cooking skills within the curriculum, with the teaching staff enthusiastic to develop this and all of them who came onto the Bus commenting on how good it was to witness the enjoyment of the pupils in the cooking that they were doing. And, as if to spread the word further around the region, Anglia ITV came along to record all the good things the children were doing - which was aired on the local news that evening.

LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

To provide a variety of cooking workshops as part of the 2008 Staff Development Festival, the Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus visited the Headingley campus of Leeds Metropolitan University – where participants came together from a wide range of departments and even travelled from other campuses to take part in the cooking sessions offered on board. The sessions were based around themes which included Healthy Cookery, International Cookery (India) and Entertaining. The participants were enthusiastic, the sessions ran smoothly and the Cooking Bus team received lots of positive feedback – with the delegates saying how much they enjoyed the opportunity to work and interact with colleagues from different disciplines and department and how delighted they were at their own – sometimes unexpected – culinary competence! The Leeds Metropolitan University staff are all keen for the Cooking Bus to return next year.

THORNTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BRADFORD – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus visited Thornton Grammar School in Bradford, amongst other reasons, to help support the school’s already-successful Food and Nutrition course offered at KS4, working, in particular, with Fish and Sauces and with high-quality, multicultural food products. The sessions linked with the work already being done in school on Healthy Eating. And it was good to see catering staff as well as Food and other teachers at the staff session – where the focus was, amongst others, to introduce some new pieces of equipment that could enhance the delivery of food teaching at the school. The staff session not only prompted discussions about improved training opportunities, but was voted an inspirational session which renewed staff enthusiasm and gave them new ideas to use in their teaching. As for the children, they became the ‘stars’ of the week in more ways than one: keen at all times to try new tastes, to develop new cooking skills, and even being filmed by a team from the Bradford Telegraph and Argus newspaper.

ST BEDE’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BRADFORD – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

St Bede’s is a Catholic grammar school in the Heaton area of Bradford, teaching boys only in Years 7 to 11, and girls from St Joseph’s School in the sixth form. Whilst the school has not taught any cooking or Food Technology for 15 years and has no specialist rooms or teachers, it is enthusiastic about good food, diet and health amongst all its pupils and, for the week of the Cooking Bus visit, was targeting in particular the students of Year 13 - with a view to establishing a permanent cooking programme as part of the school’s Enrichment Scheme. The aim of the ‘senior’ sessions was to offer basic tuition on nutrition, food safety and hygiene, budgeting and shopping which would prepare the students for going to university and college, when it is likely that they will be cooking for themselves - on a shoestring and perhaps at risk, at times of pressure, of making less healthy choices. The sessions were hugely successful, with the school voting the results as ‘beyond all expectations’!

PALMERSTON PRIMARY SCHOOL – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

‘Fantastic!’ said Palmerston Primary people of their week with the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus. Not only were expert cooking sessions on offer to the people of Palmerston Primary School in Barry, a large South Wales holiday town, but pupils from the nearby Sir Richard Gwyn RC School - who had offered use of their site for Cooking Bus should the Palmerston site have proved unsuitable - were thanked by Focus on Food for their gesture in the form of an advanced skills sessions offered to their GSCE Food and Nutrition pupils – with fish very successfully on their menu! The Palmerston sessions were positively supported by, amongst others, two members from the local W.I. who attended the Community session in order to get ‘primed up’ for the ‘Let’s Get Cooking’ classes they will be running. It was a lively week, with enthusiasm in large does from start to finish and highly ‘infectious’: it brought an ITV Wales team to help spread the word to the rest of the country (they filmed Year 3’s brilliant food work on board the Bus as part of a food programme they were making) and the Barry and District News also came along to take photos and conduct interviews for a double-page spread in their newspaper.

YSGOL GYMRAEG CWMBRAN AND HOLLYBUSH PRIMARY SCHOOL – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The host school for this visit, Hollybush Primary School, was an ideal alternative site for the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus, located as it is very close to Ysgol Gymraeg Cwmbran and keen as it was, for the second time, for a visit from a Cooking Bus. Ysgol Gymraeg pupils were bussed to the Hollybush site each day so that sessions could begin promptly and take best advantage of the food teaching on offer; and for pupils of Hollybush, two sessions were offered to pupils from Year 5 in which they made Lunchbox Wraps, Pasta Salad and a Fruit Smoothie. The sessions were successful for pupils from both schools and a happy week was had by all the budding cooks of Cwmbran!

YSGOL TALYSARN AND YSGOL NANTLLE – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Two tiny schools – in an idyllic rural setting half-way between Caenarfon and Porthmadog – were the happy recipients of Cooking Bus tuition on its visit to the area. With the Cooking Bus sited at the Community Centre car park in Talysarn, the children from both Ysgol Talysarn and Ysgol Nantlle all made the journey each day – Ysgol Talysarn children on foot - from the schools to the Bus. And not only were the children from both schools taught vital cooking skills, but both schools received a COOKIT each: much to their delight! Ysgol Talysarn is already a Healthy School: it runs a breakfast club and offers healthy fruit snacks at break time – and they have a small garden area. Ysgol Nantlle School has only two teachers and two classes: with eight pupils in KS1 and 15 pupils in KS2! With neither school insignificant merely because of its size, the two schools’ active week with the Cooking Bus drew the attention of the Daily Post (Herald) newspaper, as well as visits from the D&T advisor for Cynnal (Gwynedd, Anglesey and Conway LEAs) - who came to see what the children were up to in their aprons. The Cooking Bus team voted this twin-schools week as really wonderful, with the enthusiasm from all participants excellent from start to finish.

YSGOL LLEWELLYN, RHYL – WELSH ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Ysgol Llewellyn is situated on a large housing estate on the outskirts of Rhyl, with currently 600 pupils on its roll. A busy and active school, it was difficult to know where to start but it was decided that the Cooking Bus team would work with Year 5 pupils and focus especially on the Indian food culture: particularly relevant to Ysgol Llewellyn pupils, as the school has close links with a primary school in India. It was good to see that good food and diet are high on the menu already at Ysgol Llewellyn, with, for example, approximately 70 pupils daily attending the very well-run breakfast club. The Rhyl Gazette newspaper took the opportunity, too, to profile the Cooking Bus visit to Ysgol Llewellyn and, as the week went on, the Cooking Bus team was delighted to observe the overall growing enthusiasm for the cooking work that was happening on board. Not only did the children express their appreciation and thanks, but the headteacher made sure that the Cooking Bus team – each – received a thank-you card and a bottle of wine: a lovely touch!

CRONDALL PRIMARY SCHOOL – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Happily for all, the FFLP Cooking Bus – on its visit to Crondall Primary School - was sited at Newlyns Farm Shop, five miles from the school. Amongst other things, this meant that there was much surrounding support for the Cooking Bus’s food work for that week: specifically to support the Crondall school community in its efforts towards achieving the Food for Life Partnership Mark and to improve practical cooking skills using seasonal, local and organic produce. Crondall Primary already has lots of Cooking both on and off the curriculum: they have an established and well-run cooking club; the school grounds are currently being developed into a year-round, cross-curricular resource for school, community and fund-raising events; there is a pond, fields, woodland, a sensory garden and an adventure playground; the school is currently developing a community allotment; and, perhaps best of all, the school’s herb garden is well stocked and cared for. So naturally, the Crondall pupils attending sessions on board the Bus were already familiar with the terms ‘local’, ‘seasonal’ and ‘organic’. Most of the food for the week’s cooking sessions was sourced right on-site: from Newlyns Farm Shop who already have links with the school and stock an excellent range of local produce, including meat, poultry, dairy, fruit and vegetables. And being at such a high-food-profile spot, the Cooking Bus naturally created a great deal of local and public interest. Children made dishes such as Blue Cheese and Pear Salad and Apple, Mango and Local Cheese Salad under the admiring eyes of many a visitor to the shop – amongst whom were teams from Southern Counties Radio, the Fleet News and the Farnham Herald. As an extra-special treat for all, the now-famous ‘dinner lady’ Jeanette Orrey made a visit to the Cooking Bus to encourage the children in their endeavours. And what did the school itself have to say about it all? ‘Absolutely brilliant!’

SOIL ASSOCIATION ORGANIC FORTNIGHT, BRISTOL – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

During Soil Association Organic Fortnight, people across Britain celebrated all things organic. And to kick off this year's Organic Fortnight, the Soil Association was delighted to host the Soil Association Organic Food Festival and Awards – Europe’s largest celebration of all things organic - sponsored by Yeo Valley Organic, in Bristol.
First up, it was a warm welcome from the Festival organizers and the Soil Association representatives to the Food for Life Partnership-supported Cooking Bus and its team – with the Bus ideally sited in the Amphitheatre on Bordeaux Quay, making it both accessible and attractive to the public - and all was set fair for a fabulous week. From the perspective of Focus on Food, the Festival was a perfect opportunity for showcasing the work of the Food for Life Partnership, to recruit more schools onto the Mark and to engage young people in and around Bristol in cooking with seasonal, local and organic produce. The majority of the produce for the Cooking Bus sessions during the Festival was sourced from the Better Food Company in Bristol. Much of it was locally grown and some of it was organic, enabling the Cooking Bus teams and their pupils to achieve the 30 per cent organic produce target. Recipes chosen reflected the local, seasonal and organic theme threading through the Festival. Dishes made were Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables, Cheese and Spinach Triangles, Cheesy Seedy Stuffed Courgettes, Spanakopitta – and two very popular dishes testing and extending the learners’ bread-making skills: Friendship Pizza and Pissaladière. Senior Food Teacher on the FFLP/Focus on Food Cooking Bus Siobhan Haughey said: ‘The Bristol Organic Food Festival was a great success. … The children really enjoyed developing their cooking ability and we look forward to similar opportunities to engage people in the work of FFLP and the Focus on Food Campaign.’

THE VINE INTER-CHURCH PRIMARY SCHOOL – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

What a horticultural school The Vine - a new school located in the new community of Cambourne, near Cambridge – is, to be sure! The FFLP-supported Cooking Bus, visiting the school to encourage and support the school community to develop cooking activities in pursuit of the Food for Life Partnership Mark, had a delightful time at The Vine. Ingredients for the week’s cooking sessions were supplied both by the school garden (of which they are understandably proud) and also by Histon Produce who supply the school kitchen. Whilst they delivered fruits, vegetables and milk, Sarah, the catering manager, could be spotted early each day in the garden, picking produce to use for lunch! Recipes were chosen to introduce pupils to more unusual ingredients, flavours and combinations, such as Roast Vegetables with Cous Cous and Feta, and Kaleidoscope Cous Cous. Staff were happily ‘employed’ in their sessions making Blackberry and Apple Crumble and Potato and Beetroot Salad, all while exchanging valuable ideas and experiences in this ready-made ‘ideas forum’.

SACRED HEART RC PRIMARY SCHOOL, PETERBOROUGH – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

To put no finer point on it, the Cooking Bus team reported a simply superb week at Sacred Heart RC Primary in Peterborough – and many factors contributed to this. For a start, Sacred Heart has a really flourishing garden - where Nicola Ward, a parent who leads gardening activities, picked and delivered daily all of the herbs, some onions, salad leaves and a variety of other vegetables for use on board the Bus. The quality of the produce was excellent. Secondly, amongst the children of the school, there was very good knowledge about healthy eating: they had an excellent understanding of local, seasonal and organic food; some could explain the composting process very well; even younger children knew what herbs were; and the older children, reflecting their own experience in gardening activities, knew the names and properties of a wide range of herbs and leaves; and – really good news - by the end of the week, four parents had committed themselves to setting up the school’s new cooking club! Dishes made and enjoyed were Smoked Paprika Sausage Hotpot, Cheesy Vegetable Parcels, Muesli and Yoghurt Layer and an Indian-style fruit salad: Phul Chaat. And as if to follow the good news where it was happening, Peterborough Evening News photographed some Year 1 pupils at one of the sessions and published the following day a wonderful article on the week’s good food work and on the ongoing work of Focus on Food .

HAWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Haworth Primary School is situated in the historic West Yorkshire village on the outskirts of Keighley - where the FFLP Cooking Bus team was warmly welcomed and immediately made to feel part of the school community. The visit coincided with the start of Haworth School Organic Food Fortnight and consequently there was a whole-school focus on cooking activities, amongst which were the provision by the school itself of delicious home-grown produce, including organic cheeses and honey from a local supplier. Haworth Primary seems to be really on its way already: having already gained the Bronze FFLP Mark, the school is aiming for Silver this year and Gold in 2009; it has achieved National winners in the Duchy Originals Garden Organic for Schools ‘How Does Your Garden Grow’ competition 2006; the school was ‘Yorkshire in Bloom’-winners of the Schools section (Gold Standard) 2007; and Steve Thorpe (the school’s gardening club co-ordinator) won the Soil Association’s School Food Awards ‘Organix School Food Hero’ Award for 2006. A range of food activities have already taken place at the school, including a fish-tasting session at lunchtime to encourage more children to eat fish, a Fairtrade fruit stall at the summer fayre and two teacher-led assemblies about growing and environmental issues. So it was only to ‘assist’ the already richly food-experienced children of Haworth that the Cooking Bus team set about showing them how to make Wensleydale Stuffed Courgettes, Potato and Beetroot Salad, Ratatouille Niçoise and Plum Puffs. The children, notwithstanding their advanced experience, were nonetheless enchanted, the week ending with the comment ‘I want to stay on the Bus for ever’ heard not just from one Haworth pupil but from many!

ST MACHAR ACADEMY, ABERDEEN – SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT/FSAS-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

St Machar Academy near Aberdeen already places food and health high on the school’s agenda, with Hospitality offered to Standard grade and higher. The new Scottish Cooking Bus was visiting St Machar to support, amongst other things, the ‘School of Ambition’ campaign within the school, and to offer hands-on cooking workshops that supported aspects of the Scottish curriculum. Pupils had some good knowledge of ingredients and were positive about trying new foods – and teaching staff from the school were keen to encourage the children in all the healthy eating messages that they were hearing on the Bus. Teachers, of course, had their own cooking sessions – where they had the much-appreciated opportunity to network with colleagues from other schools: 11 teachers from neighbouring secondary schools attended the training session for teachers. During the week, the Cooking Bus held an additional training session for six members of the FSA Scotland (and three children). Everyone appeared to enjoy their workshop and openly praised the Cooking Bus and the work being done through it; Charlotte Maltin from the FSAS declared herself to be ‘addicted to it’ (she had visited the Cooking Bus previously during the Royal Highland Show and couldn’t stay away!) and stated that she sings its praises to everyone she meets!

TANSHALL PRIMARY SCHOOL – SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT/FSAS-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

‘A buzz about the school’ was the feeling expressed by the headteacher of Tanshall Primary School in Glenrothes as each day of the Scottish Cooking Bus visit unfolded. And still in its spanking-new livery and something still of a novelty among the schools of Scotland, the Bus and its team made a really deep impression. Their visit to Tanshall Primary was specifically designed to support the whole-school approach to healthy eating across the curriculum. Recipes were chosen to include a multicultural aspect to food linking to Geography: Social Cultures and Foods from Other Lands. And whilst the pupils cooked on, they were observed by a good number of visitors from local health and education authorities eager to view the Cooking Bus and witness the work of the team (they were all suitably impressed and stated that they would ‘spread the word’ of the Focus on Food Campaign and of the availability of the new Scottish Cooking Bus); and the local press sent out a crew to take photographs of the children cooking. And it was not only the adults who were patting the Cooking Bus team on the back: the pupils too were most appreciative of all the food, health and diet learning they had received over the week and were very demonstrative in their gratitude – even to hugs and kisses from some! One class made a large poster of the Cooking Bus, and several thank-you letters were gratefully received by the Cooking Bus team.

THE LEARNING FESTIVAL AT THE SECC – SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT/FSAS COOKING BUS

Not flagging in its new energies for a moment, the new Scottish Cooking Bus smartly set off again to the Learning Festival held at the SECC in Glasgow. Voted by all concerned as a huge success, this event attracted great interest and audiences to the Bus (in fact, ‘inundated’ was the word heard from the Advisory Teacher Helen Orr): visitors from the length and breadth of Scotland who would take their new knowledge of this fabulous new food facility back to their own towns and regions. And this interest also led – naturally - to a host of Scottish schools registering with the Focus on Food Campaign and making requests for a visit from the Cooking Bus. Amongst other activities, children from schools across Scotland prepared delicious recipes and tried out new foods. Overall, the responses of the children to their new food and cooking experiences were most positive and heart-warming. One of the many visitors to the Cooking Bus over the days of the Festival was Maureen Watt, Minister for Schools and Skills – who watched a demonstration and assisted children during a session. Adam Ingram, Minister for Children, also came along talked at length with Ann Kerry, expressing how very impressed he was with the work of the Focus on Food Campaign. Heather Reid, a weather forecaster and television presenter, also took time out from her work at the BBC to visit; she was clearly captivated by the quality of food and cooking skills being offered by the Cooking Bus and promised to ‘spread the word’!

> OCTOBER 2008

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST SCHOOL, FINDON, SUSSEX – FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

‘The Cooking Bus was the talk of the village!’ That was the view expressed by many after the FSA-supported Cooking Bus visit to St John the Baptist School in Findon, West Sussex. And small though it may be, St Johns is a Hub school in the Open Futures project, and this means that the entire school community talks the cooking-and-good-food language most fluently! Food is truly embedded within the school curriculum, and there is a real sense of community spirit in the air! The Bus was sited at the local fire station, whose personnel seem to have ‘adopted’ St Johns in a number of ways: the fire operatives welcomed the Cooking Bus team, attended one of the community sessions on board the Bus and generally worked in close partnership with the school and Cooking Bus team. The school garden where crops are grown is not only well kept, but this year it produced its very own pumpkins, the largest of which weighed 4 stones, the smallest of which was ‘awarded’ to the Cooking Bus team for display. And the press could not be kept away: two radio stations plus The Worthing Telegraph sent reporters to share in the fabulous food work going on that week.

THORNEYCROFT RC PRIMARY, NR. CLITHEROE, LANCS - FSA-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Thorneycroft RC Primary School is situated in the remote and rural village of Dunsop Bridge in north Lancashire – and with only 42 pupils on its roll, it seemed fitting that its Cooking Bus visit should be tailored to neighbouring schools as well. Amongst the activities of the week were numerous cross-curricular links: such as the preparation of Italian dishes to link with KS2 History (‘A Roman Case-Study’) and other learning focused on the food eaten by, and the eating customs of, ancient Romans; the Irish dish Colcannon was made and linked to the celebration of Hallowe’en (part of Festivals and Celebrations, a focus in Religious Education). Coincidental links occurred when demonstrating bread with Year 5 and 6 pupils - who had recently done an experiment in a Science lesson on how chemical-raising agents worked using vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Not only were the parents most appreciative of the visit of the Cooking Bus to this sometimes forgotten corner of the north, but the children also thoroughly enjoyed the experience and ended the week much more confident cooks!

KNOTTINGLEY HIGH SCHOOL, WEST YORKSHIRE – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

It was a refreshing new departure for the Cooking Bus team to be teaching chiefly senior students on the visit of the Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus to Knottingley High School, near Wakefield. This mixed comprehensive school offers Food Technology at GCSE level and, at KS3, the students take Food Technology lessons as part of the Design and Technology carousel. The main focus of the food work for this week was on curriculum connections, in particular the links that could be made with Science. Connections were also made between diet and performance in sport as well as links to Science. And the visit was popular with other community sectors as well, with a photographer from The Wakefield Express visiting the Bus on Wednesday, as well as a representative from the Open College Network dropping by to watch the young people creating their culinary masterpieces - as well as to find out more about the Focus on Food Campaign.

HULL COLLEGIATE SCHOOL, ANLABY, HULL – YORKSHIRE FORWARD-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Hull Collegiate School is an independent school formed in 2005 by a merger between Hull Grammar School and Hull High School. Its pupils range in age from 3 to 18 years of age, and Food is taught at KS3, KS4 and KS5; A-Level Food Technology is also offered.
One of the chief focuses for the visit of the Yorkshire Forward-supported Cooking Bus to the school at Anlaby was on recipes for sixth-form students destined soon to leave home for university or college – who were appreciative of the timely tuition in planning meals for friends, in how to cook healthy food on a budget, in the nifty use of store-cupboard ingredients and in the importance of food hygiene. The students themselves – as well as the rest of the school and the Cooking Bus team – voted the week a very successful and enjoyable visit. And not forgetting the littlies, the staff training session was also very useful to the school in providing ideas and inspiration for the prep. school teachers and nursery nurses to implement more cooking at KS1 and KS2. The school is mad-keen for the Cooking Bus to return!

CARDINAL WISEMAN HIGH SCHOOL, GREENFORD, MIDDLESEX – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

The Cardinal Wiseman School is a Catholic Technology and Art College in West London. With 1,800 pupils on roll, they proudly serve 1,200 school meals (compared with 400 before joining FFLP) and they are to be congratulated on their whole new food culture. The school has recently opened its new catering area which features the ‘Wise Choice’ café, officially opened in September by Prue Leith OBE, Chair of the School Food Trust. On tasting a range of dishes that will form part of the new school menu, Prue said: ‘Cardinal Wiseman is an excellent example of how a school meals service should be run.’ Jeanette Orrey, dinner-lady par excellence and cum laude, and representing the FFLP, also joined in the inaugural occasion. In addition to a fine school menu, an outstanding gardening club is conducted by Dave Parks, the husband of the Head of Hospitality and Catering, and Food teaching goes all the way up to A-level. Two groups of Year 13 students this week made dishes which they will be able to run up from scratch when they are university or college: Roasted Vegetables with Cous Cous and Feta, Smoked Paprika Sausage Hot-pot, and Muesli and Yoghurt Layer. Year 11 Hospitality students made Pissaladière and Orange and Red Onion Salad. Year 10 Travel and Tourism students, linking their cooking learning to the Hospitality and Catering industry, made dishes that would be suitable to sell at a theme park: Courgette and Sun-dried Tomato Muffins, and Tropical Fruit Salad with Lemongrass. Mutual respect, manners and motivation shone out from all at Cardinal Wiseman over the week, making the whole experience a pleasure from start to finish for the Cooking Bus team.

ST JAMES’ PRIMARY SCHOOL, ELSTEAD, SURREY – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Not only did the Cooking Bus team vote their visit to St James’ Primary School in Elstead, Surrey a successful week, but the school itself declared the week as ‘wonderful opportunity ... [and] a revelation to staff’! The Cooking Bus team was most warmly welcomed and even invited to a ‘getting-to-know-you’ assembly – where the children were clearly on the cooking ball! When asked, they knew exactly what the visit would aim to achieve and they recognized that it was a very special occasion for their school – and they generally had a very good knowledge about healthy eating. They have a flourishing school garden; a cooking club is well established and very popular; and the school cook is proactive in getting the children to improve their eating habits. Various food-themed events are regularly organized, and this time it was a local chef who came to the school to make Paella. (True to St James’ form, this chef has a very good relationship with the school and regularly visits to support such events.) A wide range of potential chefs were taught this week: the pupils themselves, the Brownies and Beavers members and leaders, teaching and dining staff, parents, SNAG members and local senior citizens - and the visit undoubtedly did much to enhance recognition of cooking activities amongst other staff and the community. Key staff at St James’ are to be commended for their hard work towards the FFLP Mark.

PUDSEY PRIMROSE HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL, PUDSEY, NR. LEEDS – FFLP-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Fairly unusually, the site host for the FFLP-supported Cooking Bus visit to the children and adults of Pudsey Primrose Hill Primary School was a supermarket! It was ASDA at the Owlcoates Shopping Centre, approximately a ten-minute walk from the school. But, of course, what a popular - not to say, populated - place to showcase the cooking-from-scratch work, using fresh and sometimes organic produce, of the youngsters of Pudsey. With the public able to view the work on the Bus from the outside screen, what an incentive they had to run in to the store and pick only the best and run home and try out for themselves the simple but delicious dishes that the children were making! A fine set of community cooking lessons all round! The children were very enthusiastic cooks and learners and, by the end of the week, their new school dining room, their very productive school garden and the prospect of a new school cooking club all seemed doubly attractive – they were rearing to go! Not that they wanted to say goodbye to the Cooking Bus: ‘It is the best day of my life so far,’ said one pupil of his experience on board. That’s the Pudsey spirit!

YSGOL TUDNO, LLANDUDNO – WAG-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Timed to coincide with the Conwy Food Festival, this visit of the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus to Ysgol Tudno in Llandudno was a thoroughly enjoyable week. The school is situated in the middle of Llandudno, a small seaside town on the North Wales coast. The children all live locally, and the school has a traditional mix of backgrounds. On the menu for the week were Dinca ‘Fala, Summer Coca and Smoked Haddock and Leek Parcels. Whilst involvement in the Conwy Food Festival turned out to be rather minimal, the enthusiasm and responsiveness from all quarters of the school community were excellent from start to finish. The school has an after-school cooking club for the older children and they are going to start a garden in the spring – all great initiatives to get good food and healthy eating high on the agenda of the Ysgol Tudno children. And while no other reward was necessary, it was a pleasure for the Cooking Bus team to receive the effusive thanks of the headteacher – and the bottles of wine and three cheers from the children!

YSGOL IFOR BACH, ABERTRIDWR, CAERPHILLY - WAG-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Ysgol Ifor Bach, situated between the villages of Abertridwr and Senghennydd on the outskirts of Caerphilly, is a brand-new school, opened as recently as September 2007.
As this is a Welsh Medium school, all of the resources for the week were bilingual – with sessions delivered in both languages, almost fluently! In addition to being part of the Healthy Schools Network, Ysgol Ifor Bach is also an eco-school: impressively, they use their own wood-burner to heat the school, as well as having a system for recycling rain-water for the toilets. Pupils between Years 2 and 6 focused on preparing items suitable for a healthy lunch-box: Sunset Pasta Salad, Fresh Fruit Salad, Fruit Kebabs, Twice Baked Jackets, Calzone and Herby Cheese Scones. And the press were so tantalized when they heard of the culinary feats being attempted and achieved that they came along too – and The Rhyl Gazette featured photos of Ysgol Ifor Bach chefs in the pages of their paper. Heart-warmingly, as the week went on, the enthusiasm for the Bus increased visibly around the school, and both teachers and pupils were sad to see it leave, but declared themselves positively resolved to carry on its good work – for good!

YSGOL BRO EIRWG, LLANRUMNEY – WAG-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

Ysgol Bro Eirwg is a Welsh Medium school, situated in the middle of Rumney, a district in north-east Cardiff. From start to finish, the whole school community were solidly behind this visit of the Welsh Assembly Government-supported Cooking Bus and determined to make the most of the opportunities it offered for future and ongoing good health and cooking skills. The focus of most of the sessions for this week was lunch-box items, and preparing healthy meals using store-cupboard ingredients. Pupils made Fresh Fruit Salad, Pasta Salad, Kaleidoscope Cous Cous Salad, Fruit Kebabs, Sharing Salad and Fruit Muffins. In a real gesture of support, the headteacher came to every session and was discreetly on hand to sample all of the delicious demonstration items! Amongst the community visitors were two representatives from the W.I. who will be running the new ‘Let’s Get Cooking’ classes in the school. Overall, the Cooking Bus team voted this week a treat: a real pleasure to work in such a responsive atmosphere. And as if to reflect the interest of the community in the work of the Focus on Food Campaign, The Western Mail and Echo sent a reporter who later featured photos of the cooking children in an edition of the paper.

LHANBRYDE PRIMARY SCHOOL, LHANBRYDE, MORAY - SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT/FSAS-SUPPORTED COOKING BUS

‘Brilliant … amazing … [and] super!’ The visit of the new Scottish Government/FSAS-supported Cooking Bus visit to Lhanbryde was a popular week, not only with the Moray school itself, but also with local and national personalities, keen to follow the career of the new Cooking Bus with interest! Local cookery writer, Liz Bowie, for example, attended an Inset and was very impressed by the Cooking Bus, and she even returned for a second day, interviewing pupils for an article she would be writing on the visit. In addition, many visitors from local health and education authorities were eager to view the Cooking Bus. They were all suitably impressed and stated that they would ‘spread the word’ of the Focus on Food Campaign far and wide! At Lhanbryde Primary School, a good food culture is already firmly in place: the children are positive about trying new foods and teaching staff from the school are keen to encourage them; many of the children are already knowledgeable about Healthy Eating messages. Recipes were chosen to include a multicultural aspect to food linking to Geography, Social Cultures, and Foods from Other Lands. All children and staff took the time to thank the staff on the Cooking Bus and all left eager to taste the dishes they had made – and to make them again and again at home! The principal teacher even went as far as a round of hugs, saying as she did so: ‘We simply can’t praise the whole concept enough.’