Trenance Infant School in Cornwall invited staff from the local Crantock bakery to teach over 240 pupils how to make a Cornish pasty, a dish which was born out of the local area.

The staff from the award-winning bakery ran sessions about food production and nutrition for the five to seven year-olds.  As well as learning about the fresh ingredients that go into making pasties, every one of the pupils made their own pasty to take home.  Catherine Webster of Crantock Bakery said of her novice pasty makers, “some of their crimping has been incredible - the Cornish pasties of the future are in safe hands.”

The children had enormous fun making pasties.  It gave them a chance to roll up their sleeves and get messy as well as gaining an insight into what makes up a healthy, balanced meal and the importance of knowing where ingredients come from and how food is prepared.  They also learned about the history of the pasty and its origins in the county's mining heritage. 

As part of the school's celebration of British food, the children visited Kingsley Village, a local food hall selling Cornish produce.  The pupils were warmly welcomed and encouraged to taste and test fresh meat, cheese and fish.  A fish and chip shop based in Newquay invited all the Year 2 children into the shop to see how the traditional meal was made.  A local chef was also invited to spend time with each class to talk about healthy eating and to discuss how to choose food for a balanced but fun diet. 

The pupils put their new-found wisdom to the test by creating a menu of vegetable soup using locally grown vegetables, mackerel, which some of the children had caught themselves on a fishing expedition to Newquay harbour, and baked apples which were sourced locally. 

The Infant school also held a cake sale, with all produce cooked in school by the children, to raise money to cover the costs of all the activities.

For more inspiring ideas about how to integrate British food into the Curriculum, see the Love British Food resource guide Putting the Ooo! back into food [click here]