In the run up to Christmas we teamed up with celebrity chef, Mark Sargeant, for a mini tour of Devon, visiting three schools in the county to spread the word about great healthy food and to get children excited about cooking (with a sprinkling of Christmas treats along the way!)
Mark and ISS Education’s first stop was Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Paignton, where year 5 pupils joined him for a master class in festive cupcake decorating. The pupils came up with some fantastic designs, including reindeer, a Father Christmas and some snowmen. Mark held a competition for the best cupcake and a Christmas dinner inspired creation came out on top – which even included mini pigs in blankets!
Mark was then whizzed off to Highweek Primary School in Newton Abbot for the afternoon, where he competed in a cook off competition. We pitted teacher against teacher – Mark joined year 1’s Mr Slingsby in the red kitchen and ISS Education’s Development Chef, Jason, paired up with self-proclaimed bad cook, year 6 teacher, Mrs Chew, in the green kitchen.
The whole school gathered in the hall to watch the competition unfold, cheering on Mark and their teachers and voting for the dishes they thought looked and smelled the most appetising.
Each team had thirty minutes to choose their ingredients and prepare their chosen dishes. Both created four plates of food which were then sampled by a team of six pupils who were responsible for taste testing. Whilst they tucked into the dishes, the rest of the school took a vote on who they wanted to win. The food was so impressive that the votes were split down the middle, meaning the final decision rested with the taste testers. After much deliberation, they voted the green team as winners!
Mark Sargeant’s final visit was to Gatehouse Primary School in Dawlish, where Mark and the pupils got into the festive spirit with biscuit making and decorating. With Mark’s help, a class of year 5’s made their own top notch biscuits – learning to cut them out, cook and decorate them. The pupils came up with some top decorative designs; including one particularly fab Christmas tree. The day concluded with a group photo and a gift for each of the children to take home and bake with their families.
All that cooking deserved a hearty, warming school dinner! Here’s Mr Sargeant with our very own Mark (ISS Education’s Director of Education) and the lovely Bridgette (Area Manager in Devon). Lots of clean plates; that’s what we like to see, guys!
ISS Education and Mark Sargeant had a fantastic time and we hope that the teachers and pupils did too!
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