WSH GIVES FOOD FOR THOUGHT WITH NEW SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Westbury Street Holdings (WSH), has joined forces with the Academy of Culinary Arts, the professional association for chefs, restaurant managers and suppliers of which Brian Turner CBE is President and Albert Roux OBE a Trustee, to help school children develop a better understanding of where food comes from.
Chefs from WSH's education catering businesses, Caterlink and Holroyd Howe, will take part in the Academy's 'Chefs Adopt a School' programme which employs the talents of professional chefs to visit schools, and using a series of 'hands on' workshops, to teach the children about taste, the provenance of ingredients and the journey from farm to fork.
'Chefs Adopt a School' is the Academy of Culinary Arts' charitable project, which endorses the government's policy on healthy eating by educating children and young persons about food in a holistic way from plant to palate emphasising the importance of nutrition, hygiene and health, and the impact of food on the environment and society. The initiative is aimed at children aged between 5 and 11 years and is designed to integrate well with Key Stages 1-4 of the National Schools Curriculum. As long-term supporters of the Academy and with WSH’s Chief Executive Alastair Storey named as a 'Friend of the Academy', Caterlink and Holroyd Howe chefs will give up their time to support the project, initially in 40 schools three times a year.
John Bennett, Chief Operating Officer for WSH's education businesses, commented: "The work of the 'Chef's Adopt a School' project is fundamental in inspiring children at a young age to really understand food and how it gets from the farm to their plate. Educating children about healthy eating is a core strand within our catering offering and sits alongside our passion for delivering fresh, locally sourced food, prepared by skilled chefs. This partnership is confirmation of our commitment to keeping food high on the public agenda and feeding it into the school curriculum."
Sara Jayne Stanes, CEO, the Academy of Culinary Arts and Chefs Adopt a School said: "We are delighted to have WSH's education businesses on board to help champion our cause. The 'Chefs Adopt a School' project relies on support from the industry to help develop children’s relationship with food, so we are looking forward to working closely with the chefs at Caterlink and Holroyd Howe to motivate more young people to explore and experiment with their food."
The new partnership complements the work WSH already carries out to promote food education through its WSH Foundation charity, which provides funding for schools to create on-site kitchen gardens.
Bennett concluded: "The WSH Foundation's School Kitchen Garden Project enables us to teach children about the importance of freshly sourced ingredients and how they are grown, providing them with a hands on approach to learning. Our education businesses are working hard to ensure that food is seen as a fun and exciting learning tool and it is hoped that both of these projects will help to establish lifelong skills from an early age."