Big and Little Stars Join Fun at Scotch Beef Children's Cookery Theatre

More than 1000 children will get a hands-on opportunity to cook simple, healthy and nutritious dishes including beef, pork and lamb at this year’s Royal Highland Show.

Quality Meat Scotland is this year sponsoring the Scotch Beef Children’s Cookery Theatre located in the Dobbies Children’s Discovery Centre in Avenue Q of the showground.

During the four days of the show an estimated 15,000 children will visit the centre, run by the Royal Highland Education Trust, to learn more about where food comes from.

The centre is open to anyone and everyone, offering a range of fun, interactive and hands-on activities for children of all ages.  

Over the four days a number of celebrities will also be joining the children to lend a hand in the Scotch Beef Children’s Cookery Theatre. Among these will be one of Scotland’s most inspirational sportsmen rugby ace, Chris Paterson, the country’s highest point scorer and most capped player.

Chris has been working with Quality Meat Scotland on a butcher’s shop campaign highlighting the important role of red meat in a healthy diet.

Chris Capaldi, also known as “Glen”, the face of Scotch Beef’s advertising campaigns, will also be visiting the cookery theatre. Both stars will also be meeting people at the ringside Quality Meat Scotland stand (avenue O, stand number 599) where well-known celebrity chefs will be entertaining the crowds.

School children and members of the public will also have the opportunity to view sheep, cattle and pigs on another area of the QMS stand and hear about the high production standards and welfare involved in their production.

Members of QMS staff and farmers will be available to answer every question and ensure no-one leaves the stand without feeling a real sense of the reasons behind the industry’s pride in its labels.

Jennifer Robertson, Quality Meat Scotland’s Health and Education Coordinator, said QMS was delighted to be sponsoring the cookery theatre at this year’s show.

“Our new partnership with the Royal Highland Education Trust at the show very much ties in with the work we do throughout the year to encourage young people to appreciate the importance of a balanced diet and red meat’s role in that.

“The children’s cookery theatre will give youngsters a chance to see how easy it is to prepare, simple delicious dishes which are also good for you,” said Mrs Robertson.

A growing number of young people are leaving school without ever having cooked with red meat, a problem which increasingly tight school budgets is adding to.

“To counter this QMS undertakes free cooking demonstrations at schools throughout Scotland and we have also recently launched a national schools meat voucher scheme which gives school home economics departments up to £100 to spend on beef, lamb or pork.

“We are looking forward to welcoming children of all ages to the Scotch Beef Children’s Cookery Theatre to show them how easy and fun it is to make delicious, nutritious food using produce from Scottish farms, underpinned by world-leading quality assurance.”

While most of the Thursday and Friday sessions at the Scotch Beef Children’s Cookery Theatre have been fully booked by schools there are still a few of the half hour slots available and ample sessions will be available on Saturday and Sunday – visit the Discovery Centre on the day to book.

Caption: Ten year old Laura McLaren, of Blairgowrie, learning how to make a healthy Scotch Beef salad wrap. This is one of many recipes youngsters will be able to try making at the Scotch Beef Children’s Cookery Theatre.