Coltness Pupils Make No Mis-Steaks in Cookery Class

A North Lanarkshire high school has ‘beefed’ up its cooking skills with the help of industry body Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).

Senior home economics pupils at Coltness High School welcomed Daniela Forbes from QMS for a Scotch Beef PGI masterclass, which took place at the end of February.

During the session, which covered nutrition, cookery skills and processes, the group learned about different cuts of red meat before getting to work making their own pasta and Scotch Beef meatballs to serve with a tomato and basil sauce.

The school was also provided with a QMS Meat voucher to purchase Scotch Beef for use in National 5 cookery classes. This came at a critical time for the school, providing much-needed funding for high quality, nutritious ingredients that are available on the pupils’ doorstep.

Coltness High School teacher Linda Canning said: “Thank you to Quality Meat Scotland for supporting my pupils with a fantastic session that was both highly informative and practically challenging.  The voucher, as well as the resources available to support teaching and learning, have been a real lifeline to the school and we look forward to further sessions in the future.”

Alix Ritchie, Health and Education Manager from Quality Meat Scotland, said: “The school masterclasses, led by industry professionals, have proven hugely successful and the feedback has been fantastic from teachers.

“Not only are the pupils shown how to cook with high quality, nutritious ingredients, the sessions also shine a spotlight on the farmers, processors, auctioneers and butchers across Scotland and the work they do behind the scenes to provide the nation with unrivalled fresh produce.

“Providing the vouchers to purchase Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork for use in different recipes helps ease the financial pressure for schools and allows them to continue to equip pupils with valuable life skills.”

The QMS Meat Voucher Scheme was developed in response to reports that teachers in many Scottish schools are unable to afford fresh red meat products. The initiative provides teachers with to up to £100 worth of meat vouchers which can be redeemed at certified independent retailers and butchers.  The vouchers can be exchanged for fresh, locally produced Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI or Specially Selected Pork which can be used in cookery lessons to educate and inspire pupils to cook healthy, balanced meals at home.  

For more information and recipes, visit www.scotchkitchen.com or Scotch Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.