Kirn pupils ‘cook up’ a winning entry

As winners of a Scotland-wide competition, Primary 7 pupils from Kirn Primary School in Dunoon will today (Wednesday 14 February) claim their prize; a special in-house cookery demonstration. 

The pupils entered the Eco-Schools Scotland ‘One Planet Picnic’ competition and as part of their prize chef Fi Bird, will visit the young winners along with the sponsors of the prize, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). QMS is the public body responsible for marketing Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork as well as promoting meat as part of a healthy, balanced diet. 

QMS Health and Education Coordinator Jennifer Robertson is a qualified dietitian and her visit to the school will add to what the pupils have already learned about healthy eating. She will lead an interactive discussion on where our food comes from, healthy eating and the benefits of including red meat in the diet. This will be followed by the hands-on demonstration with chef Fi Bird, who will cook two healthy red meat dishes which all the pupils can taste and potentially replicate with mum and dad at home. 

Jennifer explained how impressed she was with the winning entry. 

“Primary 7 decided to hold a picnic for all the staff in the school and they meant everyone; teachers, the school catering staff, the cleaners, office staff and their local lollipop man.” 

“The catering staff very kindly let them use the school kitchen to prepare their picnic food which consisted of sandwiches, salad, fruit smoothies and the pupils’ very own ‘Kirnie Birnie Soup’.” 

The pupils served all the guests including the children from the school’s nursery class. 

Ellen Morton, education spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council commented on how entering the competition complemented how the school encourages pupil involvement, the use of local and seasonal produce and cutting down on waste. 

“They worked really hard on the final entry using photographs showing them harvesting local vegetables, preparing the food, serving our guests and enjoying the day. They also produced beautifully illustrated recipe cards for their Cregg Sandwiches, Berry Best Smoothies, the Salmon Salad and the really tasty Kirnie Birnie Soup.” 

Eco-Schools Scotland is the flagship education programme of Keep Scotland Beautiful and Programme Manager, Kate Campbell, explained how the initiative encourages schools throughout Scotland to improve their environmental performance. 

“The ‘Food and the Environment’ topic, funded by the Scottish Government, aims to inspire our young people to reconnect with where their food comes from, discover local, seasonal crops and dishes and consider the environmental impacts of our food choices.” 

“The entry from Kirn Primary School was excellent and showed how everyone had fun preparing for and enjoying their ‘One Planet Picnic’.”

Caption: Primary 7 prize winners with (in the back row left to right) Chef Fi Bird, QMS Health and Education Coordinator Jennifer Robertson and Elaine Stewart, Primary 7 Class Teacher