Masterchef Opens New Kitchen Classroom at Perthshire School

BBC Masterchef:The Professionals winner Jamie Scott joined pupils at Craigclowan Preparatory School in Perth today (Thursday November 26th) to open a new kitchen classroom created at the school.

The teaching kitchen has been developed in a former storage room in the Main School Building at Craigclowan, following the completion of a two month project by local firm MMR Construction.

The result is a bright, well-lit kitchen and seating space where the 230 children who attend the award-winning school will have the opportunity to be inspired about the importance of a healthy diet, also ensuring they have a good understanding of where food comes from and how to cook tasty, nutritious meals.

The recent investment, with support from the school’s PTA fund-raising activities, also included the renovation of the adjacent school library which has seen the creation of a comfortable and vibrant space to encourage the children to enjoy the wide selection of books on offer.

Chef Jamie Scott was joined by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) dietitian Jennifer Robertson for the visit which saw 12-year-old pupils take part in a lively cooking demonstration in the new kitchen. QMS undertakes around 160 demonstrations to school children in Scotland each year as part of its wide-ranging health and education activities.

Patrick Borderie, Interim Head Teacher at Craigclowan, said staff and pupils at the school were delighted to welcome one of the UK’s top chefs to share some of his cooking secrets and tips in the new kitchen.

“Craigclowan takes a great pride in encouraging pupils to have a keen understanding of the importance of good nutrition and how food is produced,” said Mr Borderie.

“Eating well, along with physical exercise through play and sports, is a very important aspect of school life and help the children make the most of the all-round education experience offered at the school.”

Mr Scott, who is opening how own restaurant in Newport early in 2016, also spent time chatting with the catering team at the school who updated him on heard about the top quality local produce served as tasty and healthy meals at the school. All pupils at the school, and children attending the pre-school on site, sit down each day to enjoy lunch together in the school dining hall.

“It has been a real pleasure to visit the school to see the excellent new kitchen and have the opportunity to meet pupils and staff and hear about the priority being placed on learning about good nutrition and serving great local food,“ said Mr Scott.

“I was also impressed to find out about the school’s activities to keep food waste to a minimum and some great recycling projects their pupil-led eco-committee has developed.

“It was great to see the youngsters’ enthusiasm for their new kitchen classroom which I know will be a real asset for years to come and encourage pupils to develop their cooking ability – an incredibly important life skill as well as being great fun!” he added.

During the visit, the pupils joined Jamie to make Scotch Lamb Koftas and Scotch Beef Fajitas, with the beef and lamb sourced from Perth butcher DG Lindsay & Son. They also enjoyed a talk from QMS Health and Education Co-ordinator Jennifer Robertson, a qualified dietitian.

“The children asked some very thoughtful questions during our visit and showed a genuine interest in learning more about where their food comes from as well as quality assurance and how easy it is to cook simple, nutritious meals from scratch,” said Mrs Robertson.

Caption: Pupils at Craigclowan School in Perth were joined by BBC Masterchef:The Professionals winner Jamie Scott to launch a new kitchen classroom at the school.