Cookie Crumbles has welcomed recommendations in The Department for Education’s framework for the national curriculum, which includes learning about cooking, healthy food preparation and nutrition.
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The National Curriculum in England on design and technology states that it aims to ensure all pupils “understand food and nutrition and have opportunities to learn to cook”.
Cookie Crumbles Director, Carola Weymouth, said: “Food is a fundamental part of children’s health and wellbeing.
“Learning how to cook healthy and wholesome food is essential to understanding food and nutrition. Getting active in the kitchen is the key.”
CookieCrumbles was established in the early nineties as the first UK company to offer cooking classes for children. Carola Weymouth has taught thousands of children to cook and provided nutrition education in her cooking classes.
“Children become better eaters, more interested in food and have fun getting involved in the kitchen. Cooking also helps younger children develop fine motor skills.
“One of the most successful ways to help fussy eaters is to include them in cooking meals.”
Research shows that there are many children who are not taught to cook at home. A recent survey of 2000 British parents by cookery book publisher, Parragon, found that just 19 per cent of parents cook properly every night and only a third of parents spend more than 40 minutes preparing food, compared with 50 per cent of the previous generation.
With the combination of less home cooking and rising obesity rates, initiatives to educate children about basic health and nutrition are needed, and much welcomed.
Carola added: “Learning how to cook is one of the most important life skills we can teach children and this important initiative should be supported.”