Care experienced children have been taught some key culinary skills by former Masterchef champion Gary Maclean
Children in care have been taught about the importance of learning to cook.
Young people and staff at Kibble Safe Centre have been given a lesson on how to make the most of locally sourced, healthy and affordable food by Scotland’s National Chef Gary Maclean.
The multi-award-winning chef, who was crowned MasterChef: The Professionals Champion 2016, gave a cooking demonstration and talked to some of Scotland’s most vulnerable young people living in care and the staff that teach them how to cook.
The visit was delivered as part of Scotland’s Good Food Nation ambitions which aims to promote access to, and understanding of, the benefits of healthy local foods.
Gary spent the morning (Friday 26 April) with young people at Kibble Safe Centre in Paisley, speaking to them about the importance of learning how to cook, employability and his career so far. The Safe Centre supports those who have experienced trauma and are at risk of harming themselves or others.
He then moved on to a masterclass menu session with the catering staff at the Safe Centre who cook for the young people each day, as well as the home economics teachers who ensure healthy meal prep is embedded within education.
Claire Lunday, depute head of Education at Kibble, said: “Of course when you are providing care for young people, the most pressing factor is ensuring that the individual is safe and happy but it’s also extremely important to prepare them for a healthy future when they leave care.
“It was fantastic to have Gary at our Safe Centre to deliver a positive message to the young people that live there, inspiring them to think not only about fresh and healthy cooking, but the different options available to them when they leave care.”
Maclean said: ‘It was fantastic to be at Kibble today and meet the people there. It is clear they do fantastic work. Speaking to the group and talking to them about food and cooking really brought out their enthusiasm and interest, and I hope I helped them understand how easy it is to eat good quality, healthy food.
“The reality is that no matter what young people go on to do, they’ll need to learn the skills to do so. It’s vital that we’re allowing them to try and test different industries to increase employability and enhance their future.”
