Dame Prue Leith, Delia Smith and Stanley Tucci call for "practical cookery in primary schools"
"Practical cookery in primary schools" is being called for famous faces including Bake Off star, Prue Leith.
Kitchen queens Dame Prue Leith and Delia Smith - as well as legendary food writer and actor Stanley Tucci - have backed calls to get children cooking at primary school. The trio are part of a bid to encourage education chiefs to introduce cooking to young people, claiming culinary chops can lead to improvements in life skills and an understanding of healthy eating.
On Thursday (March 5), they took their campaign to Parliament, telling MPs young people should be introduced to cooking when they start school, aged four, through regular cookery lessons.
Dame Prue, who founded Leiths cooking school in 1975, said: "The best way to create the healthiest generation of children in history is to make sure that they have the skills to cook healthy meals from scratch. Practical cookery in primary schools gives children these skills, as well as the confidence and curiosity to cook at home, opening up myriad opportunities for their health, education and futures."
The Dame's organisation has previously unveiled an effort to teach children at state primary schools in the UK to cook, via free video-led education resources.
Smith meanwhile, who has sold more than 20 million cookery books during her 50 years in the industry, said: "All I’ve tried to do in my career is take away the fear of cooking, because people can’t cook unless someone shows them how. In order to feel confident in the kitchen, cookery lessons need to start early on, in primary school, where children are naturally curious and want to be creative.
"When a child learns to make a simple meal, they’re learning far more than a recipe. They’re learning about nutrition, about where food comes from, about self-sufficiency. They’re learning they can feed themselves properly, which is one of the most empowering things we can teach."
And Hollywood actor Tucci, who has transitioned to become a successful food writer in more recent years, added: "Being a passionate foodie, I do try to instil the same passion in my children. So we cook together a lot and make sharing a meal as a family a priority.
“It does seem a failure of our education system that so many children are leaving school without the skills to cook delicious, healthy meals from scratch. When children don’t learn to cook, they miss out on basic skills but also on some of the greatest joys and pleasures of life.
"A passion for food and cooking, an understanding of ingredients and nutrition, they’re all essential to develop happy, independent, joyful, healthy children and future adults."
In response, a Government spokesman said leaders were taking action to tackle child obesity and promote healthy eating. "Every child deserves the best possible start in life, and we are taking decisive action to tackle childhood obesity," they said.
"Children are already taught about the importance of healthy eating from as early as primary school in science, design and technology, and RSHE. We have taken the historic step to offer free school meals to every child from a household receiving universal credit, and we are introducing free breakfast clubs to make sure children start the day with a healthy meal and are ready to learn."