From little chefs to master chefs at Hopwood Hall College

Cardinal Langley pupil Vicky Claire with Chef lecturer Joe Ogden

Saturday 16 December saw the grand finale of the Junior Chef course at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale, where local school pupils aged between 11 and 15 have been busy learning useful culinary skills in a specially devised ten week programme to help them appreciate the importance of good food.

Course leader Valerie O’Brien said: “What children eat these days has been a hot topic ever since Jamie Oliver raised the issue. Over the four years we have been running this course we have seen children develop a real passion for food, as they begin to understand about ingredients and how to combine flavours.

"When they read the recipes for the first time we hear a chorus of ‘I don’t like that’ but by the end of the course they can cook dishes such as Thai chicken curry and feta cheese and spinach ravioli. One student last year was so taken by the course, he made Christmas dinner for the whole family. We aim to teach pupils useful kitchen skills and help them understand more about healthy eating.”

Pupils from Balderstone Community School in Rochdale, Siddal Moor Sports College in Heywood, Cardinal Langley RC High School in Middleton and St Matthew’s RC High School in Moston all passed with flying colours, each earning themselves a chef’s hat and a whisk.

Chef tutors Joe Ogden and Andrew George worked in the kitchens with the children and were impressed with how much they have accomplished in the past weeks. Joe said: “We ended the course with a Christmas theme by cooking mince pies and yule logs. The kids are now dab hands at deserts too, having made their own brandy snaps and black forest gateaux. We have had lots of positive feedback from parents who can’t believe how their children’s relationship with food has changed.”

14 year old pupil Phillip Patterson said: “I don’t want to go Christmas shopping, I’d rather go home and get the roast in the oven. I don’t even mind doing the washing up!”

The Junior Chef course costs £155 per child, (the cost can sometimes be covered by the schools the pupils attend.) The next course begins after the Easter holidays. For more information or to book a place, please contact Brenda Scholes on 01706 345 346.