Economy Gastronomy - new budget cookery programme; BBC

blueberrypie

Floxxie wrote: »

Actually whether or not the lessons taught at schools are adequate, are quite irrelevant if that child is not going to continue and build on what they have learnt.

I'd go further than that, and say that school isn't really a good place to equip someone for feeding themselves for the rest of their lives. Until a couple of generations ago, the vast majority of people learned to cook by simply being around and helping when the cooking was done - at home. You can learn to make a dish in a school lesson, but a thorough knowledge of the basics and a feel for food and ingredients - that's really something that's absorbed rather than scheduled.

redmel1621

CLARABEL wrote: »

Hiya

I feel I need to support Food teachers here. I agree that in a lot of schools the stuff they're taught is irrelevent and pointless, ( mine was) but it certainly isn't the case everywhere.

Clara.x

I certainly wasn't pointing all the 'blame' at the teachers:eek: It is clearly whether the schools budget will stretch to proper food tech facilities, also because schools are working with inadequate budgets they obviously can't afford to provide the ingredients for the lessons and therefore have to rely on the parents to splash out for them...hence why they try to limit the number of times the kids cook each term - This, we all know;)

I also agree it does also depend on the type of person you are...my friend mainly cooks processed food - chicken nuggets, burgers, frozen pizza, sausages, pies...usually teamed with either chips or a jacket potato. She can't see anything wrong with their diet and claims she has no time to cook from scratch......now given that her and her husband are at least 6st overweight and given the fact that she doesn't work, I can't see either of these statements being valid....but it's her life:rolleyes: Ironically, she went to a far better school than I did and had decent Home economics...where they were taught a lot of different skills

I need to report that I did an adaptation on the chilli recipe shown and it was amazing....my husband couldn't believe it was home-cooked and my kids scoffed the lot:D I only did an adaptation because I didn't have all the right ingredients in, but you will be proud as I used up whatever was in my kitchen:p

I can't wait till Wednesday

Mel x

dizziblonde

I'm a semi-reformed character (slip occasionally when tired from work etc)... the Asda in the show was until recently (moved in Jan) my local and we could actually sit and name several of the takeaways in the menus.

I never had the experience of cooking with parents or being in the kitchen when meals were being prepared. It's easy to sneer that someone can't make macarroni cheese - I wouldn't have known where to start until the middle of last year, and the first time I freaked out that my sauce was lumpy mid-making it. The reason that I started was actually the Jamie Oliver prog last year - I didn't want to take things to the length that those people had done - so I started trying to learn things.

I figure if the show gives someone a kick up the rear like it did me - or hammers home the point that there's nice shiny money to be saved if you cook stuff up from scratch - that's all it's out to do... it doesn't really seem to be claiming to be trying to feed a small country for a week on a kilo of mince, some soya and carrots (even though I know some people on here would love to rise to that challenge!).

redmel1621

dizziblonde wrote: »

it doesn't really seem to be claiming to be trying to feed a small country for a week on a kilo of mince, some soya and carrots (even though I know some people on here would love to rise to that challenge!).

:rotfl:
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cw18

redmel1621 wrote: »

It is clearly whether the schools budget will stretch to proper food tech facilities, also because schools are working with inadequate budgets they obviously can't afford to provide the ingredients for the lessons and therefore have to rely on the parents to splash out for them...hence why they try to limit the number of times the kids cook each term

I wasn't aware that schools have EVER supplied the ingredients. The (private) school I attended 30 years ago didn't, and neither did the (comprehensive) school my friends from home all went to.

Floxxie

blueberrypie wrote: »

I'd go further than that, and say that school isn't really a good place to equip someone for feeding themselves for the rest of their lives. Until a couple of generations ago, the vast majority of people learned to cook by simply being around and helping when the cooking was done - at home. You can learn to make a dish in a school lesson, but a thorough knowledge of the basics and a feel for food and ingredients - that's really something that's absorbed rather than scheduled.

Even though my mum cooked we were only allowed in the kitchen to lick out the bowl :rotfl:I taught myself with a Ladybird cookbook. Thankfully my m-i-l who is 80 this year passes on ideas and suggestions and whilst I wouldn't say I am the world's best cook, I get a sense of satisfaction putting together the dishes rather than taking them out of a packet!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I may sound critical, but I believe that a good HE teacher is essential for an education. My mother believed herself to be a gourmet chef (errrrrggghhh!) and actively hindered my HE lessons, refusing to give me more than half the budget of the ingredients list each week, on the grounds that, as I was so incompetent and faddy with everything I did, she wasn't going to waste her money on buying stuff nobody else would eat (ie, that she wouldn't eat - like tuna, rice or pasta).

So I would get things not on the list and try and make the recipe as close as possible for half the price. Once the HE teacher realised that I wasn't being awkward, and that I really was trying (she saw tiny thin cucumber slices in a salad I had made, demanded to know how I had done them, and I sheepishly showed her a cheap mandolin I had bought from a kitchen shop), she actively supported me and helped me think of ways to get around the restrictions. And she was the first person to show me that peas weren't always luminous green and tinned (although I do still have a soft spot for marrowfats) and carrots were nice raw.

That HE teacher told me about cooking books and that programmes were on TV if I was interested. At that time, cookery books and TV shows weren't mock little dramas about disaster, change, resistance, conflict, and reconciliation (with a little smudge of look-at-us-isn't-our-life-so-perfect-and-posh).

Had HE lessons and TV shows been as they are now when I was 16, I would never have learned to cook anything. As it is, my favourite days are the ones where I open the cupboard doors and think 'Hmmmmm, what shall I do today?' and the kids look forward to the results.

So I get cross when I see how poor the standard of education is both in school and on TV. And, yes, I meant education - not entertainment.

Rachel021967

redmel well done on the chilli. I made the muffins and they are delicious but look disgusting - only I tried them because of this. Even tried icing them and putting on a jelly diamond. The Navarin of lamb only me and my husband would eat. So so far limited success.

redmel1621

Rachel021967 wrote: »

redmel well done on the chilli. I made the muffins and they are delicious but look disgusting - only I tried them because of this. Even tried icing them and putting on a jelly diamond. The Navarin of lamb only me and my husband would eat. So so far limited success.

Thanks:D
I might give those muffins a try then, I think I have all the ingredients in except for bananas. Shame no-one else would try yours......there loss, your gain:rotfl:

Mel x

donnajt

I thoroughly enjoyed this programme and can't wait until Weds, I cook mostly from scratch and enjoy teaching my DD to cook.

Two comments which have probably been raised several times
1. top shelf ingredients used - scope to save $'s ie chopped toms
2. lol at store cupboard ingredients

We have made the mac cheese and the bucket chicken - both of which were amazing and will def appear regularly on our menus

BTW the mac cheese recipe is huge (remember she had 2 on the table on Weds night) I halved and froze for another day

Am planning on making the chilli tomorrow...just wish i had the cottage pie recipe - anybody know when the Recipe Book is being published?