22 Foxhole East

VintageHistorian

I did GCSE Food Technology between 2000 and 2002 (at least I think those were my GCSE years XD) which I guess is the equivalent of the old Home Ec classes. You had to do a Design and Technology GCSE in my school and your choices were Food Tech, Graphic Design, Resistant Materials (basically woodwork) and Electronics. I couldn't draw and hated using machinery (terrified I'd hurt myself) so Food Tech was the only logical choice.

But I was lucky to attend a secondary school in a middle class area of Hertfordshire, so the school had a completely kitted out kitchen classroom with stove tops, ovens, fridges for us to keep our ingredients and makes in until classtime/hometime, and all the little things you need like good sharp knives and chopping boards. Plus everyone was able to bring in their own ingredients for the cookery part of things (I think we had two 2 hour sessions, the first would be all the theory and the second would be the actual cooking). The teacher also had a pantry full of "back up" ingredients so I'm sure the kids who couldn't afford to bring in everything they needed could just go "Sorry Miss, I forgot XYZ" and be sent to the pantry to get the missing bit without having to say to the whole class "My Mum says we can't afford the chocolate chips this week."

Off the top of my head I made quiche, brownies, cakes, choux pastry (kept coming out like Yorkshire pudding), cheesecake, some kind of spiced chicken breast, and a lot of other things as it was every week for two academic years. We had to pick our makes to align with whatever project we were doing that term, so "healthy picnic food" was one, I think "food from another country" was another, and I can't remember the others.

Nowadays it's very much aimed at those who can already afford food, and therefore would miss those who can't afford food even though they're the ones most in need of skills. And schools in deprived areas would probably struggle to keep up with all the costs of keeping a full equipped kitchen classroom, just the electricity bill must have been astronomical! The only way you'd be able to do it in some places is to massively expand school budgets (which I would love, but this government would never do) and then work with food banks and food waste charities or local supermarkets to make it a bit like the Bake Off technical - everyone has the exact same ingredients and they're all waiting for you at the start of the class so no one brings anything in from home.

Frith

My comprehensive had been a secondary modern (in fact the very top year were secondary modern pupils when I joined) and I think that was why it was so well catered for DT subjects. 

We all had a cycle until year 10 where we did a term of woodwork, metalwork, textiles and cooking. 2 proper kitchens plus the metal and woodwork rooms had proper workshop equipment including a forge! 

I wish I had done cooking to GCSE now. Nigel Slater was a former pupil. I still remember making pizza dough, crumble, casserole etc. 

My younger son did a BTEC in catering in year 11 and comes out with stuff I’ve never heard of! His exam piece was fish pie (from scratch including filleting the fish) then lemon meringue pie (again, making the pastry, lemon curd and meringue to a timesheet). They worked through all the different sorts of sauces and pastry during the course including making profiteroles. 

f0xh0les

In the magical fantasy world of f0xh0les school catering GCSE, I would have a term on root veg,  a term on brassicas, and a term on salads, all the puddings would be fruit based, and then a bread related module.  No meal would cost more than £5.

There would be an end of term - what can we make out of what is left over in the cupboards challenge.

Don't worry though, nobody would ever put me in charge - I am great for morale, and productivity, but it would be total anarchy.

joedenise

I actually think that would be a brilliant idea @f0xh0les!  Everybody needs to be able to make the best use of cheap ingredients which veg tends to be, particularly if sticking to in season stuff.  I'm not vegetarian or vegan but I still don't cook with meat or fish every day - just can't afford to even if I wanted to!  DH would prefer meat or fish every day but it just isn't going to happen living on pensions!

Paspatur

In my 1st and 2nd year at secondary school 1972-1974 we had Home Economics and Knitting/sewing/needlework cannot remember the collective name for that and also Woodwork and Metalwork. BUT, only girls could do the first 2 and only boys could do the second 2!!!!
 Being a tomboy and a rebel I wanted to do the boys subjects and hated the girls ones. Cookery class to me was about 30 minutes out of 2 hours cooking and the rest listening to the teacher and cleaning the kitchen to within (beyond) an inch of its life.
 I came from a large family, 2 adults and 6 children and I am sure the cost of the ingredients my parents had to supply were not offset by me coming home with a bowl of (cold) scrambled egg or 4 scones once a week.
We also had the Domestic Science block 'flat' where senior pupils pretended to run a house. Again females only and seemed to mostly involve hoovering!!!!
 My God they would be strung up now for sexism, a fact I realised even then
Given that I have known how to cook from the age of 4 (not cooking but observing soup making, helping make fishcakes etc.) it added nothing to my life skills at all. I could already knit and will never be able to sew due to an eyesight problem.
My cookery  skills came from both my mother and father (although I don't remember my father ever using the hoover)
We also had the full set up kitchen and could even choose gas or electric but no way did we ever get offered ingredients, in fact kids were ridiculed by the teacher if they turned up without the ingredients.
My kids left home knowing how to cook and have since (or still are) taught my grandchildren to cook

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

i vote f0xh0les for Education Secretary i was at secondary school in the 80s and wasn't allowed to do woodwork which i'm still disappointed about .  I did Home Ec and started with making a cuppa tea, also learned to make & decorate an xmas cake.  My mum was a single mum on a low income and i don't think any of us looked forward to what i could bring home from school - in an old biscuit tin, inserted sideways in my bike basket - i think we ate a couple of spoonfuls and binned the rest  

jennystarpepper

Deni_debt-free_dreamer said:

i vote f0xh0les for Education Secretary i was at secondary school in the 80s and wasn't allowed to do woodwork which i'm still disappointed about . 

Same happened to me, lol... I was put in ruddy needlework, 2 years and I made half an apron.  

jennystarpepper

@kerri_gt I remember getting our first microwave at home, Mr Pepper calls it 'stab & ping' cooking.

kerri_gt

I made some hideous meals doing home ec. Mackerel pate anyone? Or a pizza with a soggy base that did not crisp up no matter what. Thinking about it, my mum must have struggled at times making sure i had all the useless ingredients to take in. 

I did make mulled cider once....can't quite remember how i managed to get that into a theme and I'm fairy sure i didn't get great marks but it was worth it to take alcohol to school in front of the teacher 

I would have not been happy about not doing woodwork or electronics. We had quite a good Tech dept for it's time, and an all girls school where annoyingly many conformed to the stereotype and cared more about their nails than hammering any nails. On the other hand , I was brought up with my dad letting me use hand tools that could only cause relatively minor injuries and was helping board the loft aged 7/8. I didn't do as well as I should have at Tech as by the time we did gcse's and needed extra after school time on projects i had an after school job 4 days a week at a printers. Should've really prioritised but on the other hand I can prob still mix a mean Pantone colour by eye.

I objected to the fact we had to play hockey and netball as girls (in teeny skirts in the middle of winter) rather than football and rugby ( which would've been far less violent than all girls hockey in mid Dec i assure you).

jennystarpepper

@f0xh0les

Did your ears ring today, lol, I thought of you?   Mr pepper and I popped to the shops and put our head in Cooplands...  all the good stuff had gone, very MSE, no pennies spent and I do not need to burn the treats / cal. off.