"There is no doubt in my mind that teaching cooking as a compulsory subject at school from age 5 to 15 could transform the nations eating patterns."
Rosalind Rathouse
It has become more and more obvious to me that learning to cook as school is as important to living a decent life as are learning to read, write and do arithmetic!
So many ills of society would be hugely diminished if the bulk of the population knew how to cook. Once upon a time, fifty years ago cooking used to be handed down through the generations but this no longer happens. Cooking used to be taught in schools – albeit mainly to girls and for a short while to boys – but this no longer happens apart from being taught under the guise of food technology – not the most inspiring of titles.
If every child were given the opportunity to learn to cook at school, the nation would save vast amounts of money: obesity could be controlled as kids would be taught to understand what they need to eat to remain fit and well; waste in food could be cut down too with understanding of how precious food is and the enormous of energy that it takes to produce the food that we take so for granted.
There is no doubt in my mind that teaching cooking as a compulsory subject at school from age 5 to 15 could transform the nation’s eating patterns and understanding of associated ills within a mere ten years.
To find out more of my thoughts on this subject read the full Ros Rants - why cooking should be a compulsory subject at schools on The Cookery School's blog or hear my thoughts on Humans of Hospitality podcast.
