Subject Overview
The ethos of the Food and Nutrition dept at Kent College is based on healthy eating and wellbeing. Eating a balanced diet and promoting the development of cooking skills throughout the year groups is to encourage the use of fresh foods as opposed to using and eating processed foods. All students in year 7 and 8 follow a cooking course where basic skills are learnt so that these can be used in home. The aim is to use fresh foods so the students work with as many different ingredients as possible. Students also learn about the value of healthy eating - what nutrients they need and why their body needs them. Focussing on why they should have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet and how they achieve the aim of 30 different fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds a week. All students enjoy their time in the Food Room, being very proud of the dishes they cook. It is a delight to watch them come into the room at the beginning of the lesson, with a huge smile on their faces as they so look forward to the lesson. Many comments from students include ’I so look forward to this lesson’, ‘it’s my favourite lesson of the week’.
All food is provided by the school, but students are expected to to weigh out their ingredients and to reduce wastage.
| KS3 | GCSE | iGCSE | Pre A level / Pre IB | IB | A Level | Cambridge Technical | Pre U |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
What skills will I learn?
At KS3 skills include rubbing in, rolling pastry, preparing a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, creaming method of cake making, stir frying, working with raw meat, making tasty meals and encouraging students to taste their food.
All cooking skills are taught at GCSE, all methods of cake making, working with different meats, preparing different fruits and vegetables, cooking tasty meals and presenting dishes - checking flavours and making the necessary adjustments to flavour of foods are all important and time is taken to develop these skills. A comprehensive time plan must also be produced showing how the 3 dishes for the Food Preparation Task will be cooked simultaneously. High level skills must be demonstrated to achieve a high grade.
What else will I get to do?
I am hoping that a love of Food Preparation, a knowledge of different ingredients and lifetime love and knowledge of foods will be established. In our lifetime, how we shop, what we shop for, how we prepare our foods, the different foods that we will be preparing is going to change. The recent situation with the Coronovirus has shown how important it is to be healthy, to have a healthy body and to consider our well-being. We have to learn how to build up our immune system, to be aware of the risk factors and to minimise them. My one aim is to develop that culture within the college.
In year 8 the students decorate a cake using different icings and if one student develops a love for cake decorating then I feel that the exercise has been successful.
The next step..
How can I use my knowledge of Food and Nutrition
The types of jobs in the food industry is rising exponentially and the opportunities are amazing. If you like cooking and presenting food, the chef type jobs are plentiful. If you have an interest in Food and
Nutrition with a liking towards sport - combine the 2. Every sports person has a team of people working for them including a nutritionist. If you like experimenting with different foods and cooking methods -
consider the development of new recipes using new and different ingredients. Vegetarianism and associated options is a fast growing type of eating but it is important that everyone gets the correct nutrients
so consideration must be given to make sure that everyone gets the appropriate nutrients naturally rather than using supplements
Meet the Head of Food and Nutrition
Mrs Wilson
I trained at a Domestic Science teacher and have had a varied and exciting career in teaching, teaching both Business Studies and becoming Head of IT. Sound knowledge of IT ensures that the coursework produced on the computer is neatly done using the appropriate facilities of the software. I feel very privileged to be given the opportunity to introduce Food and Nutrition at Kent College, a room being provided and then kitting it out to be able to support the students. It is a safe environment and often students will tell us that they ‘enjoy being in the room’. I have been an examiner for both IT and Food and Nutrition for several years and understand the processes and requirements of many courses to ensure the best results are achieved.
Have a question?
If you would like to discuss details of your child's care with us, send us a message and we will gladly answer your questions.