AHDB Potatoes and Olympic athlete Beth Tweddle MBE joined forces to demonstrate the power of potatoes as a great food for sport.
Pupils from Claremont Fan Court School in Esher were visited by Beth for a special potato cookery class, after winning a nationwide competition as part of the Cook Your Own Potatoes (CYOP) project.
Lewis Child, 13, won the competition to design a poster showcasing potatoes as a good fuel for sport. As part of his prize, Beth, one of Britain’s greatest gymnasts, visited the school to explain to Lewis and his class how important potatoes are as part of her training regime and to help them cook a tasty potato-based dish. A video of the visit can be found at http://potatoes.ahdb.org.uk/
The industry-supported project aims to equip youngsters with basic cooking skills as well as building their knowledge of potatoes – educating them about the different varieties, uses, tastes and healthy attributes. It provides teachers with extensive resources to support Key Stage 3 Food Technology as well as helping children understand that potatoes are a tasty, versatile and nutritious food.
AHDB Potatoes education coordinator, Sue Lawton, said: “Working with Beth has been a great way to help show children the positive role that potatoes play in maintaining a balanced diet. We believe that food education should be high on the agenda and by teaching it in a fun way, the next generation will be healthier and form positive attitudes to potatoes.”
Emma Wells of Claremont School added: “We’re thrilled that Lewis won the national competition, especially as his class was able to benefit from the potato cookery challenge. Because the project has the perfect balance of fun and hands-on activities, the children have been really excited and motivated to learn more about a healthy balanced diet, which is fantastic.”
Lewis’ poster will now be added to the educational resources which the CYOP project offers teachers, along with a host of recipes, videos, posters and lesson activities.
