The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program for school children
By Belle Hann
The expression 'you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar' has special resonance for Stephanie Alexander. As an iconic chef and food writer, Stephanie Alexander sure knows her ingredients. Yet this well-known food celebrity is also cooking up some unexpected results in the inner city primary school of Collingwood College, home of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.
No food pyramids, charts or 'boring messages about food' are allowed. Rather, the volunteers, teachers and gardeners adhere to Stephanie's delicious philosophy that food is positive and fun.
"Phrases like 'eat this because it is good for you' are responsible for many children rejecting or not exploring flavours of fresh vegetables," she explained in The Cook's Companion. Any parent who has tried coaxing their kids into finishing their broccoli will know how hard it is to get kids to eat 'good food' let alone wanting to eat 'good food'. But Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Program has been doing exactly that – getting kids excited, inspired, cooking and enjoying healthy, nutritious food and cleaning up afterwards!
School children, aged between 8 and 12, attend twice-weekly sessions where they learn how to cook delicious and nourishing meals from the fresh produce they've grown themselves. They get out in the sun and get dirty with scraps, seeds and sprouts in their own school garden. Then, under the careful supervision of volunteers, the kids mix, roll, chop and cook their own beautiful, lovely, fresh meals that they share after class.
Working in her busy restaurants, Stephanie became aware that many of her young apprentices had, as she said: "Big gaps in their understanding of food, and nil experience in growing food." Tired of answering the same questions about food preparation, Stephanie sought to address the chronic lack of food knowledge in the general public that leads to poor dietary and lifestyle choices.
"Spending life on a couch eating soggy fish fingers is a revolting idea," said Stephanie. "I've always been interested in the educational aspect of food (and) wanted to promote cooking as a joyous activity for the general public at large."
With 11 cookbooks to her name, Stephanie Alexander has established herself as a leading authority on the best way to prepare, cook and eat delicious food. Her most famous work The Cook's Companion is a classic of Australian food writing and contains over 1100 pages of Stephanie's recipes and research.
Stephanie Alexander launched the Kitchen Garden Program as a positive intervention for the next generation of Australian food eaters. Taught in primary schools, the program aims to provide a positive understanding and experience of food as the alternative to prepackaged, synthetic meals and fatty, sugary snacks.
In 2001, Collingwood College, a primary school in inner-city Melbourne, became the first school to benefit from the program. Six years later, the college has featured on television shows such as Jamie's Kitchen and ABC's Gardening Australia and last year published its very own cookbook Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids (Penguin, 2006).
Two more schools, Yarrunga and Nunawading Primary Schools, have begun implementing their own Kitchen Garden Programs, and generous state funding will allow 39 new Kitchen Garden schools to start in regional and metropolitan Victoria over the next four years.
Stephanie is quick to point out that the volunteers are an essential ingredient for the Kitchen Garden Program's success. "I can't stress enough the need for a strong team. (The program) couldn't operate without volunteers."
Last year, the Kitchen Garden Foundation became State Winners in the Education and Youth Development Category of the 2006 National Bank Volunteer awards. They were awarded, with other volunteer and community groups, for demonstrating "best practice in their management of this workforce of unsung heroes."
Volunteers with the Kitchen Garden Foundation are often 'just interested members of the community' rather than people with formal ties to the school. They work in the kitchen or the garden and take responsibility for a small group of children during each week's lesson. They are there to encourage the children to explore the sensory aspects of food and facilitate positive examples of healthy food experiences.
"Our volunteers develop great relationships with kids and find (the program) to be highly valuable and gratifying," said Stephanie. The track record speaks for itself. Most of the volunteers at Collingwood College have been there for more than four years, and there's even a waiting list to join the volunteer team!
Stephanie's campaign to change the way Australians young and old feel about food has reached fruition. She is a household name whose legacy in Australian kitchens is guaranteed. And for all her fame and her many accolades, she still believes in the simple pleasure of a "delicious meal shared with family and loved ones." As she states on her website: "There is no greater joy than sharing food, conversation and laughter around a table."
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Thai Rose Petal and Cucumber Salad 4 shallots, very finely sliced Sauté shallots gently and slowly cook in oil until brown but not burnt. Drain on kitchen paper. Cut cucumber into 1 cm cubes. Dissolve sugar in vinegar. Toss vinegar mixture through cucumber, then add all other ingredients, except fish sauce and rose petals. Season to taste with fish sauce and scatter salad with rose petals. Mango Salsa 1 mango, peeled and diced Combine all ingredients and allow to stand for several hours before using. Great with a salad of warm duck breast or alongside grilled prawns or scallops. Text © Stephanie Alexander 2004 Reproduced with permission and thanks from The Cook’s Companion: The complete book of ingredients and recipes for the Australian kitchen, Penguin Books Ltd, 2004 |
More information
Visit the The School Kitchen Garden Project website.
The Centre
for Volunteering [ABN 28 002 416 024]
Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9261 3600 | F: 02 9261 4033 | E: info@volunteering.com.au
www.volunteering.com.au