Chefs trying to get Plymouth schoolchildren excited about food
'Rainbow of foods'
During their sessions, the pupils at the Marine Academy Primary school have learnt about the sensory experience of food, breadmaking, how to choose the rainbow of foods and how to prepare them. Two chefs from hospitality and catering company BaxterStorey volunteered to lead the sessions at the Marine Primary Academy. They include its South West regional culinary lead Greg Popek and professional chef Reece Williscroft.Mr Popek said: "I don't think we teach kids enough how to cook, and I think this is a tremendous opportunity to encourage them."He said he urged children to challenge their parents about getting involved in cooking at home in a bid to "prompt that younger generation".
Isla, a Year Five pupil at the academy, said: "It's helped me understand how much spice and what sort of vegetables I should use, and how to cook things safely." While Joshua added: "I've learnt how to decorate and get the right seasoning, and the awesome bit is they let us decorate, but they have a chat with us first about how to make food." Sophia said: "What I enjoy about these lessons is making new good food and trying new food."Mr Popek said: "It's fantastic to see the response of kids and the response from the teachers."We're hoping that more schools are going to reach out to us, and the Adopt A School programme will reach many more kids."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Plans gathered to save graves from coastal erosion in Happisburgh
Plans to exhume remains from a graveyard threatened by coastal erosion were being worked on, a council said. St Mary the Virgin Church in Happisburgh, Norfolk, is now 80m away from a cliff edge and officials believe the cemetery could be lost to the sea in less than 20 years. North Norfolk District Council, the Diocese of Norwich and Happisburgh Parish Council have started to consider what action needs to be taken to protect the graves. Harry Blathwayt, a Liberal Democrat councillor and the cabinet member for the coast on the district council, said: "We are working with the local community to identify possible solutions. "We need to get ready for the future. It is not something we would wish to be surprised by." The authorities have been working with a government-backed Coastwise scheme, which aims to prepare coastal communities threatened by has commissioned a report to investigate the relocation of bodies from cemeteries and graveyards at risk of being lost to the the threat was imminent in Happisburgh it has been treated as a test case, to establish how such a large-scale relocation of remains might be added: "This is a national worry and is going to become a problem in the future." Exposed to erosion While Happisburgh might be seen as a pilot project, it would not be the first church – or graveyard – to be lost to the churches at nearby Eccles and at Dunwich, Suffolk, fell victim to shifting coastlines, graves were left to be exposed by the erosion."We cannot allow that to happen," added fate of the 15th Century church and graveyard has been raised during meetings with villagers and the Diocese of Norwich, which has responsibility for the part of these talks, parishioners have considered decommissioning the graveyard so no more burials could take place there.A Diocese of Norwich spokeswoman said: "This is not a new problem in the Diocese of Norwich. At least nine churches and therefore graveyards were lost to coastal erosion during the Middle Ages."At Dunwich in Suffolk, which was in the Diocese of Norwich in the Middle Ages, an entire town with eight churches was washed away by coastal erosion." The church grounds is Happisburgh include the graves of 119 sailors who died on HMS Invincible in March 1801, when the ship ran into difficulties after leaving Great Yarmouth to fight in the Battle of it made its way along the coast, it got stuck on the Hammond's Knoll near Haisborough 200 sailors escaped the wreck but more than 400 drowned.A memorial was unveiled in 1998 after some of the sailors' remains were discovered during work to dig a trench a decade prior. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
How to get rid of wasp nests and unwelcome bees
In summer, wasps always make an appearance when we're eating in our garden. I've tried various gimmicks but they don't seem to work. What could we put on the table or nearby to minimise their impact?Kerry Piears, Godalming Wasp nests are remarkably common, but because the wasps are so busy in their earnest social activities — collecting wood pulp to build their nest, hunting insect prey for their grubs and tending their multitudinous brood — they barely interact with humans, so we hardly notice them. At the end of summer, though, the nest function changes and rather than more workers, a new generation of queens and males is produced. Once these hatch the workers have nothing to do other than forage aimlessly for sweet things like those on offer at your table. The bad news is that wasps are numerous and persistent. They can smell your food and will come looking. The good news is that this phase soon passes and all workers die off during autumn. Although you haven't seen it, a nest may be close, so you might try moving the table where you eat. Don't bother with wasp traps, these simply drown a few of the wasps — but there will be many hundreds more. And I'm sceptical of marketing claims that nest-shaped bags dangling from trees trick them into thinking another colony of ruthless competitors is nearby. Generally foraging wasps are not aggressive, they save that for attacks on the nest. However, do not be complacent. Cover your food and do not allow wasps to traipse over it — wasps also visit carrion and animal dung, and will transfer bacteria to your welcoming Jones is the author of House Guests, House Pests: A Natural History of Animals in the Home (Bloomsbury £18.99), • Read more expert advice on property, interiors and home improvement How can we prevent bees from entering the eaves of our conservatory lantern, where they become trapped and die?Jane Smyth You've highlighted an important aspect of insect behaviour here. When trapped against some sort of impermeable barrier, insects have a tendency to walk or fly upwards, thinking they will eventually reach the top of the obstacle and be able to fly off. However, insect evolution has not had time to reckon with the very modern human behaviour of making enclosed, sheltered spaces to live in. Bees, wasps, flies and other insects taking a wrong turn at your conservatory will start to bump their way upwards against the glass and eventually reach the lantern. Then, that most dangerous of insect vulnerabilities will hit them — water loss, a deadly peril for a small organism. It's all to do with relatively high surface area compared with low volume. Flying is metabolically expensive and although insects don't sweat like us, they cool by water evaporation from inside their bodies. Unfortunately, their hardwired instinctive behaviour is unwavering, and they are incapable of learning that they have made a mistake. You might try fitting gauze or net screens across all points of ingress. Otherwise you will have to fit an escape vent for them, or go in each day with a net and capture them for release away from the Jones • Pest-proofing a Victorian terrace: how to keep rats and mice away Any tips on how to get encrusted limescale off a bathroom tap as it has now affected the full flow of water?Margaret Simpson I found that dampening a two-pence piece and gradually scraping at the limescale causes it to just drop Furniss, Chesham Attach half a lemon using rubber bands to the tap spout, and leave for an hour or so. Remove the softened limescale and Grace Soak a J Cloth (or similar) in white vinegar and place directly on the affected area. Pop a plastic bag over the tap and secure with an elastic band. Leave for a few hours. Heavy deposits may require multiple rounds but this method shouldn't damage any metal finishes on your Leicester I buy food-grade citric acid (available on Amazon, etc). Run tap briefly, sprinkle dry citric acid onto a paper towel, then place directly on the encrusted (now wet) spout using an elastic band or old hair tie to attach. Let this sit for at least an hour. Works wonders for Kirk Viakal spray is great at destroying limescale. Be careful because it is strong stuff and can damage certain surfaces (which I discovered the hard way). Veronica, Leyton I've had dark grey limestone paving laid on my new terrace. I left a tree in the middle of the terrace for the birds to enjoy. However, the birds are seriously disrespecting my new paving — even a low-pressure hose used daily doesn't remove their mess completely. I've tried hanging reflective deterrent rods in the tree, and also photos of birds of prey, but they haven't worked. Short of removing the tree, do readers have any tips for cleaning the bird mess effectively without damaging the paving?SB A chair fell onto our wood-patterned vinyl flooring and left a one-inch crescent-shaped dent. The chair broke the vinyl's surface, and the dent is white. Is there anything I can do to improve its appearance?Hannah Send tips and questions to homehelp@ Advice given without responsibility
Times
7 hours ago
- Times
Jeremy Clarkson: Why does any plane need a fuel cut-off switch?
Whenever Lisa and I board an aeroplane, we are usually pretty confident that it will land safely because between us, we've walked away from three crashes over the years. Both mine involved broken landing gear and were fairly minor but hers was a proper shunt. She was the only passenger in a Learjet that careered off the end of the runway at Northolt and on to the A40, where it was hit so hard by a van that it split in two. It's amazing no one was killed and if you google the images, you'll see what I mean. But whatever, the upshot is that the law of averages suggests we are unlikely to be involved in any such thing again, which is why we can both enjoy the champagne and the food, and settle smoothly into a state of deep relaxation. And there's more too, because these days we've come to understand that flying in a plane is safer than driving to the airport. They are flown by computers and if they fail, there are two humans on hand to take control. And they're not just any old humans. They're pilot humans. So they have reassuring one-syllable Christian names and three-syllable surnames. And they have reassuring voices too so even the most terrifying announcement sounds like a breeze. 'Hello ladies and gentlemen. It's first officer Mike Anderson here. Don't be alarmed by the noise you just heard. One of the engines has fallen off but we have the situation in hand now and I trust you're not in too much distress.' You then have another glass of fizz and go back to sleep. However, after the Air India crash a couple of weeks ago and the preliminary report into what caused it, I must say that the next time I get on an aeroplane I will have a moment of doubt. Because now I know that the buttons which shut down the fuel to the engines are located between the pilots, right next to the throttles. Why put them there? I once made an expansive gesture at a friend's Sunday morning drinks party and the consequences of my exuberance were fairly terrible, because I sent a tray of four bloody marys cascading through the room, covering everyone and everything in a thick layer of tomato juice. That was bad, but now we discover that if a pilot makes a similar gesture while flying a plane it's not just a few drinks that get spilled. There's a period of silence followed by some G-force and lots of fire. Surely then, the switches for something as critical as fuel getting to the engines should be tucked away somewhere, in a locked safe perhaps, under the pilot's seat. Or how's this for an even better idea? Don't fit fuel cut-off switches in the cockpit at all. Because I've racked my brains and I cannot think of a single occasion when you'd need them. 'Hey Mike. Do you think the passengers would sleep more soundly if there was less noise?' No one's ever said that. No one ever will. And nor has any boss written to his flight crew urging them to save the airline money by trying to take off using nothing but some rosaries and a dollop of hope. Think about it in terms of your car. What if there was a switch right next to the heater knob that disengaged the steering? You'd do your damnedest to never knock it by accident but eventually, you'd start to wonder: 'Why would I ever want to have no steering? And why is there a stalk right next to the indicator which turns off the brakes?' Or at home. You have two side-by-side switches in your kitchen. One turns the lights on. The other ignites the gas tank. I think part of the problem here is that industry is becoming stupidly obsessed with giving customers a level of choice they simply don't need. In my car, for example, I'm able to select the colour of the interior lighting from a palate that makes Farrow & Ball's look mean-spirited. And at home, I have a controller that allows me to make each room a different temperature, and for that temperature to change up to four times a day. In a modern tractor, the farmer is given a bewildering array of buttons and now each of those buttons can be tailored to do something different. And if you look at a steering wheel in a modern Formula 1 car, you realise that the driver can, as he goes along, make his car feel like a Morris Marina. Or even a food blender. And even those have become way too complicated. You bought it because you like to liquefy your vegetables and now you can choose from a vast menu of options that are just annoying. Tech designers can't help themselves. They see that something is possible, so they provide it, whether anyone needs it or not. And that brings us back to the world of aviation. The old jumbo had 10,000 switches, dials and gauges in the cockpit, all of which were necessary because it was a big analogue Heffalump. But modern planes aren't. They have glass screens, so in theory all the panels could be as smooth and as uncluttered as a Swede's kitchen sideboard. But no geek is going to allow that. He's going to give the pilots choices. Does he want to control the plane from the glass screen or in the old-fashioned way and whoa, how cool would it be to fill that panel over there with switches and choices as well? So on a modern-day commercial jet, the roof panel alone has over 200 buttons. And this is on a machine that only ever needs to go up, down, left or right. Small wonder then that when the tech wizards got to the central console, where the thrust levers are located, they thought: 'Wow. We could fill that up with options. So let's have two switches which allow the pilot to turn the bloody fuel supply to the engines off.'
