Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
A
food philosophy that makes sense
Stephanie Alexander has a vision that pleasurable
food education is accessible to every Australian school with a primary
curriculum.
The not-for-profit Stephanie
Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation takes a revolutionary approach
to food education focusing on pleasure, flavour and fun via the Stephanie
Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. The recipe for effective food
education:
Encourage fun, flavour and texture through
experiences that engage all the senses.
Model good food choices without resorting to
pyramids or labels of ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’.
Reinforce techniques repeatedly, providing the
confidence to plant seeds or cook simple dishes at home.
Plan menus around the fresh, seasonal produce
growing in the garden.
Use ingredients at their peak – seasonal herbs,
crisp veggies, fresh fruits.
Expand culinary horizons, presenting cultural
differences as fascinating rather than strange.
Expand vocabularies for describing foods,
flavours, textures, plants and processes.
Food should be delicious and the cooking of fresh
fruit and vegetables should be timed with great care.
Come together at the end of the cooking to share
our meal around the table.
At Bohlevale State School students in years 3, 4 and 5 will spend sixty minutes each fortnight in an extensive
vegetable garden that they have helped design, build and maintain on the school
grounds. They will learn about plants seed saving, water management, compost
and soil health. They will also learn about the seasons, plant varieties, ripeness
and the connection between care in the garden and flavour on the plate.
Students
will also spend ninety minutes each alternating fortnight in a purpose-built
kitchen preparing a variety of meals created from the produce they have helped
grow and harvest. They then share these meals in the large open plan dining
area.
All activities
are fully supervised by the classroom teacher and an experienced chef, follow
strict hygiene and safety guidelines and have been approved by the Principal.
Activities are also aligned with the Australian Curriculum Learning Areas and
have literacy, numeracy, scientific and/or health related components.