Food for Thought Study Courses

Many years ago now, we had the revolutionary idea of sending British school children to France to learn some of the secrets of French Cuisine. Thousands of children have returned home fired with culinary inspiration and loaded down with garlic, cheese and the statutory baguette. The success of these courses encouraged us to extend our programme. Our Food for Thought cuisine courses to France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Germany to name but a few are wellestablished and firm favourites with many schools.

Language

The value of these courses is not just in the food technology field. The foreign language element in both the cookery demonstrations (although we do provide an interpreter) and the programme of food related visits is extremely beneficial to all students of French, Spanish or Italian.

Culture

Through studying food and drink production, shopping, how food is prepared and what people eat, students gain an insight into the local culture of the country and the region that you are visiting.

Our courses include: Cookery demonstrations

Our Chef explains the ingredients, demonstrates the method, and presents and serves the dish with advice about the right accompaniment. Demonstrations are informal, friendly and students are encouraged to take part in the preparation of the dishes. Each session includes details of the recipe and a tasting.

A programme of food-related visits

These are a key part of the course. The sights, sounds, and smells of the bakery, market, chocolate factory and cheese farm bring cookery vividly to life. Pupils see the traditional methods of food production. Factory production is also covered in some areas.

Course books

In our course books we give extensive notes on regional cookery and specialities, plus notes on local produce such as cheeses and wines. A glossary of culinary terms and a list of useful vocabulary in French, Italian or Spanish is also included with notes on cooking and eating traditions in the different countries. Finally a number of mouthwatering recipes are included.

Bilingual Course Co-ordinator

In France, a bilingual course co-ordinator is provided to act as interpreter for the demonstrations and if needed on the local visits. In Spain and Italy, an interpreter is provided for the demonstrations only.