It could be considered a lightweight amongst subjects but should not be under-estimated, there are many hidden depths to this subject. Children learn by taking part and the practical nature of Food Technology lends itself to this perfectly. Think of the weighing, estimating and measuring that takes place every week, that’s the Maths lesson covered – Paul and Pru would be so proud of those evenly sized cheese straws! Science also plays a major role. There is no need to visit the lab, experiments take place all the time. You only have to cook a cake and watch it rise (or sometimes not) to see a chemical reaction in progress.
Reading and following a recipe have their roots in an English lesson and researching ingredients and finding out where food comes from can definitely be linked to the Computing and Geography curriculums. Ingredients also lead well into the cultural side of the school, not all of us eat the same things and these differences can lead to wonderful discussions over the mixing bowl! Rationing hits the Food Technology room once a year but I am not sure that the results are greeted with as much enthusiasm as the normal weekly result. Those carrot cakes do not look overly delicious and are understood not to taste too good either – but never mind as it is a History lesson well learnt.
Decorating pizzas, cakes and pies and designing containers to carry the food in certainly hits the creative brief and, hey presto, that’s a DT and Art lesson. Drama or Music may not be covered in a traditional sense but there are multiple dramas taking place in the Food Tech room and the amount of songs that involve food is never ending. There also may not be a games element, unless you count the physical effort in tackling the mound of washing up produced, but there are similar benefits.
Food exudes the same sense of well-being that being outdoors produces and thinking back to the turbulent months of lockdown, the Blundell’s Prep Family challenge certainly helped families get together and produce a stunning array of food. Food Technology is certainly a route to many different learning opportunities – and what the children make tastes great as well!