Topic: LEARNING TO COOK

[Larkshall]

Stupid remark!  Have you got a better way?

Whether it's a stupid remark or not, no police officer will guarantee anyone's behaviour. I know from 8.5 years in the force. Don't be misled into a fools paradise.

[littlebabybird]

to add to what posie has said, they also spend at least 1/2 of their timetabled home ec lessons
designing the packaging, planning the cost effectiveness of the product and a million other crap ideas
and ....................they are not allowed to use  'sharp' knives
lbb
ps but then, they are not allowed to play 'it' in the playground because its to dangerous

[ACE]

Stupid remark!  Have you got a better way?

Whether it's a stupid remark or not, no police officer will guarantee anyone's behaviour. I know from 8.5 years in the force. Don't be misled into a fools paradise.

It has nothing to do with one policemans word. It is a check on your criminal record done through an agency that was set up to collate criminal records after the Soham tragedy. Not just once, but all the time you are in any job that needs it.

My wife has a check every two years.

[asbean]

I have two checks every 2 years. So once in every three years I don't get checked.  Someone is making a lot of money out of this racket.

[ACE]

Yes I agree someone is making a lot of money out of the scheme, They should be ashamed of themselves, but if it saves a small life. It's worth it.

[debster]

as a nurse i get CRB checked every year, and have recently applied to agency work as well and got CRB'd again..

i have been watching this programme and loving it usually on catch up tv yet so havent seen the latest one yet i have really enjoyed watching some of the reactions of those that have cooked their first me its incredible

[dtw]

If they did the chopping in school, they would need to take knives in with them.

This may lead to more stabbings.  ::)


Reminds me of the bit in The meaning of life,  'you may use dividers, but not on each other'.

[posie]

If they did the chopping in school, they would need to take knives in with them.

Well my school supplied the knives within the kitchen and we didn't stab anybody!!  How can we expect kids to take responsibility and act responsibly when we stop them from doing everything "just in case".  All I want is for my sons to be able to excel in something they enjoy immensely and that has a practical purpose in real life.  Surely that's not too much to ask?

[Paulines7]

Posie, I hope your sons are measuring, chopping and slicing the food themselves and that you are not doing it for them!   :-\

My eldest son worked part time as a kitchen assistant in a hotel when he was at 6th form college.   He can now cut an onion or cucumber very quickly into very thin slices.  He does a lot of the cooking for his wife and children and helps me out when I am catering for large family get togethers. 

My youngest son has taught himself to cook and is always concocting some type of meal with courgettes, onions, mushrooms etc.   

[posie]

Posie, I hope your sons are measuring, chopping and slicing the food themselves and that you are not doing it for them!   :-\

They most certainly do.  Pointless me doing it for them.

[thifasmom]

Well I'm proud to say that my kids (both 13) can cook basic meals like spaghetti bolognese, lasagne (although I will admit to using jars for that!), chicken stir fry and most of a roast.  However......I have one HUGE bug bear in relation to their so called cooking lessons at school.  Now when I was at school (and it wasn't that long ago I hasten to add), the parents supplied the ingredients, the school the cooking utensils and everything was done at school, including the measuring, slicing and chopping and the washing up afterwards.  I have very strong memories of the nun's instructing us to wash the cups, the bowls, the small plates, dinner plates, saucepans and then the cutlery in that order, and heaven help you if you didn't!

At my sons school however, they're expected not only to measure everything before they get there, but also to do all the chopping and slicing and provide the cooking utensils (for them, read me).  In the past few weeks I've had to go out and buy pans and tins and dishes that quite honestly I won't need again and that quite honestly in this economic climate and my own personal circumstances I can't afford, because the school won't supply them.  Now I'm no chef, so my slicing and chopping isn't exactly up to any kind of standard, my sons both want to be caterers, but how in heck's name are they going to pass a gcse in this subject without the basic knowledge and experience!!!  Apparently there isn't enough time in the lesson for them to be preparing the food from scratch!!! Where is the sense in that?  I'm not saying parents shouldn't pass on their knowledge but the schools need to be making this more of a priority surely??

you really have to wonder what the education system realistically thinks it can churn out with their under par teaching methods. i was also given home economics in highschool, a general class session was generally 40 minutes, but the days we had practical classes ie sewing/ cooking a dish those classes were double sessions.

i have a friend who's a teachers assistant and she has expressed concern over the time allocated for work to be done, she has seen children having to pack up their stuff when all they have done is the date and one question/ sum and when she draws this to the teachers attention, she's been told that they have run out of time for the lesson, and if they have time they will come back to it, she has never seen them do this though.

The only trouble with Jamie Oliver is his foul language.  His effing and blinding detracts from the message he is trying to get across.  I think he has lost an enormous audience because of this.  Certainly we are not watching.

I may be an old prude, but when my ten year old great niece says that effing and blinding is 'not nice', I think that puts the foul-mouthing into perspective.

valmarg

ditto here i love to watch shows like this with my nine year old as it helps to reinforce life skills i try to teach and impart to her, but this show has to much obscenities. it distracts you and she would also object to its use and would quickly lose interest. so we are not watching this show together.

[Reetnproper]

I haven't watched any of Jamies' current series simply because I'm sick to death of seeing families who only feed their kids takeaways and ready meals. Oh and let's be honest about this, the vast majority are only taking part in the project to get on telly and it's a foregone conclusion that once the cameras have left, takeaways and ready meals will be back on the menu because it's much less hassle than actually cooking a meal from scratch :-\.

I bet half the people featured have at least one parent at home and not working, so time wont be the issue it's just laziness/taking the easy option which, let's be honest, is a sad but accurate picture of modern society as a whole.

Why cook from scratch (even a basic meal can take 1hr from prep to dishing up) when you can pop a £2.99 ready meal in the microwave or oven and it's ready in next to no time, or a visit to MaCDs', Burgerking, Pizzahut will not only deal with cooking but means there's no washing up either?
Why save for a deposit on a house when you can get a 100% or 100%+ mortgage?
Why save for the latest gadget (which will be out of date in a few weeks) when you can put it on the old plastic? ???

It's this sort of attitude that has led to the current problems/crisis in terms of Obesity and the Credit Crunch.

The importance of cooking and using fresh ingredients should be compulsory and on the curriculum from day 1. From Reception (aged 4) to Year 11 (aged 15-16) every pupil should have to do cookery once a week, that way at least the next generation will have the skills and knowledge to give them the choice as adults. The added cost to schools would surely be outweighed by the saving on the NHS re diet related issues. This takes the onus of the parents who, in most cases can't or wont cook for their families. On the other hand, for those families who DO cook from scratch, the curriculum would then be underscoring and supporting their own philosophy and family values.

My 17yr old can happily cook most basic meals and is now branching out into more complicated concoctions. My 4yr old and 2yr old both love helping pick the veg and preparing meals (mind you 2yr old Rosie tends to prefer tasting the veg in its' raw state), especially of we're using veg they've grown themselves (4yr old Daisy grew sweetcorn, Runnerbean enormas, Pumpkins, Moneymaker toms and Turnips this year).

Both have a healthy love of food and cooking, so much so in the case of the latter, that they're often on the point of tripping me up as I'm trying to get meals on the table, so keen are they to help.

Thankfully a quite a few of my friends have a similar ethos towards cooking and baking but a few others still think we're mad to spend 1 to 2 hrs preparing a meal (not to mention the time spent growing it) or baking cakes, bread etc. when a trip to Tesco would have a meal on the table in a fraction of that time and it's that attitude that needs to change which is why, I believe, that the only way forward is through school in the short term, to, hopefully, produce the next generation of home cooks/bakers  who would then start to compliment the school by reinforcing their own childrens cookery lessons, by home example.

Regards
Reet xx