'Cook your own potatoes' new classroom project Potato Council

Potato Council is introducing a wide range of potato related resources into secondary schools as part of the national curriculum after successfully piloting a new classroom project;‘Cook Your Own Potatoes’. 

Following on from the increasingly popular ‘Grow Your Own Potatoes’ scheme in primary schools, the new secondary educational project will help young consumers (11 to 14 year olds) engage with potatoes;learning about different varieties, uses, tastes, nutritional information and setting them up with positive cooking and eating habits. 

Sue Lawton, education coordinator for Potato Council, said: "Research has revealed that only one in five secondary school pupils know that potatoes are fat free and 12% actually believe they are high in fat. This new programme will show them that potatoes are a nutritious carbohydrate. It will also teach them the basic cooking skills needed to ensure that they can prepare potatoes and encourage them to include a variety of potato dishes into their repertoire." 

To establish potential interest in the project, Potato Council, in conjunction with Kids Connections, undertook extensive research with teachers followed by live classroom testing of materials, with positive results. Food Technology teachers from a range of schools across England highlighted a real need for a comprehensive and engaging online resource library of skills, lesson plans and recipes for secondary students.  

Sue Lawton said: “The feedback about ‘Cook Your Own Potatoes’ has been really positive. In particular, teachers are keen for resources to help them deliver on topics such as health, nutrition and sustainability, as well as recipes and video demonstrations to support the development of varied cooking skills. This demand has been compounded by the closure of the Department for Education’s Food Technology resource ‘Licence to Cook’ earlier this summer.” 

Pilot lessons were delivered in schools in Leicester and London and the response from teachers and students confirmed that ‘Cook Your Own Potatoes’ would be extremely well received. The project, which is due to be rolled out nationally in conjunction with Potato Week (1st -7th October) this year, will provide Food Technology teachers with a dedicated website where they can access the material needed to deliver engaging and factual lessons. This will include lesson plans, skills and recipe videos, work sheets and fact sheets.