WEEK OF TASTES

David shows Petersham the Greek

2010-10-20T18:17:00.000+11:00

David Tserakis from Perama in Petersham had a fabulous time with students at Petersham Public School.

They all had the opportunity to taste the famous Perama taramasalata and tzatziki and describe the tastes and their experience of those tastes.

Students then had the opportunity to make their own dolmades with David's brilliant concoction of filling. Astoundingly the whole class tasted their completed dolmades & more than 90% ate the entire thing. Only a few disliked the taste.

Honey & black pepper mascerated figs were next for the tasting which led to a range of taste experiences being discussed.

Handmade cheese filo triangles were next & are sure to be a new addition to many a Petersham household after the children learnt how easy they are to make & how tasty something so simple and different can be.

Newington boys savour the flavour!

2010-10-20T18:07:00.000+11:00

Alex Herbert from Bird, Cow, Fish inspired a whole new group of Masterchefs on Monday at Newington College.

She spent the morning discussing a range of tastes asking them to describe their own experiences with various taste samples she provided.

The boys really enjoyed the experience and seemed to take a lot of pride in sharing their tastes with each other & planning to use the learnings at home.

Young Foodies at Dobroyd Point

2010-10-20T17:53:00.001+11:00

Students at Dobroyd Point Public School were lucky enough this week to be given a taste education. As part of the Week of Tastes, they have been learning about the diversity of tastes, textures and flavours as well as exploring Haberfield’s food and Italian roots.

The program also encourages schools to connect with a local chef, restauranteur, food producer or artisan to help children develop an appreciation for the origin of the food, how it is prepared, its taste as well as hear about the life of someone with a passion for food.

And what better way for Dobroyd Point to get a whiff of that passion for food than by meeting with one of the most prominent local food identities, Peter Zuzza of Haberfield’s La Disfida.

Peter spent Tuesday morning showing students some of his favourite raw ingredients such as squid, octopus, fish, olive oil and herbs. He shared with them some history of the origins of Italian food and also taught them about fresh seafood.

Dobroyd children were then able to spend the morning experimenting with a few simple ingredients to discover how they liked to eat seafood. They were shown how to make a simple prawn & octopus salad. Many tried seafood for the first time! Others discovered that they liked something they hadn’t tried before or that tasted different than previously.

Zuzza’s enthusiasm for sharing his passion for food with children is evident as you walk through the rear of his restaurant where he displays food-inspired artworks supplied by young visitors to La Disfida. He has just inspired a whole new group of Masterchefs and home cooks!

Week of Tastes at Malabar Primary

2009-10-28T11:34:00.017+11:00

Malabar Primary students were able to take an excursion for their Week of Tastes. Brasserie Bread, a bakery started by Michael Klausen uses a delicous thirteen year old sourdough starter!

Everyone learnt to knead, roll and make individual pizzas.

To see more photos from the excursion go to MALABAR PRIMARY at Brasserie Bread

Alex Herbert at Crown Street Primary

2009-10-28T11:32:00.021+11:00

Making real vanilla icecream was a treat for the grade 4 students at Crown Street Primary during their Week of Tastes visit from Chef Ales Herbert of Bird Cow Fish. Lovely fresh eggs, cream, sugar and a vanilla pod were used to make the custard base.

Once the vanilla custard was cooled Alex poured it into an icecream maker.

After what seemed like an eternity, the icecream was ready to taste. Everyone wanted seconds and thirds!

The final verdict .......
too busy eating the last drops to know!

To view more photos, go to CROWN STREET PRIMARY with Chef Alex Herbert

Week of Tastes at Bourke Street Primary

2009-10-28T11:31:00.015+11:00

Bourke Street Bakery owners Paul Allon and David McGuiness, came along to their local school, Bourke Street Primary this week to show the students how easy it is to knead and form their dough into rolls.

Everyone loved the chocolate cookies with sour cherries!

Budding future bakers and pastry chefs!

To view more photos go to BOURKE STREET PRIMARY with Bourke St Bakery

Colin Fassnidge at Clovelly Primary

2009-10-28T11:30:00.017+11:00

Colin Fassnidge from "Four in Hand" restaurant visited Clovelly to give an amazing lesson on different tastes and how to change and enhance flavours.
Here he presents the students with three different greens to taste. Fresh spinach, sorrel for its lemony sour taste and finally watercress with its peppery taste.

Here Colin is showing off his expert chopping skills to slice tomatoes. Everyone got to eat a slice of tomato then another slice sprinkled with Murray River Salt to see how much better the tomato tasted with the salt.

Then Colin took beautiful strawberries and added some surprises........
"salt, vinegar and a little sugar!"
Wow, who would have thought to do that?

As a final treat, cantalope soup with lemon zest! Yum.

To view more photos, go to CLOVELLY PRIMARY with Chef Colin Fassnidge

Week of Tastes at Crown Street Primary

2009-10-10T21:13:00.015+11:00

The Week of Tastes began this week at Crown Street Primary School by a visit from local celebrity chef, Jeremy Strode.

The children met with Jeremy out at their vegetable garden they have been tending over the last months.

Together with the students, Jeremy has developed a lunch menu which will be served up on October 24th in the school grounds, in conjunction with the Week of Tastes and "Green is a Beautiful Colour" organization.

To see more photos, go to Jeremy Strode at CROWN STREET PRIMARY

WEEK OF TASTES in Australia

2008-11-17T21:59:00.008+11:00

Photo and excerpt from Adamson J “Crop of the Class”, SMH, 16 September 2008

Fresh picks … Ascham students get to work. Ascham's junior school head, Carolyn Williams, is delighted and considers the Week of Tastes a perfect extension of what the girls are already learning. "I feel very strongly that children today don't get their hands dirty - they don't understand where things come from," she says. "This helps children see what growing food and experiencing real food and real taste is about.

"Campbell is already planning another Week of Tastes for October next year ….."It helps the children understand that there's a process," she says. "That it's not just about going to the supermarket and eating something out of a packet."

3 days at the Ascham School, Sept 2008

Week of Tastes “Discovering Taste” Workshops were recently presented at the Ascham School over a 3 day period. Year 4 students took part in taste lessons; learning to discern - blindfolded - the difference between sweet, sour, salty and bitter. They learnt how all five senses affect both their taste and appreciation of food. Fun exercises involving the influence of sight, sound and smell on taste created much laughter and excitment in the classroom.

The children then had visits from various food professionals who came to share their knowledge and passion about their products. A baker, Michael Klausen from Brasserie Bread talked about how bread is made. This was fascinating for the girls since they had been growing wheat in their school vegetable garden over the past three months. Michael explained how the different flour and yeast sources used to make commercial bread can create bland tasting bread like that found in supermarkets or interesting yummy bread like that made at Brasserie Bread. All of Michael's breads are made with a 13 year old "mother culture" of yeast. The girls were captivated to think that something so old could make such delicous bread.

After the initial "taste exercises" the girls were so expressive and articulate about what they were tasting.

The class was also visited by a butcher and fishmonger. Each brought different products to expand the girls understanding of where these sources of nutritious food came from. The school's resident chef John then cooked up different cuts of meat as well as two varieties of fish. The fish surpisingly turned out to be a huge success!

Another day was spent preparing and cooking lunch. The girls were divided into groups of four and set the task of making some delicous dishes. There was very little food left and much enthusiasm for the herbed cheese calzones and the beetroot chocolate muffins.

After the cooking session, each girl wrote a report or poem about their experience. The three days were a huge success and there was much excitment and interest around the school ground about the fun had during the Week of Tastes.

What is the Week of Tastes?

2008-11-10T22:46:00.005+11:00

Nineteen years ago, a French food writer and television personality, Jean-Luc Petitrenaud realized that French children were losing touch with one of their country’s greatest treasures, food. He initiated a programme called La Semaine du Gout, or Week of Tastes to educate school children about the tastes and origins of “la cuisine française.” He gathered chefs and all kinds of food producers, and brought them into their neighbourhood schools to teach children about the world of taste.

Today, nineteen years on, thousands of school children in all communities across France have learnt about taste through lessons and events involving blind tastings, cooking classes, demonstrations and field trips.

Whether you are a Michelin starred chef, a goat cheese maker or a bee keeper in a far corner of the French countryside, you can participate in educating your community during the Week of Tastes.

Recently I travelled to France on a grant established by the late Francophile and chef Julia Child, to learn about the Week of Tastes with the intention of establishing a similar programme for Australia.

I saw a country committed to maintaining its food heritage through educating its young while recognizing the diverse knowledge and expertise of its farmers, chefs and various food producers.

So successful was this programme that both Switzerland and Belgium also began hosting national Week of Tastes.

Australia is soon to follow in their footsteps.