Twenty-one years after teaching dinner ladies to cook nutritious meals for students, Jamie Oliver is heading back to school again.
The chef and entrepreneur is dumbfounded food education is not standard in the curriculum, and has launched a primary school cooking programme to teach under-11s to feed themselves. He says diet-related disease and poverty are “strangling” young British parents, “so it’s logical that school, the place we send kids for 190 days a year from the age of four to at least 16, should be setting kids up for success”.
Oliver’s idea is that every child learns 10 skills to equip them for life – and help them with all their other lessons.
“If you look at the syllabus, and this is coming from me, a kid that had a tricky relationship with school, and failed at school, there’s no better way to learn maths than through baking,” he says. “There’s no better way to learn about the weather cycle, biology, history and geography than through food. It doesn’t have to replace anything, but cooking in schools can underpin other subjects in really obvious and beautiful, simple ways.”
He believes that by the age of 10, all children should be comfortable cooking. With guidance, they should be safe to learn knife skills from the age of eight. “My knife skills are genuinely about as good now as when I was 10 or 11, and they’re very good,” he says. “Educating people about hot oil, water, knives, and electrics; this is primary school stuff. We start off with touching, feeling [different fresh food], opening tins safely, asking: ‘what are tastes?’”
Currently, food education in primary school is a complete lottery. While some children are lucky enough to learn to cook, prepare school picnics and make fruit kebabs, in many schools the focus is on knowledge with no hands-on experience at all. Children will often draw pictures of plates portioned into protein, vegetables and carbs but won’t get the chance to touch anything edible. “Knowing about healthy eating doesn’t change behaviour,” Oliver believes. There is no food training for teachers; food education only warrants a paragraph in the national curriculum (until the 2028 review) and is bundled in to design technology, rather than being seen as a subject in its own right.
Oliver’s “10 Skills Primary” course programme follows the huge success he’s seen in secondary schools with a similar scheme for students aged 11-14, which launched 15 years ago. It is now in over half of UK secondary schools. He receives no government funding for his free programme, though hopes one day that might change.
Megan Webb, Design and Technology lead at Court House Junior School in Maidenhead, will be introducing the course in January for Years Three and Four. “There’s been a real shift in what children eat since Covid,” she says. “They reach for easier food that doesn’t fuel their bodies, so we’re teaching what makes food work and where it comes from. I hope they leave us being able to make a meal for themselves, using knives safely and being more aware of what they’re putting in their body.”
My eldest two children have started learning cookery at their primary schools this term. It’s given them an incredible and swift confidence boost. My son Xavi, seven, can now tell me the exact weights of ingredients to make lemon cupcakes while Astrid, nine, feels proud she can use an oven and is asking to do more in the kitchen. I used to regret hugely that I didn’t get them more involved with cooking when they were tiny and I’m delighted and relieved that school has stepped in. Webb says that I’m far from alone in this regret as there is so much for working families to “get done”, but she recommends making time for conversations about food at least weekly, and encouraging children to get involved in cooking or even just making packed lunch boxes together.
Oliver finds it frustrating that the UK’s nutrition lags behind the rest of Europe, something he’s spent his entire career campaigning to transform. He brings up countries such as Japan, where all classes contribute to school lunches. “Everyone takes part. They have some of the best, most nutritious food in the world, and it’s propped up by funding and law. They’ve got some of the best health outcomes and best educational outcomes.” Adult obesity in Japan sits at approximately four to six per cent, making it one of the lowest rates among developed nations.
He hopes the UK government will join his crusade. “People talk about the ‘nanny state’ when it comes to kids’ education as a derogatory term. But kids need good nannies. They need good husbandry. They need love and care.
“I sincerely want every kid at 16 to know how to cook 10 recipes that save their life; know the basics of nutrition; know how to budget; know how to shop, and have choices no matter what happens in their life, rich or poor,” he says. Here are his ten essential cookery skills for kids.
Jamie Oliver on the ten skills children should learn in primary school
How to taste
“Learning about flavour and how to taste is fundamental to shaping a love and understanding of food and cooking. That is my ultimate goal: getting people to love cooking as much as they do skipping, running, painting. Without the pressure of having to eat everything on their plate, children explore different tastes: bitter lemon, creamy yoghurt, warm spices, sweet and salty.”
How to make a sandwich
“The humble sandwich is easily overlooked but is a brilliant entry point for children to start learning simple skills. These portable, accessible and customisable pockets are a great place to start developing skills in the youngest learners like spreading, layering and introducing what a balanced plate looks like.”
How to bake bread
“The age-old art of bread-making is one of the most well-rounded lessons for children in their early years. It works in maths and science with measurements and chemical reactions, as well as allowing them to express themselves in shaping their creations as well as learn patience. Our bread recipes encourage children to get hands-on: mixing, shaping and dividing dough. Working with flour and dough can get messy, but this is all part of sensory learning and fun.”
How to make pasta and sauce
“Here’s where we start to introduce fundamental knife skills and heat. If kids have fresh pasta in their arsenal, they will always have a fast, cheap and reliable dish to cook from scratch. That’s powerful stuff!”
How to make breakfast by cooking with eggs
“Breakfast is the first opportunity to make sure kids are set up to concentrate, learn and play at school. We introduce a range of recipes with one of nature’s most nutritious ingredients, the egg. Children practice their egg cracking, mixing and controlling heat. We want kids to be excited about fuelling themselves – shells and all.”
How to bake sweet and savoury
“Baking is one of cooking’s greatest gifts, helping children learn basic maths skills in a fun, practical and sensory way. Baking is the most precise skill, allowing children to practice accurate weighing and measuring as well as mixing, folding and how to use the oven safely.”
How to make healthy snacks and drinks
“Snacking has become a regular part of a child’s day in recent years and we want an understanding of how to choose whole, nutrient-dense options instead of high-sugar processed foods.”
How to prepare fruits
“Giving kids the skills to prepare fruit and vegetables independently is so important, from peeling an orange in the early years to peeling an apple with a ‘Y’ shaped peeler at Key Stage 2. This skill encourages discussion around how we get our five, or ideally seven or 11-a-day, early doors.”
How to prepare vegetables
“We introduce core knife skills – including the cross-chop – as well as showing different ways to cook and eat veg; including raw, grilling and stir-frying. This skill really empowers kids to feel confident and know their way around veggies, which ultimately helps them prepare healthy, balanced meals. This topic also encourages teachers to grow herbs and vegetables in the classroom, giving children the all-important lesson of understanding where their food comes from.”
How to follow a simple recipe
“Each recipe is a chance to learn a new cuisine, method, ingredients, as well as the part of the world [they come from]. Once the children have mastered the basic 10 skills and how to follow a recipe, they can cook almost anything. We also get children to present their own recipe show to help develop oracy skills and confidence with public speaking. Which makes this skill really fun to practice.”
Teachers and schools can sign up to 10 Skills for free – https://schools.jamieoliver.com/