Compulsory cooking classes

23 January, 2008 - Published 16:10 GMT Compulsory cooking classes

English teenagers are to receive compulsory cooking lessons in schools. The idea is to encourage healthy eating to combat the country's spiralling obesity rate. It's feared that basic cooking and food preparation skills are being lost as parents turn to pre-prepared convenience foods. Jon Devitt reports Listen to the story Cooking was once regarded as an integral part of education in England - even if it was mainly aimed at girls. In recent decades cooking has progressively become a peripheral activity in schools. In many cases the schools themselves have given up cooking meals in kitchens on the premises. But the rising level of obesity, has led to a rethink about the food that children are given and the skills they should be taught. Ed Balls is the minister in charge of schools. "What I want is for young people to be taught how to do basic, simple recipes like a tomato sauce, a bolognaise, a simple curry, a stir-fry - which they can use then at home and in their later life, experiment with, discover the joy of food, having got the basics under control." The new lessons are due to start in September but some schools without kitchens will be given longer to adapt. There is also likely to be a shortage of teachers with the right skills, since the trend has been to teach food technology rather than practical cooking. Also the compulsory lessons for hands on cooking will only be one hour a week for one term. But the well known cookery writer, Pru Leith, believes it will be worth it. "If we'd done this thirty years ago we might not have the crisis we've got now about obesity and lack of knowledge about food and so on. Every child should know how to cook, not just so that they'll be healthy, but because it's a life skill which is a real pleasure and we deny children that pleasure." The renewed interest in cooking is primarily a response to the level of obesity in Britain which is amongst the highest in Europe, and according to government figures half of all Britons will be obese in 25 years if current trends are not halted. Jon Devitt, BBC News Listen to the words integral essential, very important peripheral minor, not as important as other things (here, school subjects) on the premises here, in the schools obesity extreme fatness to adapt to change so that they are suitable a shortage of teachers not enough teachers compulsory something you are obliged or have to do hands on  practical, making or doing something with your hands a life skill  knowledge that you can use all your life, that will help you outside of school current trends are not halted the way that most people (here, British people) are behaving continues Read more about this story Try a quiz on this story For teachers Download a lesson plan based on this story (142 K)