Huddersfield’s budding cooks given lessons by top chefs

Oct 31 2009 by Anne-Marie Senior, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

YOUNGSTERS cooked up a tasty feast – with a little help from some of the town’s top chefs.

Twenty children from across Kirklees rolled up their sleeves to produce a variety of English, Indian and Caribbean dishes.

The Cooking Super Learning Day was organised by the University of the First Age and Kirklees Council’s extended learning service.

Chefs Barrington Douglas, of Huddersfield’s Discovery Bay restaurant, Kirklees College executive chef Simon Hallas and Prett Tejura of Wakefield’s Curry Cuisine shared their skills.

They worked in groups at Kirklees College to give the youngsters demonstrations and talks about different cultures and the environmental impact of sourcing ingredients.

They then helped them prepare a menu of dishes for all the children to sample.

Caribbean fried dumplings, brown stew chicken, rice and peas, onion bhajis and chicken masala were among the culinary delights.

The students – aged 12 to 16 – also produced a quiche, parkin and ice-cream made from local produce to reduce the carbon footprint.

Caribbean chef Barrington said: “We tried to make the food flavoursome, but at the same time healthy, by taking out a lot of the oil and adding a lot of vegetables.

“The kids have been tremendous. I get a lot of pleasure out of teaching kids to cook.

“Whether they are academic or not, they can all turn their hands to cooking.