Winner Ellie Davies (centre) cooks with her classmates
Primary school children
from Bury in Greater Manchester have taken part in an afternoon of culinary fun
and games with celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli – a prize won by
eight-year-old Ellie Davies in a poster competition run by Bel Foodservice,
makers of The Laughing Cow and Mini Babybel.
Chef Jean-Christophe took to the school’s kitchen on 9 February to demonstrate
how to cook simple, healthy and balanced recipes with Bel cheese – and he
wasn’t short on kitchen helpers. Throughout the afternoon Year 3 from St
Margaret’s Primary School, Prestwich, enthusiastically helped Jean-Christophe
to whip up delicious tasting Leerdammer filled tomatoes, pumpkin and Babybel
cheese soup and savoury baked apples stuffed with The Laughing Cow.
The school catering staff were also in attendance and, as well as helping
prepare the dishes, promised to cook Jean-Christophe’s recipes for the rest of
the school to try for their school lunch.
“It was fantastic!” said Ellie. “Jean-Christophe made lots of tasty dishes. I’m
so glad my design was chosen because me and my classmates enjoyed trying the
tasty, healthy dishes and loved having him in our school.”
Ellie secured the prize for her class thanks to a design your dream school
garden competition run by Bel
Foodservice which tasked Bury youngsters to draw their dream garden, complete
with a vegetable plot. The judges loved Ellie’s colourful and imaginative
garden that included a towering tree-house, an ice cream machine and different
vegetable patches – really sharing Bel’s love of all things nutritious.
“Cooking should be a fun, interactive learning experience and I hope that Ellie
and her class enjoyed themselves as much as I have today,” said Jean-Christophe.
"It’s important to develop their passion for cooking at a young age and
stress the significance of eating a healthy, nutritious diet.
“As a boy growing up in France I loved cheese – it’s a great source of calcium,
essential for maintaining a healthy body, and the recipes we’ve cooked today
all incorporate cheese and fresh fruit or vegetables.”
Lacey Bradshaw, brand manager, Bel Foodservice, added: “In addition to being a
great source of calcium, cheese is rich in protein and vitamins A, D and B12.
It’s a popular choice with children so it’s important that it’s supplied to
them in a way that appeals. Part of Ellie’s prize is a vegetable plot for the
school and I hope Year 3 will be inspired by the recipes we’ve cooked together
today and create their own healthy dishes from the vegetables they grow in
their new plot.”
As well as the cookery sessions, pupils were invited to take part in an
interactive healthy eating quiz and other fun foody games. They were rewarded
for their great healthy eating knowledge with a Bel cheese goody bags and
vegetable seeds to plant and grow at home.