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Original poster

School cooking lessons

129 replies

Ncforthiscms · 07/10/2025 12:02

School cooking price of ingredients!
Dc new to high school, cooking this week.
Cheesecake:
Butter £1.08
Biscuits £0.60
Soft cheese x3 £4.02
Strawberry £2.48
Cream £1.40
Chocolate £2.87

Other bits from kitchen- icing sugar, vanilla essence, tin etc.

Shocked at the cost tbh. Not a problem here but lots of families couldn't afford this fortnightly could they? I grew up in poverty and couldn't afford school cooking ingredients.

OP posts:
Greggsit · 07/10/2025 13:19

In my daughter's class they work in groups and split out the ingredients. So in your case they would bring a tub of cheese each and one would bring the butter, one the biscuits, etc.

LeaderBee · 07/10/2025 13:18

Bikechic · 07/10/2025 12:08

I agree. That's a lot. And there's actually not a lot of cooking skills involved in cheesecake.

Even back when I was in high school starting in 1997 food technology was rarely ever about learning how to cook and was more teaching about health and safety.

ohtowinthelottery · 07/10/2025 13:18

Nobody needs to know how to make cheesecake and especially not if it costs that much!
Why can't schools just focus on teaching children to make healthy nutritious meals instead of puddings?
My DS learned to make things like soup or bolognaise. Don't ever remember him making a cake or pudding. He's an adult now, a great cook and very rarely makes anything sweet but could if he had to.
Schools need to focus on teaching budget friendly, home cooked, healthy meals so we don't end up with another generation of unhealthy eaters who know no different.

AnneLovesGilbert · 07/10/2025 13:15

God, this reminds me of my mum’s reaction to my class making tirimasu for food tech. It cost £8 for the ingredients in the late ‘90s and she still talks about it today! It was fine but it’s not an essential dish to master and she was a single mum to 4 kids and it was a big chunk of our food budget for the week.

Needmorelego · 07/10/2025 13:13

Does icing sugar normally go in cheesecake 🤔

Needmorelego · 07/10/2025 13:12

Ncforthiscms · 07/10/2025 13:02

600g cream cheese,
300g biscuit, chocolate & strawberries.
150g butter
75g icing sugar (pantry).

I just followed the school list

Edited
Show quote history

I was thinking about the "3 tubs" thing - I suppose the size of the tubs you can get will vary.
I hope it at least tastes nice. I do like a bit of cheesecake 🙂

beasmithwentworth · 07/10/2025 13:11

I know this isn’t the point of your post but I have always been so disappointed my DCs secondary school has never done food tech or any lessons remotely related to cooking. I think it’s one of those lessons that can really have an impact on young people and in some instances on their career choices. I login be slightly biased as it was one of my favourite lessons at school but even so - it’s a life skill and not everyone will have that opportunity at home. It’s also a lesson where some of the less academic young people can really shine.

It’s such a dry school in terms of the non core stuff (don’t get me started on school trips)

I do understand what you mean about the cost. Hopefully there is provision in place for lower income families.

Bjorkdidit · 07/10/2025 13:10

They also need to use chocolate or strawberries, not both.

MaplePumpkin · 07/10/2025 13:10

When I was at school we did it this way, I thought it was the norm.

Could you buy cheaper, non branded stuff? I buy shops value brand cream cheese and it’s about 70p a tub. Same with the chocolate, all supermarkets do a really cheap 100g milk chocolate bar for about 60p.

TheNightingalesStarling · 07/10/2025 13:06

I think the problem is they are making a rather large cheesecake. They need to scale it down.

Octavia64 · 07/10/2025 13:06

Schools provide ingredients for fsm kids.

i used to be a secondary teacher and the cookery dept had a large storage cupboard that was full of ingredients.

Original poster
Ncforthiscms · 07/10/2025 13:02

Needmorelego · 07/10/2025 12:49

Seems a lot though?

Show quote history

600g cream cheese,
300g biscuit, chocolate & strawberries.
150g butter
75g icing sugar (pantry).

I just followed the school list

OP posts:
mickandrorty · 07/10/2025 12:49

I always think cheesecake is quite pricey to make even using budget ingredients. Our school asks for £15 each term its a much better way to do it imo it removes lots of issues.

Needmorelego · 07/10/2025 12:49

19lottie82 · 07/10/2025 12:46

The clue is in the name. Cheese. Cake.

Show quote history

Seems a lot though?

TheNightingalesStarling · 07/10/2025 12:49

19lottie82 · 07/10/2025 12:46

The clue is in the name. Cheese. Cake.

Show quote history

You don't need that volume of cheese for a cheesecake though.

19lottie82 · 07/10/2025 12:46

TheNightingalesStarling · 07/10/2025 12:39

3 tubs of cheese?

The clue is in the name. Cheese. Cake.

101jobs · 07/10/2025 12:46

Yes, I agree OP. I’m glad DS dropped Cookery when he left Year 9, as it worked out a small fortune over a 3 year period.

Tiredofwhataboutery · 07/10/2025 12:42

We don’t get asked to pay anything, just bring tubs! Not on fsm.

I wouldn’t be overly impressed at cheesecake tbh. If cost is an issue teach them to make scones or flatbreads which are cheap. £5-10 quid for the class? DS does home economics and comes home with apple pies, Victoria Sponge, savoury picnic pastries, scones, dumplings , soup so far this year.

TheNightingalesStarling · 07/10/2025 12:39

3 tubs of cheese?

Bearbookagainandagain · 07/10/2025 12:37

Are they all making individual cheesecakes for 10? That's a huge amount of food for 1 student!

TheatricalLife · 07/10/2025 12:29

Tell me about it. DS did food for GCSE and it cost me a bloody fortune!

Original poster
Ncforthiscms · 07/10/2025 12:29

Those are the prices I paid in the supermarket today. They take the ingredients into school themselves.
I'd much prefer to pay the school termly or something.
How do other schools manage this?

OP posts:
PrincessHoneysuckle · 07/10/2025 12:28

Schools provide ingredients for FSM kids

Ihateslugs · 07/10/2025 12:19

Are you being asked to provide the ingredients so these are what you have costed at the shops or are they asking you to send in the money?

Either way, this to too expensive for a school cookery lesson and a cheesecake is hardly cooking - only have to melt the butter, crush up biscuits then whip together the cheese and cream before added melted chocolate and decorating with fruit) I make a very similar cheesecake ( Mary Berry white chocolate raspberry cheesecake recipe) but only on special occasions as it’s so expensive, totally delicious though.

Ablondiebutagoody · 07/10/2025 12:18

That does seem high for one lesson. I just had to pay £7 for ingredients for the whole of the year (Y7). Probably won't get a lovely cheesecake though.

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