Gobsmacked about daughter's food tech lesson

[dottybooboo22]

I've just been informed by dd that she's cooking next week in her food tech class. I have to buy the ingredients. I don't mind that but then she said they have to practise at home so they'll be able to make it in class
She then got all stroppy when I pointed out that it would cost twice as much for the stuff and wasn't it the whole point of the lesson to teach them how to make it??? Am I missing something here?

[ILostItInTheEarlyNineties]

You could do a 'dry run' with her at home; going through the steps of the recipe and miming the making of the meatballs.

I sympathise as I've bought numerous ingredients that my child only needed a small amount of (whole bottle of vanilla essence/ jar of cinnamon anyone?)

Perhaps you could buy some ingredients jointly with another parent for the children to share?

In my experience, the teacher usually doesn't mind if you don't provide the exact ingredients listed if you can substitute for something similar you already have at home, eg self raising flour instead of plain flour and baking soda.

[confuugled1]

DS1 has got his first cookery practical this week. He's already having conniptions about it - it's fruit salad, with either a carton of fruit juice or a tin of fruit and its syrup as the juice.

They have to take in an apple, orange, 3-4 other fruits and a carton of juice/tin of fruit. He is the original Mr Eat Everything Separately - heaven forbid that different things might touch on his plate. The thought that not only will things be touching and mixed together but then covered in juice is horrifying him.

I'm obviously hoping that peer pressure will work and he'll try some and like it but not hopeful as he's never tried any before at home.

I suspect that it will just be a waste of fruit though - he can chop it no problems but it'll be done in the morning, then left to sit in his hot bag for the rest of the day. And I suspect that by the end of the day there will be fruit juice leaking in his bag as I'm not convinced he'll manage to seal it completely shut (they never seem to be 100% watertight when there's liquid inside them that can cause a mess) and his bag I'm sure gets thrown on the floor during lessons, lunch and break...

I'm that they're even suggesting bringing a tin in. And almost as that they're suggesting putting fruit juice on the fruit salad but I'm prepared to admit that just because my mother and cookery teachers would have never dreamed of doing so and always used a home made syrup base for the juice which takes a couple of minutes to knock up, I might be seen as old fashioned for thinking this.

[Cary2012]

My son made 'pizza' when he was in year 7. Tomato puree, grated cheese on a bit of pitta bread. Sprinkled with dried herbs.

Cheese on toast then...

[angryangryyoungwoman]

You don't have to help her. She could follow the recipe herself. It could be a nice thing to do with her however.

[dottybooboo22]

Just asked dd again and she definitely has to practise at home.
So in other words I'll be teaching her how to do it and she'll be reproducing it in school?
Pardon me for thinking that's why I send her to school...to be taught!

[acasualobserver]

Pardon me for thinking that's why I send her to school ... to be taught!

I think it's best seen as a joint enterprise.

[OlennasWimple]

This is indeed bonkers, OP!

Maybe you could focus on practising the core skills, like dicing the onion, rather than do the whole recipe?

[LineyReborn]

Yep, we had this about six years ago - never forgotten!

£8 worth of ingredients x 2. Prawn and fresh parmesan bloody risotto cooked in a poncetastic garlic and herb stock.

To be fair, she ate it. But she never cooked it again.

[MsMims]

surely it's the schools place to be teaching her,not mine!

Really?

[ILostItInTheEarlyNineties]

Confuugled The fruit salad in juice is a bastard to try and bring home in a school bag. Been there twice with my sons, leaked both times.
Could he sell it to someone at breaktime?

[00100001]

Just don't do it

they can;t make you buy ingredients and practise.

[Dancergirl]

and told me that nobody else had ever questioned this before

This is such a lame excuse. WELL THEY HAVE NOW!

OP YANBU

[ThoraGruntwhistle]

I have a bad attitude towards food tech as I think it's incredibly wasteful, both in terms of money for the ingredients, then the food which more often than not goes in the bin.
If your DD's school is telling you that you have to pay out for this lesson twice each time, that's ridiculous. She's not learning anything from her teacher if she does it at home.
I was so glad DS gave it up after Y8.

[Justwanttoweeinpeace]

If you're relying on the school to teach your DD to cook let's hope she really likes stuffed peppers!

[VladmirsPoutine]

Sugarlightly Don't be so facetious FGS! The OP is not expecting that the school should take sole responsibility but just pointing out that it is pointless to have the lesson if she has to buy the ingredients effectively twice.

It's one thing to go through a recipe but another to have already come prepared. Considering schools are constantly finding any angle to get money out of parents wrt fundraising for xyz then at least the OP and other parents should be able to afford to sit this one out.

[Daisygarden]

I would never eat something a child had made at school unless they were at GCSE or A Level standard and their food hygiene was second to none Also it being a "practice" it may well be burned or underdone. Ugh.

[Trifleorbust]

You are mixing up food tech with cooking classes. For the GCSE, the focus will be on the design of the recipe for an audience, communication of the recipe, risk assessment etc. She isn't being taught to cook per se, so it makes sense for the cooking elements of the course to be practised at home.

[Daisygarden]

Oh and YANBU. Surely the point is they learn how to cook it in class?

[GoldFishFingerz]

Why will you need to teach her? She can access the recipe and follow it herself. No big deal. A secondary school child should have basic cookery skills anyway, hopefully you've helped her get the basics while at primary school. Think of it as homework. I'm sure she does homework for other subjects. And you can eat it for tea.

[Italiangreyhound]

Do check she has it right, maybe your dd is quite accurate but not always sure could not successfully report exactly what was said in a cooking class!

If she can make it at home what is the point of making it again at school. If she can't make it, what makes the teacher think you can!

We made Liver A La France at school, I don't remember any of eating it!

But meat balls sounds fine. I would just check she has it right and go with it. But if they ask for anything too fancy I'd b questioning it!

Much better to let them make things they will eat! Suggest it and see what happens!

Phillipa re "I am helping my friends dd who is now in year 11 with her food tech and yes they have to practice the recipie at home before making it again. " what' s the point of that, just out of interest?

bloodyteenagers Re "Why do you think it's the schools job to teach your child how to cook?" and Sugarlightly re "You think the school should teach her how to cook?"

I don't know what the OP thinks but I was under the impression food tech (or whatever it is called) was about learning to cook in class, otherwise what is it about. What is the point of asking them to bring in ingredients to cook at school if the school are not going to teach them anything?

If they are expected to be able to cook before they cook it in class what about all the poor blighters whose parents can't cook and can't help them?

[DeathpunchDoris]

Make sure you get the facts straight before saying anything - sometimes kids "mishear" teachers' instructions. For all you know the class could have been given the option to practice at home if they wanted to. In either respect, your child is learning to make a nutritious meal to feed the family and will learn skills which will last a lifetime. My DD made risotto this week at school and I loved coming home to a delicious dinner which I didn't have to cook myself. Next week we have meatballs too! Enjoy.

[IlPorcupinoNilSodomyEst]

Ha! DS learnt how to make cheese on toast (bread, cheese, apply heat) in FT and now proudly does it for lunch for us on a Saturday. Never mind that I've had him baking since he could stand up ....

[CurlyMango]

Just found out my twins are both in the same class for food tech ( in a 9 form year group) so we will have the same thing x 2!! Ok for cake less good for courgette surprise.....

[bruffin]

We just paid a lump sum once a year for foodtech which covered ingredients

[UnderTheGreenwoodTree]

We never had to do this, just send in the weighed ingredients. Depending on how savvy she is, I'd be tempted to just talk through the recipe, and make sure she knows what she's doing. Unless it's cake - I'd be happy to have 2 batches of cake