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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not send in cooking ingredients to school tomorrow with DS2

93 replies

AFingerofFudge · 26/02/2017 13:36

So DS2 has just announced he's cooking at school tomorrow. (He likes to spring these kind of surprises on me, in fact he's given me more notice than usual)
It's pea and ham risotto. I don't have the risotto rice, the bacon, the peas or the onion.
As a dutiful parent I'd normally whinge a bit, tell him off and send him to the shops for the ingredients.
However tomorrow I'm working until 9.15pm, so I've already prepared dinner. DH doesn't get home until late, DS1 will be looking after DS2&3 and serving up the meal to them. So the risotto thing will not get eaten, and also erm, the chances of it being edible anyway are minimal as his talents lie elsewhere
So AIBU to send a note with some sort of excuse?
I'm not normally a slack parent but I'm reluctant to part with money to pay for food that will go to waste.

OP posts:

thesockgap · 26/02/2017 14:12

early30smum Unless he's in secondary and it's a food tech class, but even then I'd be surprised they ask parents to provide the stuff?

My older two boys are both in different secondary schools and we've always had to provide the ingredients for their food tech classes - I'd be very surprised if the school offered to pay for (eg) 30 lots of chicken curry, which is what DS2 made last time! Even when I used to do "home economics" at secondary or even further back, "cookery" at primary school, there was never even one time when my mum didn't have to buy the ingredients for me to take in!

GrumpyOldBag · 26/02/2017 14:12

What subject is this for?

I'm impressed that your ds is learning to cook properly at school.

I think you should get him to buy the ingredients and take them in. It's about the learning experience, not the eating.

WorraLiberty · 26/02/2017 14:13

If he comes back from the shops and says he couldn't get the ingredients, do send him in with a note.

But not an excuse note. Tell the teacher exactly why he doesn't have them - because as usual, he didn't tell you in time.

Hopefully a detention (or whatever punishment they use) will help him to remember.

Sung · 26/02/2017 14:15

I feel you pain - both on the notice that your DS has given you and the inedible food but..

I would definitely get him/send him for the ingredients so he is fully equipped for tomorrow, getting the cheapest of ham or claiming sudden vegetarianism if you know it isn't going to get eaten.

Floralnomad · 26/02/2017 14:19

YABU , send him to get the ingredients , I would never have eaten anything cooked at school , you have no idea that it's been cooked properly / stored properly .

Iamastonished · 26/02/2017 14:24

"What's the problem with reheating rice?"

It isn't the reheating that's the problem, but not cooling it down quickly once it has been cooked. Bacillus cereus is a bacteria that can be found in rice. Once it has been cooked it produces toxins that multiply quickly if the rice isn't cooled quickly.

Not all rice contains it, but there is no way of knowing until it is too late. I have had bacillus cereus poisoning and it was awful. I will never eat rice left on a warming plate at a buffet again.

Original poster

AFingerofFudge · 26/02/2017 14:25

Yes it is Food Tech but it's compulsory as he hasn't done his options yet. Yes he has gone to buy the stuff. I told him not to buy posh bacon

OP posts:

PutTheBunnyBackInTheBox · 26/02/2017 14:25

He's not cooking for you, he's doing it as part of his lesson

Exactly. He's learning how to cook, surely whether it's eaten or not is irrelevant? My DC bring home dishes they've made at school and the dogs think they're lovely

Telling you the day before though is bloody annoying. My DC do this all the time.

ShowMePotatoSalad · 26/02/2017 14:26

Ewww, cheap flabby watery bacon in a risotto? Nahhhhhh that shit ain't right.

(helpful contribution)

ChocolateCakeandSprinkles · 26/02/2017 14:33

It is totally normal for schools to ask parents to provide cooking ingredients. Get used to it with budgets being cut (That's another story).

Glad you have sent him down the shop. I would use it to teach him a lesson. If he doesn't get everything, write a note to his teacher explaining what he hasn't got and why and that he will take any punishment for his lack of disorganisation that she see's fit! Bet he'll remember next time!

allowlsthinkalot · 26/02/2017 14:34

We freeze risotto all the time OP, you'll be fine. Also it would need reheating by the time he brings it home?

Soubriquet · 26/02/2017 14:34

If he comes back from the shops and says he couldn't get the ingredients, do send him in with a note.

But not an excuse note. Tell the teacher exactly why he doesn't have them - because as usual, he didn't tell you in time.

Hopefully a detention (or whatever punishment they use) will help him to remember.

Yes. He has had weeks to tell you, the day before is not acceptable

Sunnysky2016 · 26/02/2017 14:39

Freeze it for another day? We have enjoyed all the things ds's have made at school- they now make things like spag bol, lasagne and risotto for all for us.

Bragadocia · 26/02/2017 14:43

Reheating rice isn't an issue in itself, it's that people erroneously believe "give it a good boil" will call most harmful things. Rice that has been cooked once and then not cooled sufficiently quickly, can develop a type of bacteria that doesn't get killed by heat. So you can get a pretty horrid food poisoning, whether you eat it cold or reheat it. The crucial bit is cooling cooked rice quickly and keeping it cold until you re-use it.

1frenchfoodie · 26/02/2017 14:49

I agree with highinthesky, arancini on Tuesday. Squidged around a cube of cheese, delicious!

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 26/02/2017 14:51

You need to cool your cooked rice within the hour. If the BC spores are allowed to grow, reheating your rice by nuking it in the microwave will NOT kill them.
I've had food poisoning from BC. It was not pleasant.

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 26/02/2017 14:53

What time of day is his lesson? If the dish can't be refrigerated and is lurking around for a couple of hours after class I'm afraid I wouldn't eat it.

BackToBasics2 · 26/02/2017 14:58

The Bacteria which can be in rice is called Bacillus cereus in little spores which act as a shell for the bacteria. Those spores are not killed off during the cooking process, meaning as the rice cools down and enters the "danger zone" of 5 - 63 degrees, those spores open up allowing the bacteria inside to multiply. So the quicker the rice is cooled down, the lesser chance of that bacteria multiplying.

The only way to kill those spores is to heat rice to 122 degrees, which is what happens with ready to eat rice you see on the supermarket shelves. Obviously at home we aren't going to do that!

HappyFlappy · 26/02/2017 14:59

I've kept and reheated risotto before as described by Pumpkin

It doesn't affect the taste.

Chewbecca · 26/02/2017 15:05

Yes - arancini - yum!

doubleshotespresso · 26/02/2017 15:19

I think it's pretty impressive your DS is being taught proper recipes. Also cannot help wondering if he required say a calculator or something for a more seriously-considered subject would you respond differently.

I think it's brilliant to hear about a school also developing necessary life skills for pupils, send him to the shops definitely.

BobbieDog · 26/02/2017 15:23

I very rarely did food tech at high school due to my mum never wanting me to do it as the ingredients werent part of our shopping budget and the food was mostly inedible anyway.

I spend most of the practical food tech classes copying from a book.

5BlueHydrangea · 26/02/2017 15:28

Him going to the shops to choose and buy it all is all part of the learning I think. So send him every time! Maybe he can get your shopping too while he's there!

Floggingmolly · 26/02/2017 15:36

The objective isn't primarily to feed the family

TinfoilHattie · 26/02/2017 15:38

It is totally normal for schools to ask parents to provide cooking ingredients

This is a REAL surprise to me because it's unheard of round here. My 13 year old does Home Ec two periods a week, compulsory at the mo as he hasn't chosen options yet. We get a letter at the start of the year asking for a cheque to cover food ingredients and textiles equipment for the year. Can't remember how much it was, but definitely less than £15 and the usual thing about contacting the school if paying was an issue and weekly payments possible.

Much more economical too than forking out for a whole pack of bacon and whole pack of arborio rice form one portion of risotto.

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