Getting Wakefield’s kids in the kitchen
Published 9th February 2018
| 9 February 2018 |
Cooking up nutritious and delicious weeknight wonders – a veggie-packed ‘spag bol’ and low-fat chicken schnitzel – has earnt local youngsters Ashley Bennier (8) and Sam Taylor (4) top stars in a cooking competition run by Wakefield Regional Council and pasta manufacturer San Remo.
Budding young chefs under 12 and living in the Wakefield area were asked to submit a photo of themselves preparing their favourite healthy meal along with the recipe and Ashley and Sam dished up the winners.
Mayor Rodney Reid said the goal of the competition was to get more of Wakefield’s kids in the kitchen preparing healthy, balanced meals and learning more about food.
“Our Council joined the OPAL (Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle) Network to further support and inspire our community to eat well and be active,” Mayor Reid said.
“This competition reinforces OPAL’s Eat Well message, which encourages children under 12 to eat more fruit and vegetables and reduce the amount of sugary, fatty foods in their diets.”
Wakefield’s Community Development Officer Holly Cowan said her team was glad to see people embracing the challenge set by the competition, especially as research showed establishing good eating habits at a young age was vital to promoting healthy habits later in life.
“The competition was spearheaded by dietetics student Tiffany Spriggs who undertook a seven week placement at Council working with schools to encourage healthy nutrition and safe food handling practices,” Ms Cowan said.
“Her findings showed a large proportion of students were struggling to squeeze in their 2 fruits and 5 veggie servings a day or have a good start to the day with a filling, wholesome breakfast”.
Ashley and Sam’s creative recipes and delicious meals won them a San Remo prize pack stuffed with the brand’s famous pasta and a children’s chef outfit.
“I wish he could cook every night,” Ashley’s mum Tanya said. “Perhaps without the big mess after though. We loved cooking the meal. It was a great way to get Ashley and the rest of the family excited about healthy eating.”
Congratulating Ashley and Sam, Ms Cowan said Council would like to carry out more interaction with families about choosing healthy choices.