Catch the good food ride as the FSA cooking bus comes to Carnegie International Camp

Tuesday 10 August 2004

Children and teenagers at Carnegie International Camp will be in for a treat this week as the Food Standards Agency�s (FSA) Cooking Bus parks up at the residential weight loss centre for a week of fun food workshops.

The state-of-the-art mobile kitchen classroom, which is 16.5 metres long and weighs in at 19 tonnes, will be stopping off at Carnegie to provide practical cooking sessions to over 60 young people attending the summer camp.

During the week the budding chefs will learn all about cooking and healthy eating, exploring the relationship between food and health by trying new foods and experiencing different ways of preparing and cooking dishes. All the workshops will be �hands on�, with the students cooking from scratch fun-to-make recipes such as Apple and Summer Fruit Parcels, Cheesy Tuna Jacket Potatoes and Banana and Strawberry Smoothies.

Developed in partnership with the RSA Focus on Food Campaign, the FSA Cooking Bus covers over 10,000 miles each year, cooking up more than 18,000 dishes and delivering improved food education to over 6,000 pupils and 800 teachers.

The expanding bus, which opens out into four fully equipped workstations, is touring the country with a particular focus on visiting schools, community centres and out-of-school clubs in low income areas.

Staffed by two experienced mainstream food teachers the bus comes complete with all the food and equipment required to park up for a week�s worth of lessons at a time. Equipment on board the bus includes ovens, hobs, refrigerators, microwaves, sinks, demonstration areas and workstations.

Julia Unwin, Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency said, 'The Cooking Bus is a good example of how the Agency is working with schools, local communities and other organisations to encourage people to learn more about the foods they choose to eat.

Many schools do not have the facilities or the resources to teach cooking and food skills. The FSA Cooking Bus provides the opportunity for young people to get involved with food, encouraging them to think about their own diet and adopt good hygiene practices in the kitchen.'