One day in a kitchen and garden...

A steady stream of 35 educators find their way into a bright, open kitchen and dining room on a crisp autumn day.

A video of Stephanie Alexander sharing her passion for teaching children the joys of delicious, seasonal food, and then a talk by the food icon herself, defines the reason this group have gathered. Introductions are made, and the varied group of participants share their journeys and what pleasurable food education means to them …

There’s the primary school teacher who has helped her school rebuild its kitchen garden after it was annihilated by a callous bushfire, the youth workers who hope a garden at their drop-in centre will inspire disaffected teens, and the four teachers who have flown down especially from their school in Victoria’s far northwest.

After the introductions it’s out into the gorgeous Collingwood College gardens for a tour and chat about how garden classes run in a kitchen garden program. Then the participants get a chance to try hands-on garden activities they can teach their students … making newspaper planting pots, leaf rubbing and building garden structures.

Back in the kitchen autumn sunshine streams through the large windows as the group share a cuppa over a morning tea break. The happy chatter is quietened by the start of a video showing Stephanie preparing a Salad of the Imagination and they return their focus to trainer Josie. After hearing how kitchen classes are structured and run at schools and centres, knife skills are outlined in a demonstration by trainer Betty. The 35 participants are split into groups and are assigned to stations in the homely, red-walled kitchen and the adjoining shiny, stainless steel commercial kitchen otherwise used for hospitality classes. Produce is gathered from a harvest table brimming with autumnal treasures … bunches of fresh herbs, baskets of onions, lemons, chillies, eggs, leeks, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuces, cauliflower, kale and mushrooms.

The room quickly fills with the busy sounds of food preparation. At one kitchen station a team of four roll out and cut fresh fettuccine, dusting the silky strands of pasta in flour before they are dropped into a pot of boiling water. In another pan cauliflower, kale and chilli are sautéed in readiness for their partnership with the pasta. At the next station three participants watch over a pot of bubbling tomato and herb sauce that will be spread over pillowy dumplings of ricotta and spinach gnocchi, sprinkled with cheese and baked to chewy deliciousness. Close by, three smiling cooks sauté broccoli and leek in a pan before it is encased in shortcrust pastry and transformed into a hearty pie.

At another bench two women gently pick lettuce leaves for a vibrant green salad, while another group combine grated vegetables with a light batter and pan-fry them up for crunchy Japanese pancakes (okonomiyaki). The pancakes are sprinkled with bright pink ginger and a drizzle of mayonnaise before they are ready for the table. Another group proudly plate up a Japanese brown rice salad garnished with shiny strips of seaweed, sesame seeds and avocado.

Tables are set with plates, cutlery, jugs of water with slices of zesty lemon and posies of flowers from the kitchen garden. Finished platters are proudly distributed to the tables by the beaming cooks and the seats quickly fill up with training participants, interspersed with red t-shirted Foundation staff and volunteers.

There is a sense of celebration, like a large family dinner, as the platters are passed around with comments of ‘Oh you have to try this, we made it and it’s so good’ and ‘This all looks so delicious!’ Plates are soon groaning with a sample of each of the dishes, and the sounds of contented eating fill the room as the lunch is savoured. Cooking and sharing the lunch leaves the participants feeling inspired, and conversations at the tables centre around how they will share the skills and recipes they have learnt when they return to their schools and centres.

After the dishes have been efficiently washed, dried and packed away by the group, iPads are brought out for a session on how the kitchen garden community share their news on the Foundation’s online platform – the Shared Table – and participants get a chance to post an activity. Curriculum integration ideas are discussed, and the Foundation’s wide range of teaching resources shared. Then it’s time for a group session on planning kitchen garden classes, timetabling and scheduling.

This scene has been played out in school kitchens and gardens around the country in recent months at our Delivering Kitchen Garden Classes training sessions in Melbourne, Devonport, Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin and Hobart.

Scroll through the gallery above to see just a piece of the action.

In coming months the Foundation team will be holding more training days in Adelaide, Broome, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Hobart and on the Gold Coast.

The introductory one-day professional development workshops are open to educators from early learning centres, primary and secondary schools.

Want to join us? For more information head to our Delivering Kitchen Garden Classes page or contact our Support Team on support@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au or 13000 SAKGF (72543).