Thousands of pupils attend LMC cookery demonstrations

THOUSANDS of pupils in school classrooms across the province have attended Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured (NIFQA) demonstrations, with tasty beef and lamb dishes freshly cooked and sampled out. Giving the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) another record year of successful post primary school cookery demonstrations.

LMC education and consumer promotions manager Sarah Toland said, “LMC demonstrators aim to educate young people about the farm to fork journey of NIFQA beef and lamb. These 40-minute demonstrations provide insight to the health and environmental benefits of beef and lamb. Pupils also see firsthand the versatility of these red meats and are invited to sample freshly prepared dishes.”

LMC cookery demonstrations are tailored to compliment the curriculum and learning outcomes of the class attending. Some of the common topics covered at a post primary level this year included macro and micronutrients, healthy lifestyle, NIFQA and traceability through the supply chain.

Feedback from teachers has been positive. Allison Beattie, teacher at Breda Academy remarked that the LMC demonstration was “excellent” she added, “A great range of information was given and at the correct level.”

Lisa Daly, teacher at St Joseph’s Grammar School said, “The demonstration covers theory in terms of nutrition, food provenance, food safety as well as practical cookery skills.”

Joanne Maguire teacher at St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon added, “I honestly found this demo excellent, good delivery and reflected a good breadth of knowledge across the course.”

Sarah continued, “We were delighted with the uptake for this year’s programme, with Food and Nutrition teachers demonstrating a strong desire to avail of our demonstrations. All 375 available demonstrations were booked within one week of the programme launch. Antrim and Down schools accounted for the highest percentage of bookings, with demonstrations most commonly booked for year 10 classes across the board,” Sarah confirmed.

LMC and its stakeholders are acutely aware of the significance of engaging with young people in school settings where important life choices are informed. Aside from the cookery demonstrations LMC offer educational resources and support for teachers.

Concluding Sarah said, “As this academic year comes to a close the LMC education team are already working to enhance the Commission’s 2023-24 programme. One exciting project for the coming year will be the delivery of several red meat skills workshops for post primary teachers.

“Our next round of post primary cookery demonstrations will open for bookings on 01 September 2023. Booking forms will be available online at www.food4life.org.uk from that date.”