Cooking club adds spice

Imogen 5, Roma 4, Jack 4, Ameya 4, and Joseph 4 with adults Kelsey Youngman, Meranda Henri, and Shanty Shaji at the Holy Rosary Primary School, Oldham, Let's Get Cooking Big Cookathon.

BUDDING young chefs swapped pens for pans as they entered a national Indian cookery challenge to win a share of £5,000.

With the help of parents and teachers, Holy Rosary Primary School took part in Let’s Get Cooking’s “BIG Cookathon 2013”, which aimed to get as many people as possible cooking a healthy dish.

Pupils — up against 300 other school and community-based clubs in England — all cooked up a healthy alternative to a popular Indian takeaway . . . either chicken or vegetable korma.

Janet Lomas, who runs the Let’s Get Cooking club, said: “The children had a great time and all got stuck in.

“For many of them, they were trying out new veggies that they don’t normally eat — and they were really impressed with the korma!

“The club is brilliant for teaching our pupils new skills, and for getting them to think about the kind of foods that they’re eating.

“It’s a great way of showing them that eating healthily and making meals from scratch can be good fun.”

Led by the Children’s Food Trust, Let’s Get Cooking is a growing network of healthy cooking clubs for children, supported by a £20 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

Winners will be announced in May.