18th October 2022
“It was fantastic that the learners were there and with such positive attitudes and skills!"
The Taste Festival, which was held on Friday 7 October, was open to pupils and parents of Manor Junior school and aimed to give parents some healthy food ideas, and kids an introduction to what it would be like to work in the food industry.
Over 1,000 pupils and parents attended the sensationally tasty event, which featured Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars contestant Bola Obileye, who gave kids a demonstration on how to prepare their own spices and herbs.
Students from Barking and Dagenham College came down to show off their culinary skills, facilitated by Barking & Dagenham College’s hospitality tutor, Michael Frederick, preparing plenty of food for the well-fed attendees.
Elsewhere, not-for-profit street food pioneers, Hustle Eats, wowed the crowds with their mouth-watering jerk chicken and Healthy Mind Healthy Grind’s Marcel Andrew gave a lively demonstration about plant-based cuisine and the importance of healthy eating.
The festival was also a way to get kids interested in careers in the food industry, so that they can make the most of the opportunities the City of London’s three markets’ (Spitalfields, Smithfields and Billingsgate) relocation to Barking and Dagenham can offer them.
“What a wonderful event this has been – we really want to get our young people interested in food and healthy eating – especially with the three markets of London arriving. It’s been great to see so many youngsters and their parents get some healthy eating advice and I hope some of them are now considering a career in the food industry.”
“This first taste festival has been absolutely incredible. We wanted to get everyone in with a celebration of food and community. The smells, the sounds, the smiles – what a fantastic day and we look forward to doing it again.”
“It was fantastic that the learners were there and with such positive attitudes and skills! They were brilliant role models for all the children and their families, and we are very grateful they took part. As students themselves, they had a unique power to ‘bring the curriculum to life’ and inspire the kids, by demonstrating what they are learning. They played a valuable part in ‘making it real’ when we talk about cooking food as a profession.”
The event was organised by Barking and Dagenham Council, in partnership with Manor Junior School.
