This initiative was designed to ensure that children could eat a meal in the afternoon because many children go to bed hungry at night.
Thembalitsha Primary School harvested fresh produce from its vegetable garden and it was used at the workshop to prepare meals.
The Knysna Initiative for Learning and Teaching (Kilt) recently partnered with two chefs from a Wilderness-based restaurant for a cooking workshop at Concordia High School.
Executive chef and owner of Salinas Beach Restaurant Werner Pons, along with his sous chef Shadrack Buzani, led the workshop on Tuesday 21 September for cooks who form part of the school’s feeding scheme and the soup kitchen staff, using ingredients from the soup kitchen and school gardens.
The event marks the beginning of a long-term partnership to improve the quality and variety of vegetables used in Knysna’s school feeding programme and soup kitchen meals.
Transportation will be provided by the local police. Herbs and vegetables will be supplied by Kilt-supported school gardens’ feeding scheme staff and soup kitchens staff.
Chefs, training and time will be provided by Salinas, and dry ingredients will be provided by Kays Supermarket. All of the fresh produce for the workshop was provided by the Garden Route Floral Art Club.
“When considering the production of large amounts of food, it is critical that the nutritional value be balanced against the cost of production and efficiency,” said Pons. “Waste, whether in the form of raw materials or energy, must be constantly monitored and kept to a minimum. Efficiency is critical to sustainability.”
Attendees of the workshop at Concordia High School.
The managing director of Kilt, Sandy Ueckermann, said it is very important to the organisation to make sure they are feeding those who need help the most.
“We are delighted that we have partners who are willing to work with us to make this happen. They are as committed to the community as we are! We are so grateful that they keep giving back to the community through donations of cash, food, time, and more!” she said.
Executive chef and owner of Salinas Werner Pons explains the importance of beetroot in meals to workshop attendees.
The goal of the workshops and ongoing programme is to teach school feeding scheme cooks and soup kitchen chefs how to prepare meals using produce from their schools’ gardens and soup kitchens. The chefs will show them how to incorporate these ingredients into healthy meals that will be served at their respective schools.
This initiative was designed to ensure that children could eat a meal in the afternoon because many children go to bed hungry at night.
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