Students at Beacon Academy have been involved in a ground-breaking project as part their food tech GCSE. In a national first, GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition students at the secondary school in Crowborough were the recipients of a special delivery of wild Alaska pink salmon to use in their classrooms, in a bid to improve their fish cookery skills.
PLATE EXPECTATIONS: A delicious salmon creation
Beacon Academy was selected for the delivery as part of the Fish in Schools Hero (FISH) programme devised by The Food Teachers Centre, in partnership with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
Together, they will deliver 20,000 fillets of wild Alaska salmon to schools for cookery students to prepare up and down the country.
“The programme aims to ensure that every child gets a chance to prepare, cook and eat fish before they leave school”
MASTERCHEF: A student with her dish
The programme aims to ensure that every child gets a chance to prepare, cook and eat fish before they leave school.
It teaches students about sustainability and nutrition as well as developing delicious dishes with the Alaska salmon in their practical classes.
Chef Andrew Wiles, Head Chef and owner of The Five Bells in Chailey, near Lewes, visited Beacon Academy to showcase the use of the salmon to the students.
He completed a live demonstration which the students attentively observed before tackling the complex dish and flavours themselves. He also provided some of the ingredients and a choice of plates; encouraging the students to develop and enhance their dishes, plating techniques and presentation skills.
EXPRESS DELIVERY: Staff receive supplies of fresh fish
The teacher of Food Technology at Beacon Academy, Mr James Hooper, said: “We are thrilled that we have been selected to receive the wild salmon from Alaska. It means that our students can not only learn about wild fisheries and the different tastes, textures and usages, but also cook with the fish themselves.”
To support teachers, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and Food Teachers Centre have also developed sample lesson plans, a training workshop and video recipes by chef and former MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker.
Both teachers and students are completing the online Alaska seafood training course, which is a deep dive into the Alaskan fishing industry and the different species available from Alaska (https://alaskaseafooduniversity.co.uk)
Rebecca Wilson, Trade Director for Alaska Seafood in Northern Europe, commented: “We are delighted to partner with the Food Teachers Centre for their Fish In Schools Hero programme.
“We have been working with Fish In Schools Hero programme for over a year to get the Alaska salmon into students’ hands and we are pleased that students will finally get the opportunity to cook with it.”
