Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program

A food philosophy that makes sense! Willaura Primary School was accepted into the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program in 2014. Our senior students cook and garden on alternate weeks. We are currently developing plans to install a purpose-built student kitchen in our multi-purpose room. Meanwhile we are making do with our staff room stove and creative recipes! Please call in any Friday to either observe or join in. 

Stephanie Alexander has a vision that pleasurable food education is accessible to every Australian school with a primary curriculum.

The philosophy of the program is as follows:

 - encourage fun, flavour and texture through experiences that engage all the senses

- model good food choices without using the labels 'healthy' or 'unhealthy'

- reinforce techniques repeatedly, providing the confidence to plant seeds or cook simple dishes at home

- plan menus around fresh, seasonal produce growing in the garden

- use ingredients at their peak: seasonal herbs, crisp veggies, fresh fruits

- expand culinary horizons, presenting cultural differences as fascinating rather than strange

- expand vocabularies for describing foods, flavours, textures, plants and processes

- food should be delicious and the cooking of fresh fruit and vegetables should be timed with great care

- come together at the end of the cooking to share the meal around the table

Stephanie says

" I believe absolutely in the importance and power of the shared table. In many cultures, eating together around a table is the centre of family life. It is the meeting place, where thoughts are shared, ideas challenged, news is exchanged and where the participants leave the table restored in many ways"

Recipes

Willaura Primary School
14 Warranooke Street, Willaura 3379
03 5354 1401