Mardi Michels is a Food Revolution Day Ambassador in Toronto, Canada.
I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see this year’s theme for Food Revolution Day announced – getting kids excited about food is a topic I am passionate about, not just for Food Revolution Day but every week as I teach cooking classes boys aged 7-14 in two after school cooking clubs, Les Petits Chefs and Cooking Basics.
As a Food Revolution Day Ambassador for Toronto, I am participating for the third year running – with both my Ambassador hat on encouraging others to get kids excited about food but also hosting various events involving my boys’ cooking clubs as well as a (sold out!) public, hands-on cooking classes for children and their parents taking place thanks to the generous sponsorship of Nella Cucina, Sobeys and Harper Collins Canada. Following Jamie’s idea of “passing it on” the kids will teach their parents how to cook a simple, from-scratch real-food meal, using recipes from the website and we’ll all sit down to eat together afterwards. Getting families cooking and eating together (and showing them it doesn’t have to be complicated!) is one of my long-term goals!
Over the past couple of years, I’ve hosted similar events for Food Revolution Day – in 2012, I led a cooking class at my school where 20 boys taught their parents how to make chicken tikka masala from scratch then I worked with a smaller group of children and their parents in a public cooking class on Food Revolution Day itself. In 2013, I hosted one public class and one at my school and I’ve really enjoyed watching kids and their parents connect over food. Taking the time to prepare, even a simple meal from scratch with kids is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
This year in Toronto, there’s lots going on for #FRD2014. Our small group of Ambassadors is working hard to encourage everyone, everywhere (schools, homes, workplaces) to take part and get kids excited about food. Jennifer Bain in the Toronto Star called on everyone to get in the kitchen on May 16th to show a child how to cook something.
There’s been a lot of interest from schools interested in participating in the live-streamed lesson with Jamie Oliver – I’ll be taking part in that and so will Carol Harrison who has organized three classes at her local public school to participate.
Carol will also be spreading the word about Food Revolution Day on Rogers Daytime TV on May 2nd – teaching kids how to make Jamie’s Rainbow Wrap and Eggy Bread.
Carol has also organized an egg education truck to visit a local school and eight classes will visit and learn about eggs (there will be live hens!).
Ambassador Linda Matarasso is hosting an adults and kids’ cooking class on Monday May 12th at The Depanneur – she’ll be teaching them how to make “Italian from Scratch”.
Fellow Ambassador Cerys McLellan (who was a participant in one of my FRD classes in 2012 and was so inspired by the Day that she became an Ambassador!) will be working with an after-school kids activity club (YOLO) to make Rainbow Wraps with local kids, using ingredients from the East York Farmers’ Market (on their first market day of the season), sending the kids home with the wraps, the recipe and a newfound confidence that they can make healthy, tasty food from scratch!
Christine Barisheff will also be working with school children to make the wraps.
Harper Collins Canada has generously provided the Toronto Ambassadors with copies of Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks to hand out at our events as prizes – ensuring that participants will be well equipped to continue the Revolution at home after the Day!
I know that from previous years’ events, many of my students have gone on to teach their families how to make the dish they learned to cook with me. Lots of kids tasted new-to-them ingredients and some even discovered they liked them! Small changes – baby steps – but steps in the right direction to get kids food smart!
How will you get kids excited about food for #FRD2014? You don’t have to host a huge event – remember, it’s about small changes frequently, not huge changes infrequently. We’d love to see kids getting excited about food every day, not just on May 16th!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mardi Michels is a full-time teacher of French (and cooking!) at an independent boys’ school in Toronto. She blogs at eat. live. travel. write. She’s also a Food Revolution Day Ambassador for Toronto and in her spare time teaches cooking classes around Toronto. Follow her on Twitter @eatlivtravwrite and @FoodRevToronto.
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