Food and Cooking Skills Education

Food and Cooking Skills Education (FCSE) is a complex mix of policy and practicality, educational theory and pedagogy, classroom and government policy. This book shows how FCSE has been at the centre of a tussle between education and policy for decades.

It reviews how FCSE has grappled with various significant issues of concern that threaten to marginalise it and pose problems for educational practicalities, as expectations are increased, but resources are squeezed. It assesses the debate about the significance and importance of acquiring practical food and cooking skills in a society where the purchase of ready-made food has become commonplace, and public knowledge of where our food comes from is noticeably lacking. This has contributed to the escalating incidence of diet-related diseases and the attendant cost to society, and threatened environmental sustainability. In turn, governments have reacted by proposals to make practical cooking skills a statutory National Curriculum subject as part of the armoury for tackling such costs.

Based on detailed research conducted across England and Wales, as well as comparisons with thirty-five other countries or states, the author makes recommendations for policy to manage this challenge facing contemporary society.

"This should be essential reading for anyone involved in food education. Engaging and accessible, it explores and maps the terrain of food education, providing historical context as well as comparative perspectives and insights with other countries. Based on thorough research as well as detailed analysis of discourse conducted over a period of ten years, this is an incredibly important piece of work that concludes with clear recommendations regarding where food education in the UK should go from here." - Rick Jackman, Publisher of textbooks on food and cookery for UK schools and colleges

"One of the most important questions a country can ask of itself is how does it teach its people to cook. That is the theme of this book which explores the role of formal culinary education in a supposedly informal era. Fascinating and rewarding, it ranges widely, drawing on the author?s own teaching and research experience, but always returning to its core theme. It offers a really useful summary of the potential rationales for cooking education. We are left with a richer understanding of how, at the societal level, policy-makers need to consider whether, how, by whom and when cooking skills are imparted." - Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, City, University of London, UK