Pupils put on a 'soup-er' show as part of International Chefs Day

Broccoli never tasted so good according to a group of Birmingham schoolchildren who took over one of the UCB kitchens in Summer Row to mark International Chefs Day.

Working with chef lecturer Mathew Shropshall, the Year 10 children from St John Wall Catholic School, in Handsworth, chopped, boiled and blitzed their way to making a delicious broccoli soup in line with this year’s theme, Healthy Foods for Growing Up.

It was the first time they had been in a professional kitchen but that didn’t stop them from whizzing up their ‘soup-er’ tasty broth and impressing Matthew who said it was all part of inspiring a new generation of chefs keen on taking up the profession.

“Bearing in mind that the children hadn’t even been in a school kitchen let alone anything like we have here at UCB, I thought they were wonderful,” he said.

“It’s great that we can take part in International Chefs Day, organised by the World Association of Chefs Societies and The British Culinary Federation, because it is the perfect way to show how fun it can be to make healthy things to eat and hopefully, it will help inspire a few of them to take up cookery as a career.”

Over the past few years, Worldchefs has partnered with  Nestlé Professional to teach kids around the globe about the importance of healthy eating by hosting such fun workshops.

St John Wall Catholic School teacher Debby Williamson, who accompanied the group to UCB, said the event would help the children with their course in hospitality and catering.

She said: “It’s a great opportunity for them to visit a kitchen like this. They will be learning about nutrition and different methods of cooking so this is just perfect especially as it is the first time they have done any practical work.”

Akeel Higgins was one of those who took part in the session and while he said the broccoli soup was good, he added that he’d had better.

He said: “It’s nice, but not as good as my mum’s homemade chicken soup – that’s the best!”