Our Year 1 students participated in a mini version of MasterChef in the last week of Term 2.
To compete in this MasterChef project, children had to gain some background knowledge about food first. We learnt about different food groups, where most foods are grown and the benefits of healthy eating. We explored the features of procedural writing and looked at recipes and lists to understand their purposes. From there, students had to select dishes that they would like to cook themselves at school. A day would be planned where students would cook in teams with minimal adult assistance. They read different cookbooks and got together in small groups to plan their dishes. Students studied their recipes thoroughly, allocating tasks to their team members and acting the steps out. They organised the ingredients they were responsible for and everyone could not wait to begin.
After the extensive preparation for the competition day, we were finally ready!
All teams had 90 minutes to cook. They were to carefully follow each instruction in the recipe by themselves, and only ask for help when using a hot source. We had 7 teams including those making Chicken Kebabs, Big Pizza, Cheese Snacks, Marshmallow Dip Sticks, Banana Surprise, Freckle Faces and Brownies. All the students were extremely excited when they arrived at school in the morning. They just couldn’t wait to begin cooking and it was so hard to calm down and stay focused!
We got into the kitchen after recess. Ready, steady, cook! And off each team went.
They all worked very hard and very well together at their stations, following each step of the recipes thoroughly, measuring the right amount of ingredients they needed and cutting fruits, vegetables and meat. Some children were busy rolling dough, some were busy flipping pancakes and some were busy blending mixtures. The chicken kebab group were to be applauded because the chicken breast was the most challenging ingredient to cut.
Time passed very quickly. With only 20 minutes left in the competition, the Big Pizza team still had pizza dough to be baked in the oven. Could they make it in time?! Whew, they did! The pizza group managed to get their last pizza in the oven just in time.
Mrs Pike and Mr van der Kooij sat at the judging table ready to taste the teams’ dishes. Each team enthusiastically presented their dish to the judges. The judges tasted and deliberated. It was a hard decision for them as each team worked very well together to make their dish taste delicious.
Which team will win? There was much anticipation in the room…
…and the winning dish went to the Big Pizza team!
Everyone cheered, encouraging words were exchanged, some were a little disappointed but quickly recovered. The students all shared the food together and celebrated with a party. It was a very good day indeed!
