Tayside school pupils have enjoyed the first taste of a new project aimed at getting more seafood in schools.
Celebrity chef Nick Nairn was among those leading the charge for the Seafood in Schools project, which kicked off its nationwide programme in Brechin High School on Wednesday.
The initiative, which has been funded by the Scottish Government, SSPO, the Scottish Fishermen’s Trust and Seafish, with support from both the fishing and aquaculture industry, brings together fish experts and healthy eating and living specialists to show pupils and their families that fish is a fantastic food source and is readily available throughout the country.
Pupils were provided with a comprehensive and practical explanation of the benefits of seafood through a batch of workshops and practical exercises.
The school assembly hall hosted four different stalls where information was provided on different types of fish and where they can be found. Further stalls gave pupils the opportunity to taste different kinds of seafood, with additional bays providing key information on why fish and seafood is so healthy.
Outside the school pupils got to work up a sweat on an exercise bike to see how long it takes for calories to be burned, addressing the huge difference between the content and quality of fresh fish and processed food.
Nairn also hosted a cookery class where he showed children how to create a spicy fish soup from scratch and pulled no punches about his desire to see more seafood in school.
”There are myriad reasons as to why there should be more seafood in schools,” he said. ”We have got the fish in the waters of Scotland but there’s a real psychological problem with handling fish. Nearly everyone overcooks fish and we need to learn how to cook fish properly.
”This event was one small thing and it’s a fantastic initiative but it’s not enough. This is the age that we need to change our children’s relationship with food so that they grow up buying real food and they appreciate food.
”The pupils will go away buzzing from this but the provision of food education in schools is massively under-funded and it’s part of a much bigger picture. We need to prioritise food and the provision of food education.”
Organiser of the event Nicki Holmyard said the programme is aimed at trying to show children every step of the process in taking fish from the sea to the plate.
”I have been absolutely delighted with the response of the children,” said Nicki. ”It’s an all-encompassing approach giving the pupils examples that they can understand to help them take in the message.”