"We love Toddler Chef - Fiona's enthusiasm is remarkable and gets everyone excited"

Shanelle Thomson, Buckingham, mum to Bobby aged 2

 

 

We run FOOD IS FUN! classes for toddlers from the age of approximately 18 months. Children under this age bracket (i.e. siblings etc) are welcome to come along (free of charge) to watch and absorb what’s going on – and perhaps ‘help’ their brother or sister!

Our classes are for food enthusiasts and fussy eaters alike; the atmosphere is friendly, relaxed, and at no time do we exert pressure on toddlers or judgement on you.

Sessions run for approx 45 minutes and start with singing food-themed songs, which eventually the child will familiarise themselves with. This is followed by various food-based fun games (using real food and usually set to music). Fiona and our life-size popular puppet 'Ollie Onion' then encourage the children talk about what everyone’s eaten that week, giving toddlers the opportunity to express themselves and have their opinion listened to and validated.

Still with the help of Ollie, we then talk about the Food of the Week (eg. carrot, tomatoes, hummus……) including a discussion of where in the world it comes from, how it’s made or grown and the different ways in which we can eat it. The food is handed round in it's raw or whole state and fun games and challenges are incorporated. Fiona slowly introduces her techniques and formulas over the course of the term. The games used may well also involve counting, literacy, learning about colours and will help develop co-ordination. The children also learn basic French, correlating to that week's food stuff - with older children even being encouraged to learn phrasing. Fiona also encourages phonetic sounding, improving children's language and reading skills.

Our practical session starts with children washing their hands and putting on their aprons. They go on to make that week’s dish (examples might be avocado and banana stars, home-made pizza, Mediterranean Meze, sweet potato scones…).

While the children are ‘working’, Fiona will pass on more tips and advice to parents and talk one-to-one with them to find out how things are going at home. Sometimes the dish is eaten then and there, sometimes it’s saved for lunch or tea, sometimes it needs to be taken home to be cooked or heated (in which case it’s packaged and labelled up).

Finally children are encouraged to help with clearing up and cleaning down. They are then read a story with a food or farming related theme. We end our sessions with rewards and the Goodbye Song and children are applauded for their efforts (either in the group that day or at home that week).

After each session, parents and carers receive a handout with nutritional information about that week's food stuff along with a weekly tip and recipe details.