Teenagers taste food-manufacturing careers in school

Citation

(2008), "Teenagers taste food-manufacturing careers in school", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 38 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2008.01738aab.004

Teenagers taste food-manufacturing careers in school

Teenagers taste food-manufacturing careers in school

Four teenage girls have earned an award for devising a new food product, as part of a pioneering initiative to promote better understanding of food manufacturing in schools.

The students from East Bridgwater Community School, in Somerset, devised a fruit and chocolate dessert, and were crowned the winners of the county's Schools Food and Drink Challenge, which was organised by the employer group South West Food and Drink Skills Network, with funding from the South West of England Regional Development Agency.

Already successful in Scotland for several years, the Schools Food and Drink Challenge has run for two years in Somerset, and plans are now being developed to try to broaden the competition to schools throughout the South West, hopefully starting in September.

Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, the food and drink sector skills council for the UK, said: "The work undertaken by everyone involved in the South West region is to be applauded, and I hope their lead will now be followed in other regions. This is a prime example of how employers can work together, with support from their regional development agency, to help young people get a taste of some of the exciting career possibilities in food and drink manufacturing".

In Somerset, students were set the task of working with Frome-based dessert company Delicious Moments to create an entirely new product for their range. Competitors were required to oversee all aspects of creating the product, from choosing ingredients and tasting the prototypes, through to designing the packaging. Teams from competing schools battled it out to impress a panel of judges who included Toni Smith from the Food Standards Agency, and local food industry chiefs.

Jenny Harding, head of technology at the winning school said: "The students have enjoyed the challenge from start to finish, and are rightly very proud of their product and their achievement. We can't wait to start preparing for next year".

Denise Blackmore, food and drink adviser at the South West of England Regional Development Agency said: "This is an excellent way for students to gain skills and to learn about an important industry for Somerset. We hope it inspires a new generation of food and drink producers for the region".