Teachers cook up a storm for OCR’s new Food GCSE

Over 80 food teachers from around the country gathered to enjoy a day of inspiring training sessions, delivered with the help of Heston Blumenthal’s team of chefs from the Fat Duck and the chefs from the Waitrose Cookery School in North London.

The training day was put together to support teachers of OCR’s new GCSE in Food Preparation and Nutrition, which will be introduced into schools in September 2016.

There was a variety of sessions and demonstrations from culinary skills like fish filleting and sauces, a cooking practical with teachers making steak tagliata or meringues, as well as sessions on sensory analysis and food provenance, all of which complement the content of OCR’s new GCSE.

Jade Watkins (pictured left), from Cirencester Kingshill School, commented: “I wanted to explore different ways of approaching the new GCSE to motivate myself and my students. Collectively, it's been a really inspiring day. The chefs are so passionate about ingredients and today has reminded me why I love my subject.”

Tim Ellis, of Nottingham Girls’ High School, said: “I came along today because I am new to teaching food and wanted to gain more experience of some of the skills involved. For me, the skills sessions on filleting fish and making sauces were the highlights. It’s great to be able to ask questions which you can't do when you just watch a video.”

Lastly, Joy Witting (pictured right) of Charters School in Sunningdale, commented: “I wanted to find out more about the specification and find lots of inspiration to take back to the classroom. The practical sessions today were great, just what I needed to keep my students enthusiastic.”

To find out more, including further regional training events and support, visit our GCSE in Food Preparation and Nutrition page, or email food@ocr.org.uk.