Eighty-eight children from White Lodge Kindergartens descended upon Jamie’s Italian VivoCity on Friday 16 May to celebrate Food Revolution Day. For those unfamiliar with the campaign, Food Revolution Day is celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s day of global action to keep cooking skills alive – this year the focus is getting kids excited about food.
Children today are the first generation predicted to live shorter lives than their parents, with obesity and diet-related illnesses rising at an alarming rate, often due to overreliance on unhealthy convenience foods. There’s never a better time to make our kids more food smart! By educating children about fresh food in an engaging way on Food Revolution Day, Jamie and his team hope that they will have a better understanding of where food comes from, how to cook it and how it affects their bodies – thus more likely to make better choices and lead healthier lives.
The kids, all aged between five and six years old, had a fun-filled, educational morning as the team at Jamie’s Italian VivoCity led them in food-related activities. They explored the beautiful textures, aromas and taste of fresh herbs at the restaurant’s terrace, guided by Rob, an urban farmer from Edible Gardens. They played games and discovered fresh vegetables of the most vibrant colours, with varieties ranging from red and yellow beetroots to fennel and celeriac. They learnt what goes into making a classic Pomodoro sauce, tasting gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, freshly grated parmesan and homemade focaccia. Jamie’s Italian’s Head Chef even demonstrated how easy it is to make fresh pasta!
At the end of the day the children brought home a pack of fresh pasta, together with a Jamie recipe card, so they can cook with their parents. After all, the aim for the day is to get kids around the world enthusiastic about cooking good food from scratch. Jamie himself broke the record for the biggest ever cooking lesson, streamed live to classrooms around the world. A total of 119 countries took part in Food Revolution Day this year, and Singapore is proud to be a part of it.
Iswandy Amir, General Manager of Jamie’s Italian VivoCity, said: “We had so much fun celebrating Food Revolution Day with the kids from White Lodge Kindergartens, and we hope that this is the start of bigger things to come for the campaign in Singapore.” Jamie’s Italian Singapore also hopes to continue working with kids and the community – the team has also worked with Tanglin Trust School, donated their time for a charity dinner at Assumption Pathway School, and has upcoming events with Nanyang Polytechnic and Westview Primary School.
