Chef cooking up interest in food

Jemima Laing
BBC News, Devon

Peter Gorton hopes it will be the start of a long-running scheme

The idea of celebrity chefs getting involved in teaching the next generation about food is nothing new.

Jamie Oliver blazed the trail but now one Michelin-starred chef in Devon is taking things further - by "adopting" a whole schoolful of children.

Peter Gorton, from the Horn of Plenty at Gulworthy, wants to take a Plymouth school under his wing for a year.

And he is inviting applications from any of the city's 103 schools who might want to be adopted by him.

The 41-year-old, himself a father-of-two, says he has been mulling over the idea for some time, inspired by the "real buzz" he has always got out of teaching children to cook.

And once the winner is selected he plans to get involved wholeheartedly in the life of the school.

"I'm not going to just pop in now and then," he said.

"I want to really get involved and make a real difference."

Naturally he will be offering advice about ingredients and nutrition but he also hopes to raise money for the winning school with special cooking events and wants to help introduce a cooking element into less obvious subjects, like history.

Typical Horn of Plenty dishes Asparagus with a saffron, tomato and tarragon risotto Pan-fried scallops with king prawn, apple and coriander trofiette pasta Roast fillet steak with a herb and pepper crust and a red wine sauce Spiced duck breast with a cherry compote and a port sauce

"For instance if they are learning about Tudors, we could perhaps look at what the Tudors ate and even try to recreate a Tudor meal."

He believes the possibilities for the scheme are boundless, envisaging getting his suppliers on board and arranging school trips to their premises.

And the end of his year at the school will be marked with a "massive" Christmas dinner.

Some children will even get to see his own kitchen at the Horn of Plenty where a typical menu can feature roast pigeon wrapped in potato on a foie gras salad with a port and red wine dressing followed by pan-fried sea bass on a bed of crushed Cornish new potatoes and a white wine saffron sauce.

He hopes this will be just the start of a long-running scheme which will see him adopt a different city school each year.

A decision will be made on the winner in the next few weeks and Gorton says it is going to be a difficult choice.

I want them to be know how much fun food can be Peter Gorton

"I've had an amazing response, I've had 40 letters so far.

"I am just looking for the school that seems to be most keen really and has the most support from the head teacher down," he said.

And Brad Pierce, Plymouth City Council's education catering manager, says he is "extremely interested" in the idea and has had discussions with the chef about his plans.

But while Gorton is clearly passionate about passing on his love of cookery to the next generation he doesn't see himself ending up at the centre of a Jamie Oliver-style crusade.

What he wants to emphasise is that fun is at the heart of his adoption concept.

"The best way for children to maintain a healthy approach to food in adult life is to teach them when they are young," he said.

"Obviously if I change the way a few children think about food then that would be amazing, but above all I just want it to be enjoyable.

"I want them to be know how much fun food can be."