Mini master chefs at Little Owls

Do you ever wonder why we hold a mini master chefs at our nurseries?.

Read our amusing story below to see why we introduced this with our little people.

The story behind our Mini Master Chefs….
Back in 2015, the managers and chef came together to develop a new Winter Menu. One of the dishes on this menu was a lovely homemade fish pie. On the first serving of any new dish manager would always have a walk around at lunch and see how the children felt about it. As I began my rounds I was delighted to see that all of our babies in Tawny Owls and all of our toddlers in Snowy Owls were thoroughly enjoying their meal.

Next came Barn Owls where I was met by some very unhappy children who on mass had refused to even try the meal. We sat down with the children who indignantly explained ‘it looks disgusting on the plate.’ Fortunately, our wonderful Chef Sandra offered the idea of creating a deconstructed fish pie for our Barn Owl children. Next time the meal was served all of our Barn Owls children much preferred the presentation of their deconstructed fish pie and it was enjoyed by all!

We learned a valuable lesson this day, we promote choice and independence throughout the entirety of our provision and our children are independent and confident as a result of this. Our children had become accustomed to expressing their thoughts and feelings within the setting and this should include the food they eat too!
So that day the concept Mini Master Chefs was developed. Now our chefs prepare any new dishes weeks in advance of the menu and our Barn Owls children critically feedback on the smell, taste and presentation of their meals. This happens twice each year enabling our chefs to adapt any proposed new dishes based on our children’s views.