Culinary educational platform Prept have teamed up with a host of Michelin-starred chefs, to try and help teach children about the benefits of healthier eating.
One in five 10 to 11-year-olds are classed as obese in the UK, with those living in deprived areas twice as likely to be overweight as those in more affluent areas.
This comes amid the backdrop of the government scrapping a £5million plan to fund a ‘school cooking revolution’ less than two years after it was unveiled.
Previously known as Table Talk Foundation, founded in 2020 and based in Sussex, Prept has now rebranded, unveiling its new name at an event at Hide Restaurant in London on Monday evening.
Among the chef ambassadors supporting the cause are Tom Shepherd, Matt Abe, Adam Byatt, Tom Aikens, Rob Aikens and Lisa Goodwin-Allen.
The aim of the charity is to build a solid food foundation for school children across the UK by working with schools to deliver food education classes.
The primary school programme introduces kids to tastes, skills and hospitality, helping them to learn fundamental life skills and develop healthy eating habits.
The secondary school programme supercharges the school curriculum with their chefs inspiring students to cook and offering a real pathway into the diverse world of hospitality.
In 2022, the foundation raised funds to build a training kitchen within Plumpton College, Lewes, to ensure that schools have access to catering equipment and introduce the farm-to-fork concept from a working dairy farm.
Prept will help equip kids with the life-long skill of cooking, creating memories at home in the kitchen and fostering healthy relationships with food. Educating young talent is crucial in the development and long-term future of the food industry and hospitality as a whole.
Rob Aikens said: “Prept is so important to our industry. To be able to share our knowledge and experiences and to introduce the next culinary generation is something that we are so passionate about and is a true gift for us all to share.
“We are honoured and fortunate to play a role in their future and to be a part of this event. We are so excited to watch the next generation grow and develop and we very much look forward to the future together.”
Prept co-founder Jessica Aggarwal added: “It’s amazing to be able to showcase our rebrand to an audience who have supported us so much in the last three years.
“Prept reflects the energy and passion the team have for getting young people inspired by food and hospitality. It looks to the future and enables us to teach more children fundamental skills, and we are lucky enough to be supported by some of the country’s best chefs and partners such as Thomas Franks, the leading contract catering company, who are inspiring a whole new generation to cook.”
(Pictures: tom-rich.co.uk)
