Cooking everything from root to tip: Young chefs plate up

Georgia Pipe, 10, and Bela Prieto, 10. Photo / Andrew Warner

An aroma of fresh food fills the air of the Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology kitchen.

Young hands are chopping vegetables and preparing plates to serve to the judges.

Eager eyes are checking the clock to find out how much time they have left.

In the far corner are 10-year-olds Bela Prieto and Georgia Pipe from Papamoa Primary School.

They are just two of eight primary school pupils competing in the regional heats of Garden to Table's Root to Tip creative cooking competition in Tauranga.

The pair have just finished plating up their Mediterranean lentil patties and raw energy power pink salad and healthy chocolate brownie. Now they are on to the dishes.

It is the third time making this meal for the Pāpāmoa cooking duo, who are finished well before the final buzzer.

Dusting off her apron, Bela says she and Georgia sourced their ingredients from the neighbour's garden, their home garden and the Tauranga Farmers Market.

Georgia says she chose their recipes because it is "healthy, it is seasonal and it has got a lot of veggies".

The 10-year-old bakes a lot but she also enjoys cooking for her family at home.

"Cooking is fun," she says.

The Root to Tip competition encourages Year 5 and 6 pupils to create recipes that incorporate resourceful use of seasonal fruit and vegetables and produce minimal waste.

Now in its second year as a national event, the competition challenges the children to create a two-course vegetable-based menu.

The idea is that the children use as much of the fruit and vegetable as possible in their recipes.

Regional heats were held across the country on August 2 and 3 and the winners of each heat will compete in the national finals at Weltec Wellington on August 23.

Garden to Table Trust Bay of Plenty regional co-ordinator Andrea Green said four teams of two from Pāpāmoa, Gate Pā and Ōropi schools were competing in the Bay of Plenty regional heat.

"The standard is very high," she said.

Celebrity chef and Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology tutor Peter Blakeway said it was more than a competition.

"What Garden to Table does in the classrooms in fantastic.

"These guys are the cream of the crop, but what they learn in classrooms is teaching them life skills including how to grow, harvest, prepare and share."

What is Garden to Table?
The Garden to Table programme is changing the way children approach and think about food. It encourages children to enthusiastically get their hands dirty and learn how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food.

What is Root to Tip?
The Root to Tip competition encourages Year 5 and 6 pupils to create recipes that incorporate resourceful use of seasonal fruit and vegetables and produce minimal waste.