Hamilton's Rhode Street School looks set to be the largest participant in New Zealand in a global Food Revolution Day next Friday.
The day is the brainchild of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and is intended as a global day of action to keep cooking skills alive.
The school's participation in Food Revolution Day is part of a wider plan: to get Jamie Oliver to visit the school later this year.
Oliver is set to open a restaurant in Auckland in October and the school hopes to secure a visit from the man himself.
Food Revolution ambassador Jimmy Boswell said Rhode Street School holds all of the values in an established model that Oliver promotes.
Rhode Street School principal Shane Ngatai says the day is a great fit for the school which actively practices sustainable food production.
The school, recogised nationwide for its innovative teaching methods and sustainable practices, is home to a kitchen garden complete with chickens and a wood-fired pizza oven, a commercial teaching kitchen, tunnel house and hydroponics centre, an organic orchard, and the Kai Time student cafe.
The school came to be involved after Mr Boswell got in touch with Mr Ngatai. Mr Boswell, based in Matangi, is a chef, cookbook author, TV presenter, food stylist, and food writer. He is one of nine Food Revolution ambassadors in New Zealand.
"Jimmy approached us because he heard about the things we're doing here," said Mr Ngatai. "He was hosting a cooking class in Murupara of all places and someone asked him if he'd heard of Rhode Street School."
The men came up with a concept for the day - Maori meets Mediteranean - which has formed the basis for the menu. It is a nod to Mr Boswell's Sicilian heritage and next month's Matariki (Maori New Year) .
Next Thursday, in preparation for Food Revolution Day on the Friday, students will create and cook shoulders of pork in a hangi-style oven which will form the basis of a pulled pork ragu. Then on the Friday, students, with the help of Mr Ngatai (himself a former chef) and Mr Boswell, will prepare a tomato penne pasta infused with horopito and kawakawa and rewarewa focaccia for about 300 students, staff and community members. "Because we are an EnviroSchool, we'll use recyclable and biodegradable plates and cutlery and any food scraps will go into the worm farms ... so we're showing the complete cycle to the students," said Mr Ngatai.
The school's efforts will be videoed and upload to YouTube where they will invite Jamie Oliver to view the link and ask for his feedback.
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution aim is to get kids excited about food.
"We need every child to understand where food comes from, how to cook it, and how it affects their body. This is about setting kids up with the knowledge they need to make better food choices for life.
"It's about celebrating the importance of cooking good food from scratch and raising awareness of how it impacts our health and happiness - we believe that everyone should know about food and it starts with getting kids food smart, making cooking fun and inspiring a love of food that will last a lifetime."
Food Revolution Day is a campaign by the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation in the UK and USA, and The Good Foundation in Australia. To date, 74 countries have taken part and over 900 ambassadors are championing our cause worldwide.
San Remo has given the school 100kg of dried pasta and Pokeno Bacon supplied the pork shoulder roasts at a reduced price.