One of the many untold stories from the last few difficult years was the visit to the school last summer by Charly’s brother Jean-Jacques. Jean-Jacques is the director of operations at Sketch, of one of London’s busiest, best and definitely most beautiful restaurants.
He took time out of his very hectic schedule however, to visit the school and to bring some fun and inspiration to the school kitchen. He also brought with him a donation of much needed kitchen equipment. His suitcase of sieves, chopping boards, knifes, colanders, ladles, spatulas and much much more was a significant upgrade to our rather basic kitchen equipment (a wooden stick or two and a couple of rubbish knifes).

Lions getting busy in the kitchen
It didn’t end there though, he also spent 4 days working in the kitchen. Teaching the children about food and how to prepare it, as well as developing a new menu that would be interesting, nutritious and within our budget.
Unlike Jamie Oliver, he didn’t have the benefit of a modern kitchen to perform his school food miracles in; all his meals were cooked over an open wood fire, the water didn’t always come out of a tap and, even when it did, it was a strange colour!

JJ and his trainees serving up lunch
His visit, though short, had a big impact on the school and especially on the older kids. He opened their minds to a different way of thinking about food and left behind the tools to help them practice new ways of preparing food.
Helping the children learn about food, and how to prepare meals that are both nutritious and enjoyable, will make a life long difference to the health and well-being of both them and their families.
This was just a beginning though, and we are keen to welcome any other culinary adventurers who would like to come and spend some time helping our kitchen staff, and our kids, to develop new skills and ideas. Who’s up for it?

JJ serving watermelon for pudding.