Celebrity chefs back return of “Stir up Sunday”

High profile chefs including Jamie Oliver, Richard Fox, Raymond Blanc and Phil Vickery are joining forces with The Year of Food and Farming campaign to encourage children to get involved with festive food this Christmas.

The campaign aims to give children the opportunity to take part in "stir up Sunday" – the last Sunday that festive puddings and dishes are traditionally made and prepared before Christmas.

Almost half of children never get involved with making Christmas dinner, and six in ten have no experience of making a Christmas pudding.

One in five of young people never help prepare a family meal of any description.

Jamie Oliver, who has campaigned publicly for kids to cook more, said: "Many of the famous chefs I know started experimenting when they were small – they've gone from preparing the odd meal or pudding, to serving up entire restaurants and cookbooks. Not every child will grow up to be a gourmet, but it's vital that every single young person has a taste of where their food comes from."

Research also suggests that the more contact children have with the ingredients behind their meals, the more they can be persuaded to take an interest in their diets.

Losing out on hands-on experiences in the kitchen means children now struggle with even basic food facts, with only a quarter of children realising that Brussels sprouts are a typical winter vegetable in England, with just a third associating them with the Spring.

Michelin-starred chef, Raymond Blanc, commented: "Getting kids to understand where their food comes from is one of the greatest favours we can do for our young, to help them establish lifelong patterns of good eating habits. So I salute the Year of Food and Farming for helping our children connect with the countryside."

The research was carried out by EDComs, surveying 1,000 children aged between 8-13 across England in July.

Words: Maria Bracken

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