A real taste of Food Design learning

Along with inspiring the guests and giving them a taste of culinary arts studies at OP, the school students and their teachers were treated to a special dinner cooked by a group of our year one ākonga.

“It’s a chance to showcase our students’ work - our students’ kai - while giving them a real-world experience of serving food to customers in our Manaaki restaurant,” says senior lecturer Hayley Dodd.

As the year one programmes include a lot of individual project-based learning, most of the dishes served up by the OP students were their own individual creations and dish designs.

“We do need guests to feed,” says Hayley.

“And so part of why we have a dinner event like this is that we can invite some local high school ākonga and their kaiako to come along and get a bit of a taste of what the Bachelor of Culinary Arts is about, and also our Diploma of Culinary Practice.”

It’s also an opportunity to thank some of the valued local suppliers who’ve provided some of the ingredients or contributed to the course in some way.

The two-night event is an enjoyable challenge for the first years, many who’ve spent a month developing and refining their own recipes.

“We’re cooking them a meal using conscious cookery, zero waste, or vegan dishes," says first year BCA student Austin McLew.

Abheynoor Singh was making a vegan spanakopita, with almond feta and tzatziki sauce using a cashew yoghurt.

“I would say to the high schoolers, this is a really good course and you get to learn a lot," he says.

Diploma of Culinary Practice student Kannha Lu was enjoying sharing her passion with the high schoolers.

“We hope to send them away with full bellies and maybe a dish to cook, because we’re handing out our recipes as well," she says.

And the young diners appreciated the special effort.

“The food looks really good,” admitted year 12 Waitaki Girls High student Jenna Mavor.

“Not something I would personally have normally, but getting to try new stuff is exciting.”

“I take Food studies at school so it’s definitely an interest and option up there for me.”

Jessie Lindale, a year 12 student at Blue Mountain College, is also considering culinary as a possible career down the track.

“Cooking is a passion or hobby of mine. It sounds like a fun challenge.”

Hayley says they had some really good engagement with the local high school ākonga, including some who are already doing our trades academy (OSTC) programme.

“We have a chat about what future pathways could look like for them at the Food Design Institute.”

“And it’s great to host guests from out of town schools that we don’t get to connect with as much, including South Otago, Waitaki Girls, and Blue Mountain College.”