We work with chefs and hospitality professionals who are keen to share their knowledge and passion for food with the next generation, training them to deliver our high-quality, much-loved food education programme before matching them with local schools.

Our classroom sessions are proven to enhance the Design Technology curriculum in primary schools, support food teaching in secondary schools and offer inspiring career insights to participants of all ages. At our core, we strive to teach the basics of cookery without the need for cooking facilities, which many schools and home settings lack. Add-on experiences, such as our Chef on the Farm programme, offer students the opportunity to extend their learning beyond the school walls.

Since launching Adopt a School in 1990, our core food education programme has benefited five generations of primary school-age children by encouraging healthy eating habits, cultivating an enthusiasm for food and cooking, and embedding vital messages around food provenance and sustainability.

To find out how the programme works in schools, and to request an Adopt a School Chef for your own setting, please click here.

We are always looking for more volunteer chefs! To ensure the quality of the programme, we do require every hospitality professional wishing to become an Adopt a School ‘Chef’ to complete essential volunteer training with us. As part of the charity’s ongoing digital transformation, we are currently in the process of transitioning to on-demand training resources, to be accessed by volunteers online and followed up “live” in schools where real-life sessions are taking place. For more information, please get in touch with our office on 020 8673 6300 or email adoptaschool@raoca.org.uk.