HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Chef explaining to a group of children in a professional kitchen environment.

A chef with tattoos on his arm is teaching two young children how to mix ingredients in a bowl. One child is wearing an apron and the other is wearing a paper chef hat with colorful letters. They are in a kitchen setting.

A group of children outdoors wearing chef hats and aprons, standing on grass with trees in the background, raising their hands and smiling. An adult stands to the side.

SCHOOLS:

Adopt a School relies on professional chefs and hospitality professionals volunteering their time to deliver the programme in schools. A volunteer typically delivers three sessions across an academic year to a single year group, ranging from taste and sensory to practical cookery, bread making and front of house.

There are two options for schools to get involved:

1) The most affordable option is to be adopted by a volunteer. Our volunteer chefs are incredibly generous in offering their time to schools free of charge. We do, however, ask that each school makes a contribution towards the running of the programme, typically £3 per child per year. This equates to just £1 per child per session and helps cover the charity’s direct costs, such as a hat and apron for each child.

2) Where a volunteer chef is not available or your school would like a visit sooner, we may be able to provide sessions delivered by one of our Adopt a School Regional Chefs. For this option, a school can expect to pay up to £3 per child per session. This contribution helps cover additional programme costs including planning, preparation and ingredients for each session; a hat and apron for each child; travel expenses; cooking equipment and equipment maintenance.

Discounts may be available to smaller schools or to those with an above average percentage of children who are eligible for free school meals.

To express your interest in delivering the Adopt a School programme at your school, please submit your details at this link.

INDUSTRY:

While we reach some 15,000 children every year, there is no doubt that we need to reach more. But we can’t do this alone. With over 4.5 million primary school children in England alone, we need the industry to come together to make a greater difference.

Why Adopt a School?

Inspire and educate the next generation
Sow the seed of hospitality
Give something back
Support continued professional & personal development
Fulfil Corporate Social Responsibility commitment

“Once upon a time complete fulfilment came simply from cooking what others wanted. Then it came through cooking what I wanted. Thankfully not too long afterwards it came through cooking what the customer wanted. Now it comes through all of this but most importantly of all my sense of professional worth comes from the action of giving back to an industry that has done me so proud. Adopt a School is about as worthy a cause for my time as any.”

— Phil Howard, Chef Proprietor, Elystan Street

How to get involved:

Attend or nominate a colleague (chef or front of house) to attend an Adopt a School training session or arrange exclusive training at your workplace to learn how to deliver food education to a local primary school. Our trainer has over 17 years’ experience working in schools and we provide ongoing support to your team, linking them with local schools. Trained employees can then deliver the Adopt a School programme under the banner of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts’ Adopt a School Trust.