Interview - adopt a school volunteer Chris watson-gunby from baxter storey

We are thrilled that largely thanks to Academician, Andrew Aston, Baxter Storey has really taken the delivery of the Adopt a School programme to its heart. Over the past two years, we have trained over 40 Baxter Storey chefs and front of house employees across all the regions, and we are currently linking them all with local schools.

On 8th March, Chris Watson-Gunby, Head of Food North at Baxter Storey, delivered his first session, with the help of his colleague, Martyn Dodson. We caught up with him following his session to find out how it went.

What’s the name of your school?

St Andrews Primary school in Glossop.

How did your first session go?

The first session was great with lots of energy from the children including those passing by from other classes. The teachers were totally on board with the whole session and had a unique way of calming the children down by calling out Un, Deux, trois to which to children fell instantly quiet and spoke back a sentence in French.

How many children did you teach and what did you teach them?

We taught 45 children from 2x Year 3 groups who joined us with their tall chef hats and aprons on and of course washed hands. We taught them about the importance of hand hygiene and a clean uniform then moved on to talk about the eat well guide and the importance of a healthy balanced diet. We taught them the role that food plays in our lives and how it supports our immune system, brain function and daily activities etc.

How much prep/time does it take out of your normal work schedule?

It took about a day and half to fully prep for this, but that will get shorter as we get used to the set up.

How many sessions do you plan to run?

We will be going back to the school for another 2 sessions at least this term where we will be getting to make a salad and them maybe make a bread dough for a pizza to cook at home.

What was the best thing about the session/thing you enjoyed most?

We both enjoyed the energy from the children and the fact we are in a position to affect another human’s life and choices around sustainability and wellness which will help them make better choices around their diets and understanding of foods and where they are grown etc.

Why is food education in schools important to you?

We have a responsibility to help people understand nutrition and make healthy food choices that support their life functions.

Andrew Aston, Head of Chef Partners & Communities at Baxter Storey says:

’’Each time I deliver the Adopt a School message, I am reminded of the responsibility that each one of us has in sharing the importance of where food comes from and healthy eating.

Delivering the message in an engaging way to children and getting them involved will inspire them and give them the confidence to hopefully try a new seasonal ingredient / or item that they were unsure of.

The educational values of Adopt A School align closely with BaxterStorey, and our teams have embraced this partnership where it has fast become part of our day-to-day business, our team teams are now actively delivering regular sessions which has giving them a great sense of purpose.

Holding additional workshops in their local schools, our teams have built strong connections with their wider community. This has given great opportunities to further spread the positive message on food provenance, with introductions to local producers and getting involved in community projects”.