Jo is the winner of the 2015 BBC Food and Farming Awards Cook of the Year
Jo worked at Redcliffe Children’s Centre from 2006-2018 where she coordinated the Food Project which encourages Young Children's Experimental Cookery. The project is very much at the heart of the nursery and works with the 120 children, all under the age of 5, who attend the Children’s Centre which is located at the foot of several high rise blocks of flats in central Bristol. The children grow and harvest vegetables at Windmill Hill City Farm and then chop and cook them in Food Sessions or eat them for lunch. Jo also developed and cooked healthy seasonal lunches for the children and has developed recipes for children under 5 to cook for BBC Food.
Every week throughout the year the children take part in Food Sessions where they can explore and experiment with food. For very young children the emphasis is on the children’s own interests rather than teaching recipes and expecting a perfect end result.
‘The potential for every child is stunted if the endpoint of learning is formulated in advance.’ Carlina Rinaldi
The Food Project allows children explore food with all of their senses as well as learning important skills for life such as chopping, whisking and rolling and eating! The Food Project began as a 5x5x5=creativity research into young children's creativity and the ethos of following children's interests and documenting their enquiries still underpins the approach of Experimental Cookery.
Redcliffe have been featured by BBC iWonder who asked the question "Should three year olds' learn to cook?" which became an interactive guide to cookery with early years children featuring films made with Allegra McEvedy at Redcliffe and recipes by Jo. To visit BBC iWonder Click here
Jo now works freelance as a Children's Food Consultant offering support and advice to settings who aim to improve their food provision either through developing their catering or developing hands on food sessions with children. For more information and to arrange a visit please use the 'contact' form.
Jo worked at Redcliffe Children’s Centre from 2006-2018 where she coordinated the Food Project which encourages Young Children's Experimental Cookery. The project is very much at the heart of the nursery and works with the 120 children, all under the age of 5, who attend the Children’s Centre which is located at the foot of several high rise blocks of flats in central Bristol. The children grow and harvest vegetables at Windmill Hill City Farm and then chop and cook them in Food Sessions or eat them for lunch. Jo also developed and cooked healthy seasonal lunches for the children and has developed recipes for children under 5 to cook for BBC Food.
Every week throughout the year the children take part in Food Sessions where they can explore and experiment with food. For very young children the emphasis is on the children’s own interests rather than teaching recipes and expecting a perfect end result.
‘The potential for every child is stunted if the endpoint of learning is formulated in advance.’ Carlina Rinaldi
The Food Project allows children explore food with all of their senses as well as learning important skills for life such as chopping, whisking and rolling and eating! The Food Project began as a 5x5x5=creativity research into young children's creativity and the ethos of following children's interests and documenting their enquiries still underpins the approach of Experimental Cookery.
Redcliffe have been featured by BBC iWonder who asked the question "Should three year olds' learn to cook?" which became an interactive guide to cookery with early years children featuring films made with Allegra McEvedy at Redcliffe and recipes by Jo. To visit BBC iWonder Click here
Jo now works freelance as a Children's Food Consultant offering support and advice to settings who aim to improve their food provision either through developing their catering or developing hands on food sessions with children. For more information and to arrange a visit please use the 'contact' form.