Chef wants cookery lessons for young to battle obesity

Children should be taught to cook from a young age as part of the solution to the growing obesity problem, a top chef said today.

Celebrity chef Neven Maguire said young people could be enticed to appreciate healthy nutritional food through involvement in the kitchen.

“They should be brought into the kitchen, and given activities to get them involved in helping,” he said, adding it would make them interested and keen to eat wholesome meals.

With one in eight Irish people, and 8% of children, obese, Maguire said more could be done to cultivate better eating habits among children in school.

“I do think you could go at it from a younger age, with different tastings of food for younger children,” the 32-year-old award winning chef said.

“I think to be able to look well and healthy you have to appreciate the ingredients. They are at an age where they are very pernickety, they are watching TV and picking up different things.”

Maguire, who owns and runs the MacNean restaurant in Blacklion, Co Cavan, said he was considering opening a cookery school over the next couple of years with classes for children and families. He said the aim of the classes would be to introduce them to simple ways to cook healthy meals.

The Health Department said figures show the nation has grown steadily heavier with a 30% increase in reported obesity levels over the last four years, and more than 300,000 children overweight or obese in Ireland alone.

The in-depth report from the National Taskforce on Obesity, which was handed over to the Government during the summer, contained 93 recommendations including forming an industry-wide policy on the contents of vending machines in post-primary schools.

“Parents should take a look at the diet, what children are eating, such as a good breakfast of fruit juice, muesli or porridge, which is the best thing they could eat. If they want them to eat fruit rather than sweets, and they don’t like it, they can use the fruit to make a smoothie,” the chef recommended.

Maguire said people had far less time to spend cooking with many people working far more hectic hours than a decade ago.

But he said people could cook a simple healthy meal within 25 minutes and avoid the often high fat or salt content of ready prepared meals or traditional take-away food.

The chef, who has achieved the Natural Food Award for 2006 for his use of high-quality and local produce, urged people to consider organic and fresh food where possible.

Maguire said people’s attitude towards food was changing with many keen to know the origins of their meat, vegetables or dairy products.

“People definitely are very aware. What I started doing in my restaurant, was I started name checking all my suppliers, meat, chicken, eggs and vegetables, on my menu,” he said.

The chef said more restaurants and other food outlets should also instil more confidence in their food by letting people know the origins of the ingredients.