James serves school a prize

Feb 26 2009 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

CELEBRITY chef James Martin cooked up some tasty dishes when he visited St Bernadette’s Primary School in Motherwell last week.

The visit was a result of the school picking up first prize in the Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS) Calendar competition.

Erin Cronin, a pupil at the school, scooped the prize as her design highlighted the importance of healthy eating and physical activity.

The competition invited all primary schools across Scotland to design posters promoting either good food hygiene, healthy eating or food allergy awareness.

The agency was delighted to receive over 2200 entries from 94 primary schools.

The overall standard of the designs was excellent, however, the judging panel felt that Erin's design put across the message of the benefits of a healthy diet and physical activity exceptionally well.

James gave a cookery demonstration to pupils, teachers and families, and presented a framed print of the winning design to Erin as part of her prize.

He said: "I was delighted to visit the school to celebrate its success and hope the demonstration will encourage more youngsters to become involved in preparing healthy meals at home.

“It's also important that young people learn that doing simple things like washing your hands thoroughly and making sure food is properly cooked can make a huge difference in helping to prevent food poisoning."

In addition to the framed print, primary five pupil Erin was also awarded £300 and her school received £1000 to spend on a FSA Scotland approved project.