Kids in the kitchen

By Tania Martin
KALLISTA Primary School’s budding master chefs will soon be able to whip up a storm in their state-of-the-art $115,000 kitchen.
The project all started in 2006 when the school was chosen to take part in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Project.
The project aims to promote the link between healthy living and cooking from the kitchen to the garden.
For the past two years the school has been going from strength to strength with its garden but struggling to get cash for a kitchen.
Principal Barbara Rose said to install a brand new kitchen would has cost in excess of $300,000.
“We just couldn’t justify spending that much, so we got what we could,” Ms Rose said.
But now with the help of recent $75,000 cash Federal Government cash boost, $30,000 from fund-raising and $10,000 from the Bendigo Community Bank the kitchen will soon be a reality.
The school has purchased two old classrooms from Catholic education to transform into a kitchen and dining room.
The rooms cost $50,000 and will now be fitted out with workbenches, ovens and rangehoods.
Ms Rose said classes would be divided into four or five groups and all students would have the chance to cook different meals.
Until now the students have been cooking in the school’s canteen and carrying the food to the multi-purpose room.
“It’s been hard to supervise them and you never know if the food is going to be hot or cold by the time it gets there,” Ms Rose said.
Ms Rose said the kitchen would not just be for the kids, but also for the local community to use.
“Finally we are getting somewhere, it’s very exciting,” she said.