COOKING UP A STORM: OUR SJB BOARDERS TAKE CONTROL IN THE KITCHEN
Nathaniel (Year 8) served up a delicious feast for a group of our boarders and the Hutchinson-Lawson family this week
Relationships are at the heart of the St John’s Beaumont boarding community. Our Head of Boarding, Mr Shaun Hutchinson Laws, his wife, Monique, and their two children welcome our boarders with open arms, embracing them as part of their extended family.
This week our boarders were invited into their home, which is just a stones throw away from the main school building, to cook the boarding family dinner. Nathaniel was designated as head chef. Putting his culinary skills to the test, he whipped up a delicious meal for the boys.
We believe teaching our boys to cook during their time at St John’s is imperative for their development. It enables them to have an understanding and appreciation our catering team and the time it requires to prepare their weekly meals. Cooking aids in the development of their self-confidence and self-gratification; they feel accomplished when they produce a tasty meal. It is a life skill which they will carry with them for life, a skill that enables them to embrace new ingredients and cultures as they experiment with recipes.
Mr Hutchinson-Lawson explained that the boys thoroughly enjoyed their evening and he looks forward to inviting more boys over in the future.
Head Chef, Nathaniel, has written about his experience:
“On Tuesday night, Liam, Nathaniel, Adam and Frankie went over to the Romero House to cook a meal together. We cooked instant noodles, Chinese-style lettuce, spring rolls and made an apple crumble for dessert. It was very fun to cook the dishes, and the dishes looked great and turned out amazingly, especially the lettuce which was really delicious. The most fun part was making the dough for the apple crumble, it was really fun to make even though it took quite a while. It was a bit underbaked though. We’re very grateful for this amazing opportunity and we would definitely want to try this again.”
Liam, who was one of the boarders who was invited to enjoy Nathaniel’s cooking, also wrote:
“On Tuesday night, Liam, Adam, Nathaniel and Richard, were fortunate enough to go to Mr and Mrs Hutch’s house to cook to dinner for them and the rest of their family. It was a great experience as it allowed us to cook delicious food Which varied from Chinese noodle soup to apple crumble. the apple crumble was not a complete success in appearance but tasted nice anyway. this was an amazing opportunity and was really fun (especially spreading out the dough on the apple crumble.) I would definitely do this again I ever got the opportunity again. Thankyou Mr and Mrs Hutch for hosting us last night.”
