By Esha Bijani

Food technology teaches students essential life skills useful for university and adulthood 

Cynics may ask if there is actually value in food technology classes or is it just a subject students take to get away from traditional academic work? Learning food technology in school can in fact help students learn about basic and advanced cooking skills, which will greatly benefit them in the future. 

In food science and technology classes, students can learn how to prepare basic meals on their own, thus developing their independence and providing them with ways on how to create nutritious food. Since Renaissance College also has a brand new kitchen, now seems a perfect opportunity to implement food technology in the RCHK curriculum. On the other hand, we are also going through a pandemic so the practical work for food technology is very limiting as it may risk student’s health and safety. 

Students are taught recipes and cooking techniques which they can use in their everyday life, whether it be at home or university. 

“Food technology has helped me with cooking meals at home for my family, I can now make full meals for them without asking for help which has helped me be a lot more independent,” says Krisha Changani, a Year 11 food technology student at King George V, a sister ESF school.

Learning about how to create proper meals when students are young is crucial because it can build their independence and teach them how to stop relying on others. In Hong Kong, it is common to have a helper to cook students food, but when they go to university, they will no longer have this support. Providing them resources at a young age to teach them how to cook will ensure that they can easily create meals without having to rely on buying takeout food which is not as nutritious and healthy. 

As teenagers, we gravitate towards junk food over healthy food, hence why it is important to learn how to create easy and nutritious meals. 

“An understanding of nutrition helps with food choice and making healthy choices so that we can be and stay healthy,” says Ms Sue Leatham, a food technology teacher at KGV. 

Students normally tend to go for junk food because they are normally high in salt, sugar, and fat which sounds a lot better than eating some boiled broccoli, admittedly even to me. By introducing food technology classes, it will teach students that they can make healthy food taste good. Healthier options are perceived as tasting worse than their counterparts but in reality, it is just not being prepared well. If we provide the necessary resources for students to learn more about the correct techniques to create healthy meals for themselves, they will be able to improve their diets. 

With renovation of the kitchen space at the now complete, we must utilise this new space well by giving it a purpose as that was done poorly with the old kitchen. 

“The school decided that we could make better use of this kitchen space and offer additional programs for the students to explore,” says Ms Phoebe King, a design technology teacher at RCHK who had worked on renovating the kitchen space. 

I think that the old kitchen space was poorly designed ergonomically and structurally which meant that it could not be used to its full potential. Now that the school has a new refined space for students to work in, we must ensure the same cycle does not repeat itself and instead use the space more effectively. 

There is still an evident obstacle that will hold back the possibility of offering food technology in RCHK which is the current global pandemic. As it is still uncertain when COVID-19 will end, it is unlikely that practical food technology lessons will be introduced to the curriculum anytime soon. 

There is no way to tell when the virus will end so teachers will not be able to conduct practical lessons for food technology classes as it would pose a risk to students’ health and safety. I believe that learning how to cook by merely reading about it won’t be as beneficial as actively participating in projects developing students’ abilities, however, it can still be helpful for understanding basic knowledge about cooking. They can use the information learnt through the subject and continue to develop their skills when they go off to university and throughout their adult life. 

Ultimately, food science and technology will help students gain a better understanding of cooking techniques and nutrition which can be used in the future. It is appropriate that we implement a food technology subject into our curriculum in the near future, whether it be for DP students or all secondary students.