A Maple Ridge chef’s recipes will help launch BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation’s Spotlight Series on Pork in April.
The BCAITC series educates students on local ingredients and how these ingredients make their way from farm to fork.
BCAITC is a non-profit charitable organization that works with educators to bring local agriculture into the schools.
Recipes created by Chef Trevor Randle, head instructor of the Maple Ridge Secondary’s culinary arts program and one of the founding BCAITC chef instructors, are meant to allow students to “fine-tune” their culinary skills.
“I’m excited to teach the culinary arts students at Maple Ridge Secondary about pork,” said Randle.
“In addition to trying delicious new recipes and developing their culinary techniques, the students will learn about the hog industry and the hard-working farmers who work to bring pork from farm to table,” he continued.
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The series will introduce educational resources to students in conjunction with the Take a Bite of BC delivery of pork and other British Columbian-grown ingredients into 55 high school culinary arts programs across the province.
Take a Bite of BC is a BCAITC program that builds awareness about the abundance of local, fresh products that are grown throughout the province. It directly impacts 6,784 Grade 11 and 12 Culinary Arts students and also helps influence an additional 59,000 students to eat locally grown dishes on a regular basis in school cafeterias.
The BC Pork Producers Association made the donation of pork for the spotlight series.
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Also included in this delivery is cheese from the BC Dairy Association, mushrooms from Highline Mushrooms West Ltd., beets from BC Fresh Vegetables Inc., and green beans from BC Frozen Foods.
“We appreciate the support of our partners to make these valuable culinary resources available to BC schools. The generous donations help students learn about locally sourced pork, and how to incorporate this farm fresh ingredient into healthy meals,” said Pat Tonn, BCAITC’s executive director.
“The experiences will help develop lifelong appreciation of food and where it comes from,” Tonn continued.
Teachers and students can use the Spotlight on Pork tools to learn about BC agriculture and farming, and free resources can be downloaded at bcaitc.ca that include: Chef Randle’s recipes – BC Meatballs with Pasta and Tomato Sauce, BC Potato and Bacon Chowder, and BC Bacon Penne Alfredo; a curriculum-linked Palatable Pig Puzzle that teaches students about the farm; and a Grow BC interactive GIS map and story resource to learn more about pork.
Previous Spotlight Series include a feature on duck, eggs, cranberries and apples.
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