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| (Image from www.growingchefs.ca) |
As a strong advocate of healthy, whole-food living, I was very happy to find this little gem of a place quite by accident, as I was driving one day to a playgroup with my son. Located on the corner of King and Maitland Streets, "Growing Chefs!" of London is in a beautiful old building (formerly Auberge du Petit Prince Restaurant), and they cater to educating the public (particularly our youth) about garden-to-table food, as well as how to create whole-food, easy meals that taste amazing. Their vision was to create a place and a platform that would encourage chefs, growers, and people in our community to get excited about healthy eating and growing food - together.
Growing Chefs! started in Vancouver B.C, and was founded in 2006 by Merri Schwartz, a professional pastry chef. She was tired of seeing a disconnect between professional chefs and the community when it came to food appreciation. These talented chefs held so much knowledge about wonderful, wholesome ingredients - why not share this untapped resource and start educating others about how to connect with local, seasonal, healthy ingredients? And Growing Chefs! was born.
Current executive director and founder of the London chapter, Andrew Fleet, got involved with the Growing Chefs! program and decided to bring it here to London, his hometown. According to their mission statement, Growing Chefs! "wants to get kids excited about wholesome, healthy food!" And boy, have they done a great job! Over the past decade or so, this company has provided classes to schools and the community that focus on certain themes, depending on the season that the classes are offered in. School-based educational programs teach students about where food comes from, how to grow their own food, how to take care of their produce and what they can make with their bounty. Community-based programs focus on creating different meals while highlighting certain vegetables or fruits (particularly if they are in season, and focusing on locally-sourced ingredients - yay!). There are evening cooking classes (a French-inspired class is coming up soon), meal-prep classes, family activity nights, and there is even a summer camp offered to youth ages 7-14. They provide the meals for hot lunch programs in various local schools (including a Locally Urban Mom fave: "Preschool of the Arts"). Also, if you want to give back to our community (and if you know this blogger, you'll know that I'm a BIG fan of giving back) they readily accept volunteers for various positions. To apply, and check out more info, click here.
What better way to teach your kids about healthy, delicious food than to show them how it's done by a professional in the business? Inspirational and motivational: Growing Chefs! is not just a tool to educate others, it is also a Movement. Get to know your produce, London. Health and fun awaits at Growing Chefs!
Have a great day, London.
For more information about Growing Chefs! (as well as TONS of resources and recipes). Please check out their website as well as their social media links below:
Website: http://growingchefsontario.ca/
Twitter: @GrowingChefsON
Instagram: @GrowingChefsOntario
Instagram: @GrowingChefsOntario
