Curiosity
We love it when children ask questions, get stuck in, and try something new. Whether it’s tasting a new flavour or mixing ingredients they’ve never used before, curiosity is where all the magic starts.

Independence
We give children the space to have a go, make decisions, and take ownership of what they’re doing. Cooking is a life skill, and these small steps help build independence that goes far beyond the kitchen.

Pride
There’s nothing quite like that moment when they step back and see what they’ve created.

Respect
We talk about respecting other people’s food choices, cultures, and religions, as well as understanding that it’s okay not to like everything. We also shine a light on where food comes from, like the farmers who grow it and encourage kindness and teamwork in the kitchen too.

Joy
Most importantly, it’s fun. There’s laughter, a bit of mess, and lots of proud smiles.

Confidence
From learning how to use tools safely to mastering a new recipe, confidence builds quickly in the kitchen.

The post More Than Cooking: Growing Skills for Life, Our Values appeared first on Scran Food.

I could have taken the lunches. It would’ve saved me time making a packed lunch, saved a bit of money too. But the thing is, I had something a lot of the kids didn’t. Choice.

For so many of them, there wasn’t any real choice about what they ate. In a school where a high number of students were on free school meals, that lunch wasn’t just a meal, it may have been their only meal of the day.

I used to chat with a colleague all the time about the state of the food, just thinking… how is this okay? Every week it was the same beige, bland stuff on repeat. Nothing fresh, nothing exciting. I even asked my form one day what they’d want to see in the canteen, and they came up with loads of ideas. They wanted better food! But nothing really changed while I was there.

And don’t even get me started on the contradictions… kids weren’t allowed to bring in fizzy drinks—no Lucozade, no Coke, all that banned. But then you’d walk into the canteen and… they’re selling fizzy drinks anyway?? Make it make sense.

And this isn’t even a new problem. I remember watching Jamie Oliver and the Turkey Twizzler tales 25 years ago. One of the most insane facts to come from that documentary was ‘pet food actually had clearer nutritional standards than school meals did’ Not that pet food was somehow “better,” but at least it had rules about what had to go into it. Meanwhile, what we were serving kids?

Hopefully with the new legislation there will be some significant changes happening in schools and health is made a priority instead of learning about trigonometry.

I’ll leave that rant for another day.

The post The Thing My Students Didn’t Have: Choice appeared first on Scran Food.

We ran three different cooking workshops here in Thornton, Lancashire, and every class was full of creativity and a bit of chaos!

If you’ve been looking for kids cooking classes near Blackpool or Thornton, this is exactly what we’ve been up to…

K-pop Demon Hunters: Kimbap & Dumplings

We made kimbap and dumplings completely from scratch, and it was all about trying something new. It’s always nice seeing kids build confidence with foods they’ve never tried before.

Bunny-Shaped Pizza Workshop

From mixing and kneading the dough to shaping their own bunny pizzas, this class was all about getting hands involved and having fun with it.

Easter Pasta Workshop

Three little chefs made everything from scratch, fresh pasta, tomato sauce, and a spinach & ricotta filling. We used Easter cutters, plus a few random Halloween and Christmas ones!

If you’re looking for fun, hands-on kids activities in Thornton, Lancashire or near Blackpool, our cooking workshops run throughout the year. Check out the workshop section on our website.

The post Easter Holiday Cooking Classes for Kids in Thornton, Lancashire appeared first on Scran Food.

1. Classes lead by a qualified teacher

Hi, I’m Jess! I’ve been a qualified teacher in Lancashire for the past 11 years. I originally taught art and graphics, but when a food teaching role came up, I gave it a go and absolutely loved it! I hold a DBS, a safeguarding certificate, first aid training, and a Level 2 Health & Hygiene certificate. Our kitchen proudly holds a 5-star food rating.

2. Life skills

I focus on delivering real life skills, we practise independence confidence, basic maths and reading while following instructions. But at the same time having lots of fun!

3. Opportunity to try new food

I know kid’s can be fussy (I could list a whole range of things I didn’t eat until later on in life!), there’s no pressure just gentle encouragement for fussy or hesitant eaters. Children are more likely to try new foods they have made themselves.

4. Small groups

Our classes are held in our home kitchen which means we have a maximum of 6 children on a workshop. We keep classes small so every child is supported and encouraged.

5. Screen free

The workshops are screen free, hands on and sometimes a little messy!

Join us for our workshops based in Thornton, Lancashire

#kidscooking #cookingclasseslancashire #cookingclassesblackpool #cookingclasseswyre #cookingclassesthornton #kidscookingclasses #cookingworkshopsforkids #kidscookingworkshops

The post 5 reasons to book a Kid’s cooking class with Scran appeared first on Scran Food.

Being able to create something that didn’t exist at the start of the day is why I love teaching creative subjects; at the start of a lesson it is just a piece of paper and bottles of paint, a blank screen and a set of digital tools,  a flat piece of fabric and a spool of thread or 100g of flour and an egg. An hour, day or weeks later an image appears, a garment or a bowl of pasta. Those initial items or ingredients don’t do much by themselves but when combined with some imagination, patience and some creativity an entirely new product is made which never existed before.

Creating artwork and cooking has taught me that experimentation and continuous learning require a safe environment, where you know that it is okay to make mistakes, and nothing serious happens if you fail- apart from the occasional burnt cake and bread that ended up on the shed roof for the seagulls, I’ve never had an major disasters! Scran School allows both adults and kids to try new things, explore new flavours and create something that didn’t exist at the start of the day.

“You can’t use up creativity, the more you use the more you have” Maya Angelou

The post Let’s Make Stuff Together appeared first on Scran Food.

A Netflix series called Street Food: Latin America featured a lady who was cooking for some builders who had been employed to work on a project in her local area. This lady was cooking out of a tiny kitchen with very basic amenities and yet was producing some incredible looking food. If she could cook from her kitchen for strangers, could we?

We had a lovely new kitchen but could have no one round due to Covid restrictions so we started swapping meals with our friends and family, Doorstep Dinners was born. This lasted a few weeks but I felt this could be bigger. We had always enjoyed cooking for large gatherings and we know people enjoyed our food, would people be willing to pay for it?

Scran began.

I did my food hygiene qualification online, rang the council to register the business, designed a logo and set up an Instagram page and posted our first advert to advertise our cheeseburger spring rolls (something we became known for!)

People wanted our food! Paying strangers were paying for our cheeseburger spring rolls. We purchased some packaging and started a spreadsheet. Our first night delivering was 28th August 2020, between then and Christmas 2020 we only missed 2 weekends- I got covid and Rob tore a ligament.

We got such a buzz from the prep on a Friday night and the busy service on a Saturday. The bags with all the names on were lined up on the table and the laptop was open with the orders on. Each week would be a different menu often themed on food from our travels- the katsu chicken sandwich with gochujang cheese sauce, lamb burritos, arancini balls, Christmas specials, Mother’s Day and Easter boxes.

The world returned to some form of normality in May 2021, we weren’t sure where Scran would go next but it was a great experience and we knew we would be talking about for years to come.

The post // WHERE WE BEGAN // appeared first on Scran Food.

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