B.A.S.E. Students and Local Chefs Will Wow You during a Cook-Off Extravaganza

Fuelling passion for food and sustainable food practices in elementary school students is an everyday occurrence in the B.A.S.E. Daycare programming. The B.A.S.E. Daycare Program will be hosting its second annual Food Revolution Day celebration with a student and chef cook-off. Much like the many Junior varieties of television cooking competitions, 12 students from six B.A.S.E. Daycares (Cedarcrest, St. Monica, St. Raphael, Gerald McShane, Sinclair Laird, John Caboto) will be teamed up with chef Sergio Mattoscio, chef Diyar Mayil and a chef from St. Pius X to cook two dishes in one hour for a panel of judges at St. Pius X Culinary Institute on Friday, April 28, 2017. Beginning at 9:30 am, daycare students, staff and parents will enjoy a lively event with a collection of “sustainable food” vendors from community programs and students who will animate booths with food based activities, creating a wonderful backdrop to the main cooking showcase.

The B.A.S.E. Daycare program has been implementing activities related to food literacy, from gardening to cooking, for the last four years. When Extracurricular Activities Advisor, Melina Trimarchi, became a Food Revolution Ambassador for Montreal in 2015, it was only natural that her cooking clubs finish off their year of learning by celebrating Food Revolution Day in such a spectacular way in 2016. Chef Massimo of La Mousse, food blogger Julia Dawson, and Chef Theo Lerikos from Tuck Shop led their teams of students in a mystery ingredient cooking challenge to great success. Trimarchi will be appearing on Global News Morning at 8:50 a.m. on Thursday, April 27 to discuss B.A.S.E. Daycare and its Food Revolution Celebration.

The Food Revolution is a movement led by Chef Jamie Oliver that aims “to provoke debate and inspire real, meaningful, positive change in the way our children access, consume and understand food.” Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to put food education back on the school curriculum. The first ever Food Revolution Day took place on May 19, 2012, with more than 500 cities in 57 countries participating and the movement has only grown from there.

B.A.S.E. is proud to be part of the movement educating children about food in a fun and engaging way and equipping them with the basic skills they need to lead healthier, happier lives. In the 2015-2016 school year, B.A.S.E. added to its repertoire of Green Club programming by officially launching Cooking Club activities in the daycares, as well as a Garden to Plate program. In these classes, students from Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6 learn basic cooking skills, from how to safely use a knife, to how to use different spices from different cultures. The Green Advisors and Animators also work to make students aware of how the full circle of our food system operates from seedlings to composting in the hope that the next generation will be the key change makers in creating a more sustainable and healthy future.

For more information please contact:
Johanna Donovan, B.A.S.E. Media Advisor Email: jdonovan@emsb.qc.ca
Melina Trimarchi, B.A.S.E. Extracurricular Activities Advisor & Food Revolution Ambassador
Tel: 514-483-7200 Ext 7636 E-Mail: mtrimarchi@emsb.qc.ca