How Cooking Schools are Supporting a Better Food Future

Cooking is also a way to form deeper connections with those around you. Food is, of course, our way of accessing energy and nutrients but, over the course of our history, it has meant so much more than that. The act of sharing food is a deeply human way to nourish and strengthen our social bonds as well as our bodies, supporting mental health as well as physical. As Michael Pollan wrote in his book Cooked, "Cooking gave us not just the meal but also the occasion: the practice of eating together at an appointed time and place. This was something new under the sun, for the forager of raw food would have likely fed himself on the go and alone, like all the other animals. […] But sitting down to common meals, making eye contact, sharing food, and exercising self-restraint all served to civilise us."

Driven largely by the effects of capitalism, we live in a highly individualised era: much of the time we once spent sharing meals with family and community has been stripped away, replaced by snack culture, convenience foods and meals on the run, with digital screens increasingly taking the place of conversation. This has real impacts: in Thailand in 2019, a large-scale study of 39,820 people showed that frequently eating main meals alone is associated with unhappiness. Knowing how to prepare food for and with each other can help us reclaim what we’ve lost.

As Pollan continues, "Cooking has the power to transform more than plants and animals: It transforms us, too, from mere consumers into producers. Not completely, not all the time, but I have found that even to shift the ratio between these two identities a few degrees toward the side of production yields deep and unexpected satisfactions."

Meanwhile, culinary schools for aspiring professional chefs can effect change on a much wider scale, influencing how these chefs will design their own menus and cook in their own kitchens throughout their careers, ultimately affecting how future generations interact with food. As we often discuss, chefs can change the food system for the better through their procurement choices; they also exert a powerful influence over food trends and how people cook and eat when they’re at home. What students learn today has real ramifications for the global food landscape in years to come, on both a micro and macro scale. 

How cooking schools support public nutrition 

At The Raymond Blanc Cookery School, Chef Raymond Blanc — President of The SRA — teaches students that, with a little skill, even the most basic ingredients can create a nutritious and pleasurable meal. Ample research supports the link between home cooking and better nutrition; for example, this 2017 study in the UK looked at over 11,000 and concluded that eating home-cooked meals frequently was associated with multiple indicators of a healthy diet. 

Raymond says that, with many studies now revealing the complexities of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and the effects that they have on our bodies and the planet, it’s important that people have the skills necessary to avoid them by choice. While research continues, consumption of ultra-processed food has already been linked to higher rates of obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, asthma, functional gastrointestinal disorders and cancers, among other physical conditions. One 2019 study in Spain even linked a diet high in UPFs with higher overall mortality risk. 

“Cooking skills reduce individuals’ reliance on convenience foods by giving them the confidence and ability to prepare meals from scratch,” Peter adds. “When people understand how to transform raw ingredients into flavourful dishes, they are less likely to depend on ultra-processed options that are often high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. More importantly, cooking encourages awareness of where food comes from, how it’s grown, and how different elements contribute to both flavour and nutrition.”  

Especially for those who don’t have access to generational knowledge and kitchen skills handed down through their families (for any reason), cooking schools provide the means to gain control over how and what they eat — and to pass these skills on to their own children. As Raymond says, “Cooking is an act of love, so give the best to your family!” 

The core ethos at The Raymond Blanc Cookery School comes straight from Maman Blanc, Raymond’s mother, forming the structure of his simple philosophy: seasonality, variety, local values, organic, the sharing of knowledge, and viewing food as an act of love. For parents, this extends to how their children are nourished. As expressed in this study, “Encouraging cooking education and aligning the cooking practices of adults with healthy meal preparation for children can promote better nutrition from a young age.” 

Raymond points to early years education and food technology in schools as crucial means to ensure that children are familiar with whole ingredients from a young age. “Delicious and nutritious cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. We teach many amazing dishes using few ingredients that are in peak season: they will always taste their best when they are in season. This makes our job as chefs much simpler, as the ingredients are really the stars of the kitchen.”  

Raymond has always welcomed children into his cookery school and into the restaurant at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, eager to show them how fun cooking can be. “It is so important to us to instil these values into our guests no matter their age. We are never too young to learn.”  

A big focus at Raymond’s cookery school is educating people on how to make space for cooking within their busy lifestyles. “Showing guests that they can have dishes pre-made or part-prepared to take the stress out of entertaining and day-to-day cooking means they are more likely to cook using fresh ingredients at home rather than processed alternatives,” he says. “For example, don’t be afraid of the freezer! Some of the best ingredients can be frozen. Peas are the perfect example of this, picked and frozen within hours to lock in flavour as well as maximum nutrients.” 

Recognising that preparing and sharing meals is also an important conduit for social connection and bond-building, this forms part of the ethos at The Raymond Blanc Cookery School. “At the heart of the cookery school is the island, where all the guests eat together. It's about sharing our passion for cooking and eating as a communal activity,” says Raymond, pointing to the central role that food plays in our society. These positive social effects can ripple out across a community, with people sharing their new-found skills and enthusiasm for preparing food with their families, friends and neighbours. 

How culinary schools support sustainable hospitality 

Of course, culinary schools are also responsible for creating the next generation of chefs — so it’s important that they impart the right kind of knowledge. Peter points out, “Today’s students will be tomorrow’s industry leaders. They will go on to design menus, influence consumer habits and lead food businesses, ultimately having a huge impact on the future of our food system. By embedding nutrition and sustainability into culinary education from the start, we can prepare future chefs to make more informed and responsible choices.” 

This is particularly important when it comes to passing on knowledge about health and sustainability, two concepts that are deeply intertwined. As Peter says, beyond the skills needed to create great food, chefs have a bigger role to play in shaping how people eat. “Chefs are cultural influencers,” he says. “They shape taste preferences and inspire trends, and they can play an educational role through their menus and platforms. By prioritising sustainable nutrition, chefs can help highlight problems within the food system, encourage better eating habits and push for better practices.”

Peter says that combining practical kitchen sessions with applied nutrition is a great way to embed these teachings into the curriculum. “Real world examples and scenarios such as menu evaluation and working with community groups can help budding chefs to see and understand the impact of their food choices on health outcomes.” 

Part of this is encouraging students to use a wider diversity of ingredients and to work with what’s in season. “The team at No Mise En Plastic has recently launched a great resource called Today’s Menu, which showcases many of these ingredients,” says Peter. “There are so many varieties of fruits, vegetables, beans, pulses and whole grains that should be used as a way of testing student innovation and creativity with nutritious plant-based foods. Additionally, substituting a portion of meat in a recipe with beans or mushrooms is an excellent way for students to directly experience how these changes affect taste and texture.” 

Whether in the kitchen at home or a professional setting, equipping people with kitchen skills can empower them to nourish themselves, re-establish food as a central part of our communities and help to create a food system that supports both human and planetary health. By playing a vital role in passing on these skills, cooking schools are acting as part of a quiet but meaningful revolution. 

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