Eat your flowers! And rabbits, too! Some talented VCE students at Bendigo TAFE created a beautiful selection of delicious shortbread biscuits through Bendigo Foodshare’s Cooking for Change sessions, sponsored by Vic Health’s Jumpstart! Program.
Students honed their baking and decorating skills and developed new packaging expertise whilst learning about growing, preparing and using edible flowers, food safety and labelling legislation and packaging products for sale.
The kitchen was filled with a delicious aroma and a colourful array of flowers, icing, sprinkles, ribbon and total joy! Naturally this brought many inquisitive visitors into the room, including children from the Young Parents’ class creche who were encouraged to join in with their own decorating activity.
Students enjoyed an introductory presentation by Bendigo Foodshare’s Youth Officer and learnt about food insecurity and local food relief. They then quickly became engaged in hands-on activities led by Bendigo Foodshare’s Cooking Teacher and developed cooking skills whilst also practicing a host of other work-related skills including teamwork, weighing and measuring, minimizing waste and quality control. Activities were supported by Bendigo Foodshare’s Community Food Hub Officers who worked alongside students and enjoyed the opportunity to chat about their work with Bendigo Foodshare.
The resulting boxed biscuits were later sold to raise funds for Bendigo Foodshare. A beautiful win-win for everyone including the student cooks and the lucky customers who purchased and I’m sure devoured the biscuits!