Student Cooking

[jammiedodger26]

Hello PH!

I am currently helping out some friends with the marketing for a project they have on the go to help get students back into the kitchen and cooking proper food. They have some backing from the BBC but want me to do some research into how their videos look, any feedback would be great!

http://www.sortedstudents.com

Thanks

Jamie

[V8mate]

I've given a load of feedback on that site before. Can't recall which forum it was on though

[Mobile Chicane]

Where's that shot?

Halls of residence kitchens seem to have come a long way from the dirty sink and one 4-ring Creda shared with 30 other students.

[jammiedodger26]

Was shot in a hired apartment down in Cornwall...had to make it look slightly more appealing than some of my friends' kitchens!!!

[Mr POD]

jammiedodger26 said:

help get students back into the kitchen and cooking proper food.

Jamie

Where does the word BACK fit into that sentence.

And should Proper be there at all.

[Mobile Chicane]

jammiedodger26 said:

Was shot in a hired apartment down in Cornwall...had to make it look slightly more appealing than some of my friends' kitchens!!!

Sure, but it lacks that greasy two-ring Baby Belling kind of credibility.

Unless I have entirely mis-judged what present day student life is actually like.

Which, of course, is a possibility.

[Mr POD]

Mobile Chicane said:

jammiedodger26 said:

Was shot in a hired apartment down in Cornwall...had to make it look slightly more appealing than some of my friends' kitchens!!!

Sure, but it lacks that greasy two-ring Baby Belling kind of credibility.

Unless I have entirely mis-judged what present day student life is actually like.

Which, of course, is a possibility.

I hope not. Learning to improvise was the most I learnt at Poly.

My memories of cooking on a baby belling, in days before the microwave - culminating in a full turkey dinner for 7 is perhaps rose tinted, but IIRC :


One pot for all the veg, Turkey cut in half and half cooked in the kitchen on the floor above. Roast potatoes done in a frying pan. Gravy done in a jug with the vegetable water. Christmas pudding provided by a granny and steamed in a pan. Cream kept cold on a 5th floor window wrapped in a wet tea towel.

[jammiedodger26]

Mr POD said:

Mobile Chicane said:

jammiedodger26 said:

Was shot in a hired apartment down in Cornwall...had to make it look slightly more appealing than some of my friends' kitchens!!!

Sure, but it lacks that greasy two-ring Baby Belling kind of credibility.

Unless I have entirely mis-judged what present day student life is actually like.

Which, of course, is a possibility.

I hope not. Learning to improvise was the most I learnt at Poly.

My memories of cooking on a baby belling, in days before the microwave - culminating in a full turkey dinner for 7 is perhaps rose tinted, but IIRC :


One pot for all the veg, Turkey cut in half and half cooked in the kitchen on the floor above. Roast potatoes done in a frying pan. Gravy done in a jug with the vegetable water. Christmas pudding provided by a granny and steamed in a pan. Cream kept cold on a 5th floor window wrapped in a wet tea towel.

And you've right there made cooking a Christmas dinner sound really easy!!

That's kind of the point, research last week showed that 75% of students admit to not knowing how to boil an egg. So the aim is to show students how easy it is to cook real food and the benefits compared to microwave meals and fast food.

[Mobile Chicane]

jammiedodger26 said:

Research last week showed that 75% of students admit to not knowing how to boil an egg.

If anyone can reach higher education without an understanding of how to look after themselves on the most basic level, what is the point in educating these cretins further?

[Mr POD]

Mobile Chicane said:

jammiedodger26 said:

Research last week showed that 75% of students admit to not knowing how to boil an egg.

If anyone can reach higher education without an understanding of how to look after themselves on the most basic level, what is the point in educating these cretins further?

Indeed. Mind you I struggle with boiled eggs, no matter how long I boil them for I still can't melt the insides.

[AlpineWhite]

Mobile Chicane said:

jammiedodger26 said:

Research last week showed that 75% of students admit to not knowing how to boil an egg.

If anyone can reach higher education without an understanding of how to look after themselves on the most basic level, what is the point in educating these cretins further?

I've shown people how to make pasta+sauce, and given instruction on heating up baked beans. I jest ye not!

[Cotty]

AlpineWhite said:

I've shown people how to make pasta+sauce, and given instruction on heating up baked beans. I jest ye not!

your kidding, I mean the instruction are on the can. Can they not read?

[Mobile Chicane]

AlpineWhite said:

Mobile Chicane said:

jammiedodger26 said:

Research last week showed that 75% of students admit to not knowing how to boil an egg.

If anyone can reach higher education without an understanding of how to look after themselves on the most basic level, what is the point in educating these cretins further?

I've shown people how to make pasta+sauce, and given instruction on heating up baked beans. I jest ye not!

Back in the day... When I was at University, when it were all green fields round here, not to mention the fact that that the Earth was still cooling down... most of my fellow students could cook.

With a few notable exceptions: like 'Johnnie' - a mummy's boy if ever there was one. I once caught him with a tin of baked beans with sausages in - he'd picked the sausages out and was grilling them, with the beans in a pan.

Bless. At least he'd tried. He's now Geri Halliwell's PR, if that makes any sense.

[AlpineWhite]

Cotty said:

AlpineWhite said:

I've shown people how to make pasta+sauce, and given instruction on heating up baked beans. I jest ye not!

your kidding, I mean the instruction are on the can. Can they not read?

Like I said - I jest ye not!

[jammiedodger26]

AlpineWhite said:

Cotty said:

AlpineWhite said:

I've shown people how to make pasta+sauce, and given instruction on heating up baked beans. I jest ye not!

your kidding, I mean the instruction are on the can. Can they not read?

Like I said - I jest ye not!

That is ridiculous...the amount of people that we found that were buying things like frozen ready made donor kebabs and the like was disgusting!!

Just goes to prove that there is a job to be done in teaching people!!

[AlpineWhite]

jammiedodger26 said:

That is ridiculous...the amount of people that we found that were buying things like frozen ready made donor kebabs and the like was disgusting!!

Just goes to prove that there is a job to be done in teaching people!!

Now that is grim.

[jammiedodger26]

Precisely...and they were seeing this as a healthy nutritious meal because they put a bit of (brown) lettuce and mouldy cucumber in it!!

[captainzep]

I haven't looked in depth at the site so I might have missed something.

But being able to cook a bit is only half the issue.

Being able to come out of a supermarket on budget with 7 day's worth of food is not an easy skill for the uninitiated. And if you fail to do this then you don't have the ingedients to start with.

The notion of maintaining a store cupboard from which a bit of cooking nouse can emerge from seems to be the key.

Rice/pasta/potatoes/cous cous/noodles/bread.

Tinned tomatoes/beans/tuna

An onion or two + whatever veg you need/have room for. Broccoli/couple of carrots.

Stock cubes/garlic/soy sauce/curry powder/chilli powder/mixed dried herbs/butter/small block mousetrap cheese/plain flour/gravy granules/olive oil/salt/pepper

Limited freezer/fridge space so a small bag mixed veg.

All you need from here is an idea of some meals you'd like and buy the meat/fish etc to finish things. Thus shopping is just about maintaining the cupboard and buying extra foods to make the meals. From the above, you've got:

Chilli (cheap mince)
Casseroles (cheap 'on offer' meat)
Pasta dishes (sometimes only a couple of rashers of bacon needed)
Fish Pie
Curries
Meat & 2 veg fare
Roast lunch
Stir fries
Quick lunches/sarnies
Toast! (great for stale bread) + 'Beans on' 'Cheese on'
Shepherd's/Cottage pie
etc

After the outlay I reckon I could live for £30ish a week easily with this.

[jammiedodger26]

That's a really good tip actually, we're trying to promote buying staple items, but you've put it in a really good way.

4 Years as a student and I still haven't mastered that...still have empty cupboards!! haha!

[Mr POD]

captainzep said:

I haven't looked in depth at the site so I might have missed something.

But being able to cook a bit is only half the issue.

Being able to come out of a supermarket on budget with 7 day's worth of food is not an easy skill for the uninitiated. And if you fail to do this then you don't have the ingedients to start with.

The notion of maintaining a store cupboard from which a bit of cooking nouse can emerge from seems to be the key.

Rice/pasta/potatoes/cous cous/noodles/bread.

Tinned tomatoes/beans/tuna

An onion or two + whatever veg you need/have room for. Broccoli/couple of carrots.

Stock cubes/garlic/soy sauce/curry powder/chilli powder/mixed dried herbs/butter/small block mousetrap cheese/plain flour/gravy granules/olive oil/salt/pepper

Limited freezer/fridge space so a small bag mixed veg.

All you need from here is an idea of some meals you'd like and buy the meat/fish etc to finish things. Thus shopping is just about maintaining the cupboard and buying extra foods to make the meals. From the above, you've got:

Chilli (cheap mince)
Casseroles (cheap 'on offer' meat)
Pasta dishes (sometimes only a couple of rashers of bacon needed)
Fish Pie
Curries
Meat & 2 veg fare
Roast lunch
Stir fries
Quick lunches/sarnies
Toast! (great for stale bread) + 'Beans on' 'Cheese on'
Shepherd's/Cottage pie
etc

After the outlay I reckon I could live for £30ish a week easily with this.

£30 ? For one person ? You don't shop economically do you ? We (a family of 4) spend £60 (give or take £5) each week and eat well enough.

I've always thought it's about having a (set of) decent Standard Operating Manuals (The recipe books) and a list of 7 days worth of meals, so that when you go shopping you know exactly what you want, but be flexible enough that if you see something on offer, you can take advantage.