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Food
Philosophy

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Philosophy on Food

we strive to provide
ingredients that are

Organic — Food produced without using man-made inhibitors or enhancers. non-GMO food that has not been modified or changed using scientific method.

Seasonal — Food that is available to the consumer as soon as it is harvested. At Little Kitchen Academy we aim for our students to know the season by what is cooking in the kitchen. Mother Nature provides from the ground what our bodies are needing at specific times of the year. Our recipes will support the phrase ‘what grows together, goes together’.

Local — Using locally grown products not only supports our surrounding communities but leaves less of a carbon footprint. Once produce is harvested it begins to lose nutrients, and the longer it takes to get to you the more possibilities of contamination or improper food handling materialize.

We encourage our students to plant, nurture, harvest and prepare produce because we know that when we are an active participant in our food choices, we will try them- and more often than not, ENJOY them! Our grow wall has plants at different stages of growth so we can observe, care for, and enjoy the literal ‘fruits of our labour’! Perhaps a child that has always said that they don’t like tomatoes will discover that they, in fact, DO like tomatoes when they’ve been picked, washed, chopped and slightly seasoned? Or maybe caramelized in the oven with garlic and salt and pepper?

If our students want to make a recipe gluten free, or dairy free, or substitute an ingredient or two, we will do our best to make it happen! Learning and understanding other people’s diet restrictions creates empathy and connection. Some children may want to learn how to make muffins gluten free so they can share with a friend who has a gluten allergy. And maybe watching a friend add zucchini to their bread will encourage trying it out themselves?

all of our recipes
are meat and poultry free

Handling raw meat and poultry adds more caution and care in the kitchen, and with a large group of excited students we would hate to have accidental mishandling lead to unsanitary practice. When sitting at the community table, enjoying our food, we will ask leading questions like ‘what else would be good in this meal?’ ‘how could we change this to suit our tastes better?’ This kind of conversation allows us to share ways to add meat to their meal when cooking at home.

The only allergen not welcome in Little Kitchen Academy is nuts. While we will take every precaution possible to support all allergies, nut allergies can be air borne and simply unsafe. Again, while eating our food at the community table we are able to suggest adding toasted nuts to different recipes at home, if the taste buds are willing. We understand that there are more diet needs/choices/preferences/trends than there are types of apples (and there are over 7500 varieties of apples)! It is a pleasure and an honour to work with our students to give them the confidence and the skills to make their own decisions on what is best for their bodies.