Greener Kirkcaldy help Fife College students cook up sustainable future

Fife College Culinary Arts students have been finding out more about the growing importance of plant-based foods thanks to Greener Kirkcaldy and the Climate Action Fife project.

The local community-led charity and development trust delivered a session to Level 5 Professional Cookery students on plant-based foods and recipes at the College’s Kirkcaldy Campus.

Led by Greener Kirkcaldy’s Community Chef Iain McLellan, the session, part of the Climate Action Fife’s ‘Climate Friendly Food’ activity, highlighted the growing popularity of plant-based cooking, which will be an increasingly important skill of future chefs.

Iain helped inspire the students with a demonstration and tasting of several plant-based dishes including, roasted cauliflower satay, mushroom lasagne, and vegan chocolate cupcakes.

The dishes were designed to show how to use plants to mimic meat, instead of using ‘meat substitutes’ which are often heavily processed.

Following the session, students will now take part in a class competition over the next few months producing dishes and products using plant-based ingredients.

Professional Cookery student Ryan Wright said: 

“I really enjoyed the learning experience that was different to our timetabled classes. It has made me look at alternative ingredients that could be used to produce dishes.

“I really like the taste of the cauliflower satay, that was the first time I had ever tried Cauliflower that way.”

Barry Scott, Culinary Arts Lecturer at Fife College, said:

“We were delighted to have Iain from Greener Kirkcaldy come in to deliver a session to our Professional Cookery students.

“The session was a fantastic opportunity for students to find out more about the growing importance of plant-based cooking, and the different types of skills required to produce these kinds of dishes.

“With the country having only just recently hosted COP26, there was also no better time for us all to think about the role food plays in the climate emergency.”

Iain McLellan, Community Chef at Greener Kirkcaldy, said:

“I really enjoyed speaking to the students, they were very open minded and interested in our discussion and tasting. I think the students went away feeling inspired and interested in cooking with plant-based ingredients.”

Greener Kirkcaldy deliver projects, events and activities specifically aimed at engaging the local community in the climate emergency.

Over the last decade the charity has supported the community to save over 130,000 tonnes of carbon, by reducing energy use, growing food, cooking from scratch, and reducing waste.