Innovative Strategies for Public Catering: the Expansion of the Sustainable Public Meal Toolkit

StratKIT+

Training of Riga school cooks

10 July 2023

On June 19, June 20, June 26 and June 27, under the leadership of chef Māris Astičs, head of the Restaurant Service School, training sessions for cooks of Riga educational institutions on the topic - Use of plant-based products in cooking - were held.

Technical details

Practical master classes were held on the following topics: the use of vegetables and legumes in soups, main dishes, side dishes and technological aspects of cooking. 56 cooks from Riga schools and preschool catering companies participated in the training.

In the master class, which lasted 5 academic hours every day, the main emphasis was placed on practical work, the school cooks themselves were actively involved in the process of preparing products, their preparation and also tasting the final result.

The chefs learned the nuances of high-class cooking of “Minestrone” vegetable broth soup, root vegetable cream soup with herb toasts, vegetable stew with fish fillet, vegetable stew with herbs and buckwheat stew with mushrooms and vegetables. The menu was created in such a way that it can be easily adapted to the needs and possibilities of the school. The advice and sharing of his experience by the experienced chef and educator Māris Astičs was a great benefit.

The training took place within the framework of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Program project no. S005 StratKIT+ within the framework of testing the tool “Sustainable diet training for public institutions”. The aim of the project is to support the provision of public catering in educational institutions by developing a compilation of catering methods, creating a crisis management model, expanding the network of Baltic Sea region countries in the field of sustainable public catering.

This spring, the method developed in Estonia “Measuring food waste in school canteens” was tested in 68 Riga schools, which made it possible to conclude what improvements should be made in improving the quality of catering services in educational institutions. Monitoring and accounting of leftover food was carried out in Riga schools. In order to improve the quality of food in Riga’s educational institutions, practical training for cooks of school catering companies in preparing healthy and tasty food using plant-based products was organized.

Information prepared by:

Ilze Spunde

Education, Culture and Sports Department of Riga City Council

International and Investment Projects Division

Projects Manager

E-mail: ilze.spunde@riga.lv

Tel: +371 67043611