This term in Design and Technology we have made seasonal tarts using vegetables that can be sourced locally and are ‘in season’.
We started by sharing our understanding of climates and how climate differs around the world and the at different times of the year. We brainstormed foods that are grown in the UK and those that aren’t and then thought about why some foods might only grow in specific seasons. This led us to think about how we get certain foods when they are ‘out of season’ and discovered that regular foods in our supermarkets are transported from countries all over the world! We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of importing foods from other parts of the world. For example, it’s great that we can eat a wider variety of foods and help the economies of other countries but the transportation might increase pollution and the threat of global warming.
Next, the children were shown their design brief from ‘Charlie’ the owner of the ‘Four Seasons Restaurant’ who creates meals made from seasonal produce grown by local farmers. Their most popular dish is the seasonal tart and he wants us to design some new exciting seasonal tarts he can add to his menu.
The first thing to do was to chop and peel the vegetables the children could choose from: carrots, courgette, peppers, asparagus and tomatoes. We learned two methods of cutting: the claw and bridge hold, which ensured they could safely chop the vegetables without any injuries. We worked in small groups to chop and peel the vegetables and once we were sure we had enough, it was time to start thinking about our individual designs and different colour and taste combinations.
Each pupil was given a roll of ready-made puff pastry and they marked a margin 1cm from the edge of the pastry. Within these markings, they could spread a tomato paste, their vegetables, grated cheese and parsley.
Once the tarts had been baked in the oven for 15 minutes, they were ready to be taken home and eaten and the majority of us really enjoyed them!
