A group of catering students enjoyed some tips from the top when the owner and chef of a prominent Norfolk pub taught them how to prepare restaurant-quality food from scratch.
Sean Creasey, of the Dun Cow in Salthouse on the north Norfolk coast, guided students through the making of salmon fishcakes when he held the first in a series of sessions at Sewell Park College in Norwich.
Although some of the students at first said they did not like the fish, the chef told them about his philosophy that there are no ingredients that people don't like, because they can be used in so many different ways.
And by the end of the class, all were happily tucking in to the results of their labours.
Mr Creasey praised the positive attitude of the 10 girls and four boys studying for a GCSE in hospitality and catering, and said: 'The end dishes they put down on the table were all really, really good.'
He added: 'I think it's very important that children learn how to cook. When you walk into the supermarket these days, the raw ingredients section is not that big, and as soon as you walk around the corner there's a pot of this and a pot of that. A lot of people think that if they heat up something they have cooked, but what they have done is re-heat something.
'I think you have to start from the raw ingredients to feel you have done the dish properly. In the lessons we started from scratch and built it up from there.'
The students have extra motivation to continue their hard work, because on a later visit Mr Creasey will pick a dish created by the students to appear on the specials board at the Dun Cow.
Teacher Lisa Hesmondhalgh said the students had begun researching the pub's clientele, prices and approach before coming up with their culinary masterpieces.
She said: 'It's a big step for students. It's a pub on the north Norfolk coast, so it's a long way from them in their eyes.'
How well do you think children are taught to cook at home these days? Email newsdesk@archant.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here