Learning to Cook the Root Camp Way

by Rachel Gillon

STROLLING through the woods close to the shore front on Scotland’s Isle of Bute, a group of teenagers are enjoying their first foraging session. Having previously combed the coast line, the group are now asked to spread out and keep their eyes on the ground; they’re foraging for mushrooms and course tutor and local foraging expert, Morven Gregor is describing what species to look for. The earlier foraging walk on the beach has provided a few edible treasures that will be cooked up as part of dinner later that night. There’s a sense of excitement amongst the group as a couple of large mushrooms are discovered in the heavy undergrowth. This edible find is added to the earlier bounty and although there’s not enough to feed the group, they’re excited that they’ll be cooked up with dinner that night. All in all it was a good morning’s work and they’re enjoying themselves - 14 year old Willard has broken off from the group and runs excitedly ahead, this introduction to foraging has been a new experience for him and his enthusiasm is obvious.

I’ve come to Mount Stuart House to visit an innovative cookery skills course for teenagers - Root Camp - and this is it’s first trip north of the border. Founder Cassia Kidron tells me she started Root Camp in 2010 for a simple reason - “When my eldest son was about to leave home I realised to my horror that he hadn’t a clue how to cook so I decided to teach him some essential techniques over a few weeks - and invited his friends along too. I realised that teenagers needed to reconnect with nature and the processes involved in producing food. Root Camp grew out of an awareness that young people around me, and beyond, didn’t know the pleasure of creating delicious, healthy meals.” The courses go further than a traditional cookery course by taking participants out onto farms and into the countryside to learn where food comes from. Kidron continues, “We want to provide an informal, immersive experience - so that young people leave with a deeper knowledge of food and cooking. So that they make more thoughtful decisions about what they buy and how they feed themselves.” She also believes that it’s essential to mix young people with different social skills and from different backgrounds. The Bute course achieved that; as well as several local teenagers, other students travelled from London, for one, a young catering student, it was his second Root Camp. Others came from Edinburgh and Aberdeen; A good mix of ages and backgrounds in keeping with the Root Camp ethos.