Sadly, this year I had to cancel the kids cooking classes that I started due to lack of enrolments. Since cancelling, without exaggeration, I have had 40 people ask me about them, it seems lots of people had it on the ‘like to do one day’ list. I know how difficult it can be to fit all the kids activities in. The classes are a great idea, it is something that was brewing in my brain for years. No one can deny that the health of the general population has worsened with the rise of the ultra-processed foods in the diet. This information is easy to find, even the cancer council website has information about shit food and cancer. I hear  everyday, things like radio hosts talking about how they can’t poach eggs and simple things like that and from what I have seen myself in the local schools and around the place there is a need for more basic cooking skills. Imagine the improvement in the health system if people simply cooked more good food at home, seems too easy!

At $59 per person and the kids taking home the family meal, a nice cafe style meal, the classes were excellent value and the kids and families that did attend did enjoy them. In an ideal world the classes to be funded or supported to open them up to more people. And they should be, the government really needs to invest in preventative health. 

This is a letter I wrote to The Tasmanian Minister for health and Minister for mental health Guy Barnett and Jeremy Rockliff. I am currently still waiting for a reply!

I firmly believe that it is a lie sold to us through the packet food industry that it is hard, time consuming and expensive to cook good food with real ingredients. I do understand that there are many other factors involved, I grew up in a single parent family housing commission area myself. When I see people only eating 2 minute noodles as they can’t afford ‘healthy food’ I only see a lack of education as I know a seasonal soup and an egg could be whipped up for the same expense as the noodles. It is truly shocking how much ultra-processed food is now consumed and we all know the outcome of this on the health system.

I am a trade qualified and experienced chef. I have worked with children in a primary school and started a school lunch program in that school. I have written 6 books that I have self-published myself, funded mostly by myself, with some support from businesses to try to help people eat better. These books have won national and international awards.

This year I purchased a house in Glenorchy with the intention of setting up an afterschool cooking program for children. I don’t think I need to tell you the importance of eating good food is for physical and mental health, as you would be well aware. Or how challenging the timing of the purchase of this house was in the current economy.

The, proven many times over, best way to get kids to eat good food is for them to be involved in the cooking. I have experienced this with my own eyes while working at Dunalley Primary School Launch Into learning, parents would be blown away what the kids would try when they had cooked the food themselves, the inspiration for my first book. Parents would also be blown away with how simple some things were to cook. The after-school program I a launched was in 2 age groups it cost $65 and the kids took home in the evening meal in a casserole dish, also emphasise the importance of low waste and excessive packaging. I taught a whole program over the term, knife skills, pasta making, salad and salad dressing basics like poaching an egg.

Sadly After 2 terms of battling to get kids enrolled I gave up on the idea. As the cost per child wasn’t a lot, I tried to keep it affordable I needed the numbers to make it viable. which is simply a loss to the children. The kids that were enrolled loved the classes.

I know if I was offering ‘making cupcake class’ or other sweets they would be more popular, and a business that may be viable for a commercial operation but as it was, cooking healthy family meals, and educating the parents as well as the kids, it really was a community service.

As much as I would love to, as I am very passionate and concerned about children’s health. I cannot continue to work in unpaid rolls in the preventative health anymore, as sad as it is to watch the state of children’s health.  I have my own 3 kids, mortgage, private school fees, private health insurance, activities for my kids etc to pay for and my earning capacity as a consultant to the hospitality industry, photographer, recipe writer and chef is where I need to be focusing my interests.

In an ideal world, the classes would be FREE for the child and family. On my morning walk today I thought through some calculations on getting the classes funded for preventative health.

**For the purpose of my calculation the I am going to call a healthy meal 120 gram animal based protein and 4(1/2 cup) serves of veg plus whatever else is need to make that into a delicious meal!

For classes on one afternoon, but ideally, they would be on more.

20 kids in 2 age groups that would meal 100 healthy meals going home for an evening meal.

$59 per person kids take home what they cook a family meal for 5, $1180 (11.80 per meal PLUS the life-long learning received from the cooking class)

So, for under $50 000 a year investment 100 healthy meals could be consumed each week for 40-week school term so 4000 meals for the year, plus the lifelong learning the kids and parents receive.

How far does 50K go in the public health system? One lap band surgery and treatment? A few years of diabetes management treatment for a few??

 It wouldn’t be a big investment for the return. My question is How do I get help and funding to support me to help people learn to cook? So much more needs to be done in the preventative health space and especially preventative mental health area where currently nothing is done.

I have approached Eat Well Tasmanian and they were not interested in helping me. I find this frustrating as a lot of money goes to them for what? A few posts on Social media?? Are they actually achieving anything? Are a few people seeing a post on social media a result?? Shouldn’t we be moving away from social media anyway as it’s so bad for mental health?? Who have they actually helped eat better??

And the School food matters blew me off telling me they can’t help private business? People in well paid government jobs are clueless to private business. Frustrating to watch the healthy lunch program over 20 years and only a few schools are provided lunch and kids are still hungry! I don’t think putting a slow cooker of soup and a few bags of fruit in EVERY school in Tasmania would be that hard??

Thanks Eloise Emmett

I showed it to my husband and he jokingly said I was starting to sound like one of those crazy people! I probably am, it does my fucking head in our current food/health system, we are seeing mental health awareness events that serve alcohol, alcohol is one of the leading causes of poor mental health it creates anxiety. We see breast cancer fundraisers that include all you can drink alcohol even though alcohol is one of the leading causes of breast cancer.  Mental Health needs to be funded in the preventative health space, eating well, exercise, spending time in nature, drinking water and good sleeping habits. The, what can be thought of as the boring Basics, but are actually not boring at all when you are living it. If by now people can’t see the effect shit food has on mental health they have their head buried deep in the sand. There is so much information out there now about the effects of shit food on mental health and more information about the harms that some mental health medications can cause in the long term. This is no longer a “conspiracy theory” it’s in the mainstream news now, I am not saying it is every case but I do hear a lot of people who have struggled for years to find the “right” medication and can see its probably done more harm than good. I couldn’t imagine being a parent and looking back in 20 years and thinking ‘wow my kid may not of needed the ‘less strong version of crystal meth’ daily if we had simply cooked a Sunday roast and meal planned a little!’ . Again I am not saying this is every case but it is very well known that there is a over diagnosis and over prescription problem again not conspiracy theory, we are reading this daily in mainstream news.

I have also taken myself off social media. Hopefully for good but at least for a few months. My accounts were hacked and I have had no luck getting them back. Even though one is in my name?? Facebook and Instagram is not a safe place for business, I hate to think what it has cost me. And there is no way to get help, technology has moved to fast, if someone stole a $30000 car off you the police would help! So I cannot be starting again and spending more money and risk it again. When I was first hacked I had a nice break but then reset it up to advertise the new business but it hasn’t really worked. Plus, I caved and paid for advertising, even though I swore I would never give them another cent!! And then got all the annoying hackery messages once I was paying for ads again.  But I am thinking the people who spend hours scrolling are not really in the kitchen anyway and its not the same platform I started advertising on 10 years ago. I find the reels etc so over the top these days, how much time are people spending on there to create content? It is actually sexist too, men don’t need to make stupid jokey meme type reels for attention yet the women, extremely qualified women, are making idiots of themselves dancing to words that pop up. And social media is just shit, a waste of time, bad for mental health and seeing people post pics of their sick kids on business page posts for attention? Really is this how we advertise our businesses these days? It’s all so fake and annoying. I have attended social media workshops and they basically tell you to be fake. Not too many selling posts just one on 4 so it’s basically like going to the pub and greasing up to someone before going in for the sell, so gross. Ask me anything questions and all the bullshit it’s just to promote and sell. I just can’t do it. Social media is not for me.

And what I am preaching isn’t exactly exciting is it? It is not riveting news.

Eat good food, exercise and keep the kids busy, sleep, drink water, low stress and be happy. I simply don’t think it’s that hard to pack a lunch box or prepare family meals. It’s just not. Not thrilling content, I know.

So, if you have read this what do you think?

Do you think we should be focusing on preventative health?

 Do you think cooking class are a good idea?

Do you think we should be taking more responsibility for our own health?

If you are interested in booking in if I offer the classes again please email me an expression of interest eloiseemmett@gmail.com with you child’s age and what day would suit you. Also if you are interested in Adult basic cooking classes. If you feel it’s something you would love to do but honestly can’t afford it please let me know that too. And if you are keen to get your kids into the classes or yourself then please Spread the word let your friends know by sharing this post where you can and subscribing to this website so you will be notified when I post something.

And I have some workshops listed for the start of next year please get in contact for private group bookings. Workshop Vouchers are a great gift idea and so are my cookbooks!