Senior home economics pupils at Coltness High School in Lanarkshire welcomed Daniela Forbes from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) for a Scotch Beef PGI cooking masterclass, which took place at the end of February.

During the session, which covered nutrition, cookery skills and processes, the group learned about different cuts of red meat before getting to work making their own pasta and Scotch Beef meatballs to serve with a tomato and basil sauce.

The school was also provided with a QMS Meat voucher to purchase Scotch Beef for use in National 5 cookery classes. This came at a critical time for the school, providing much-needed funding for high quality, nutritious ingredients that are available on the pupils’ doorstep.

“Not only are the pupils shown how to cook with high quality, nutritious ingredients, the sessions also shine a spotlight on the farmers, processors, auctioneers and butchers across Scotland and the work they do behind the scenes to provide the nation with unrivalled fresh produce.”

Coltness High School teacher Linda Canning said: “Thank you to Quality Meat Scotland for supporting my pupils with a fantastic session that was both highly informative and practically challenging.  The voucher, as well as the resources available to support teaching and learning, have been a real lifeline to the school and we look forward to further sessions in the future.”

Alix Ritchie, health and education manager from Quality Meat Scotland, said: “The school masterclasses, led by industry professionals, have proven hugely successful and the feedback has been fantastic from teachers.

“Not only are the pupils shown how to cook with high quality, nutritious ingredients, the sessions also shine a spotlight on the farmers, processors, auctioneers and butchers across Scotland and the work they do behind the scenes to provide the nation with unrivalled fresh produce.

“Providing the vouchers to purchase Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork for use in different recipes helps ease the financial pressure for schools and allows them to continue to equip pupils with valuable life skills.”