Courses need a health kick

Catering courses need to increase nutritional input from craft to degree level to show that health and gastronomic pleasure are compatible, the British Nutrition Foundation Conference heard this week.

Rob Silverstone, lecturer in catering and nutrition at Brighton University, told conference delegates there was a need to "educate the educators", so that chef-lecturers "wedded to classical cuisine" became acquainted with the concept of healthy eating.

He said that to achieve greater application, the language of healthy eating should not be phrased in nutrients. "Caterers understand pasta, pulses and steaming; they may be frightened off by non-starch polysaccharides."