Mrs. Gilby-Young recently led a fantastic workshop with Year 4 and 5 at a lovely school in Leeds. We took a trip back in time to Ancient Egypt, to explore the interesting foods they would have had access to, and make some delicious dishes inspired by the Ancient Egyptians.
Bringing Ancient Egypt to Life: A Delicious Journey Through History
Cooking can bring history to life, and that’s exactly what happened during a recent topic session on the Ancient Egyptians at Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School in Leeds! Through hands-on activities, students learned about the ingredients, dishes and lifestyles of one of the world’s earliest civilisations.
Exploring the Ancient Egyptian Civilisation
Our topic session on the Ancient Egyptians began with some focused learning about the Ancient Egyptian civilisation, exploring where the Egyptians settled and why they chose those areas. We then examined the types of dishes the Ancient Egyptians would have eaten and the ingredients they had access to at the time
Cooking the Past: Bamya and Ful Medames
We introduced the two dishes we would be making during the session: an okra stew called Bamya and a delicious Ful Medames. These dishes featured new and exciting ingredients for the children, along with some unfamiliar flavours. We began by preparing the Bamya. The children worked in five groups of six, taking turns using the claw method to slice onions and okra, and the bridge method to chop tomatoes. We added the onions to a pan to soften, before adding garlic, okra, seasoning, and vegetable stock. Then we added the chopped tomatoes and left the mixture to cook for 15 minutes. While it was cooking, we prepared the Ful Medames by slicing onions and adding them to a pan, followed by spices, fava beans, and a little water. The children then sliced tomatoes and cucumbers into small pieces to serve as a side salad. Once the beans and onions were soft, we blended the mixture into a chunky paste. When the food was ready, we served the Bamya with couscous and the Ful Medames with toasted pitta bread. The children really enjoyed trying the new flavours and loved both dishes!
Discovering the Flavours of Ancient Egypt
The topic lesson explored in detail why the Egyptians settled along the Nile, highlighting the fertile soil that was ideal for growing crops and the warm weather, which made it perfect for cultivating a variety of vegetables such as onions, beans, peas, and garlic, as well as fruits like dates, figs, melons, and grapes. We also learnt that barley was a staple food and was even used as currency. While there is little evidence of exact recipes from Ancient Egypt, we investigated the types of foods the Ancient Egyptians might have eaten based on the ingredients known to have been available.
Children’s Reactions: A Hit with the Dishes
The highlight of the Ancient Egyptian topic experience day was undoubtedly the excitement the children felt when trying the food they had cooked. It was a massive hit, and the children were thrilled at the idea of making the dishes again at home with their parents and carers.
Enhancing Learning with Bespoke Topic Experience Days
A Fun, Educational Topic Experience Day
This was one of our topic experience days, which are a fantastic way to enhance the learning experience and build excitement and engagement with your class’s current topic. Each of our topic sessions is bespoke, created specifically for the school and tailored to your learning outcomes, while also teaching essential cooking and nutrition skills.
Book a Topic Experience Day
If you are interested in booking a topic experience day at your school, please email [email protected] or complete our enquiry form.
