A TASTE of honey, warm Caerphilly cheese and Wye Valley asparagus were the treats in store for pupils from Llandogo Primary School when local food was cooked in front of their eyes by celebrity chef, Rob Rees. The cookery demonstration – part of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty's Savour the Wye initiative to encourage the use of local foods – saw the children podding peas as well as munching on fresh asparagus. While cooking, Cotswolds Chef, Rob Rees MBE, also talked to the seven to nine-year-olds about trying fresh herbs, pulses like pearl barley and vegetable oils. "The best thing is to keep trying out new tastes.... At your age your taste changes every couple of weeks, so what you might not like today, you could love in a week or so." Children from Llandogo already help out with an organic vegetable garden and the school's dinners are freshly cooked as part of Monmouthshire County Council's Healthy School Meals programme. Rob Rees will be back to support the Wye Valley AONB's Savour the Wye initiative later this year, with more cooking demonstrations at the Monmouthshire Show. And the 2007 Savour the Wye Local Food Awards will be launched shortly, with awards for chef of the Year, Student Chef of the Year and Producer of the Year.
