Spuddy was on tour last week, travelling south to join the fun at the Matamata Town Makeover!

On Monday 25th February The Chip Group held the Training Seminar for all local retailers selling hot chips in Matamata. Training and Education Manager – Kate Underwood and Champion Chippie – Michael Huang ran the seminar in both English and Chinese and are pictured here with Spuddy! They had a great turn out with loads of industry support including McCains Foods Ltd, Mr Chips and Dean Langall-Read from AS Wilcox.

“It was really great to see the enthusiasm from operators who were learning about their role in the health of their community, and that by making slight changes in the way they cook their chips they can make a significant improvement to the health of their customers” says Kate.

One of the key messages from the training was pointing out the ‘danger zone’ for operators cooking hot chips. When fresh our beloved potatoes have as little as 0.1-0.2% fat, after being processed into chips by McCains or Mr Chips they are around 4-5% fat, but once they reach your fish and chip wrapper they can be anywhere from 7-22% fat – depending on the level of skill of the operator.

Matamata operators were very excited to start putting their new skills into practice and start cooking ‘BETTER CHIPS’ for locals and tourists passing through. Here is Spuddy again with local chippies proudly holding their training certificates.

To find out more about The Chip Group head to their website here. And watch this space for a further update on the Matamata Town Makeover coming soon…

Keep your kids busy while you get ready for Xmas the It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program is on this week. Download the e-book HERE.  Full of lots of potato recipes co-sponsored by Potatoes New Zealand, will run live online on Thursday 20th December @ 10am!

The interactive show is the brainchild of food and nutrition educator Glenda Gourley, and her 18 year-old daughter Claire. Already it’s been hailed by celebrity chef and healthy food promoter, Jamie Oliver in his blog.

By encouraging children all over New Zealand to learn to cook their family dinner and eat together, the program also supports the Ministry of Health Food & Nutrition Guidelines for children and young people aged 2-18.

“We want to help children get savvy and confident with food in a way that’s fun, but also delivers results,” says Glenda.  “It’s simple – kids who have food skills make better food choices.”

“The online program is a win-win. Parents can sit back and have their dinner cooked while their children learn healthy food skills, and enjoy hanging out with other kids learning to cook online,” she says.

“We encourage kids to start with simple and healthy dishes like mashed potatoes with spices or herbs, we’ll have them whipping up a scrummy potato salad, show them how to make healthy hash browns on the barbecue, or oven baked potato wedges with salsas and salad.” says Glenda.

The cooking session is highly interactive with the mother-daughter team giving step-by-step instructions direct to children. A range of activities encourage sharing and creativity through live-chats and fun games such as origami puzzles, Christmas gift ideas, and tips and tricks to make the food festive.

The class also recognises other aspects of food health and safety.  “We include lots of other foodie things like how to make food choices, kitchen safety and helping children gain confidence both in the kitchen and on the computer,” says Claire.

Originally trialed as a pilot in April 2012, the response from participants was overwhelmingly positive. The program is supported by 5+ A Day.

For more information and to register online go to www.foodsavvykids.com

For more information contact:

 Glenda Gourley, Potatoes NZ, 027 428 1646

Fiona Morris, Ideas Shop, 027 224 2542

New potato buyers are being encouraged to carry out a simple test to ensure they are indeed buying the delicate new season varieties now hitting the shelves.

The ‘Flick Test’ has been devised by Potatoes New Zealand to help shoppers identify sumptuous new season varieties such as Ilam Hardy and Jersey Benne that are available throughout New Zealand from early October, fresh from New Zealand growers.

“New season potatoes are a Kiwi favourite and with only a very short season, this test is an easy way to identify new potatoes from other tasty but not ‘new season’ potatoes,” says Todd Hughes, a board member for Potatoes New Zealand.

The flick test is based on the Potatoes New Zealand definition of a new potato as a young potato characterised by soft skin – so delicate that it can be easily flicked off by a finger.

“Considering growers work hard to deliver this delicate product in its finest form, shoppers should make sure they’re selecting the best!”

“Look for new potatoes that have smooth, undamaged and unblemished skins. They should be dry and feel firm to touch. If you can flick off the skin easily, then you have a new potato,” says Mr Hughes.

Because the skin of a new potato is so delicate, they’re rarely if ever peeled before cooking. And being young, they retain their shape and texture, and can be seasoned to match the meal.

“With their sweet taste, new potatoes are ideal for potato salads or simply boiled with a knob of butter and a few chopped herbs. Or you could combine them with Kiwis’ two other favourite vegetables, mushrooms and tomatoes, to make a tasty ‘super star’ vegetable combination,” says Mr Hughes. “It’s a short but abundant season, so make the most of it!”

For more cooking tips and tasty potato recipes check out the recipe section on our website here and get cooking!

Media release

Potatoes NZ 2012

For more information contact:

Glenda Gourley, Potatoes NZ, 027 428 1646

Amanda Woodbridge, Ideas Shop, 021 715 499

Potatoes New Zealand are taking a pro-active approach to the current Obesity epidemic. Our focus is to establish and encourage good eating habits with kiwi children.

The facts are simple:

• The most reliable predictor of adult obesity is childhood obesity.
• NZ kids don’t eat enough vegetables.
• Potatoes are kiwi kids favourite vegetable.
• Children with food skills/knowledge are likely to make better food choices.
• Parents are important role models, whose food habits influence childrens food choices.
• PNZ support NZ Nutritional Guidelines for Children and Young People and are committed to sharing their intent with consumers.

We are extremely supportive of the child cooking strategy It’s My Turn To Cook Tonight which focuses on getting kiwi kids gaining skills and confidence in the kitchen as well as the parenting strategy Food Savvy Kids which offers tips and advice about how to prepare your child for a healthy future.

As an industry we accept a corporate responsibility to help New Zealand children establish good eating habits, and we are confident that POTATOES play a crucial role in making it happen.

We were able to share this approach at the 2012 Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society Conference (ANZOS) held last week in Auckland. Our Marketing and Education Consultant Glenda Gourley shared her success with the Bosch It’s My Turn To Cook Tonight Online School Holiday Program and inspired the audience to be innovative and pro-active on what we can do to improve the health of our children and our childrens’ children. For more info on the program check out her website here.

Collectively Potatoes, Tomatoes and Mushrooms are the 3 top sellers in the NZ, making up over 50% of the vegetable market. The start of spring brings us the best of New Zealand’s most loved and wanted vegetables.

We know a tomato is technically a fruit, and a mushroom is a fungi, but in everyday use, and how they are prepared and eaten, these guys are definitely vegetables!

Very different and very versatile, Superstars have 3 distinctly different tastes, textures and looks. They can be prepared  in a multitude of ways from salads to soups, mashes to roasts for breakfast, snacks, lunch or dinner; any time of year! Their wonderful combination of taste and colour mean you can play it safe or introduce a range of new flavours and still guarantee that your family will love them.

We have put together a range of recipe ideas for you and your family to enjoy any time of day! But experiment yourself, get creative and play around with your own combination of the superstars. Share your ideas with us on Facebook and keep an eye out in your local supermarket for our Superstar support.

Individually they have an excellent nutrient profile, so when these three are combined they are a nutritional powerhouse. The dynamic trio of 1 potato + 1 tomato + 3 mushrooms covers a wide range of the nutrients including vitamin C, B-group vitamins, protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, fibre and antioxidants. You name it – they’ve got it covered.

A Kiwi mother and daughter team launch a live online children’s cooking program these holidays offering children all over New Zealand a fun way to learn to cook their family dinner – at home.

Co-sponsored by  Potatoes New Zealand,  It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program, running 2-4 October, is the brainchild of food and nutrition educator Glenda Gourley and her 18 year-old daughter Claire.

“We want to help children get savvy and confident with food in a way that’s fun, they can relate to,” says Claire, who has her own children’s cooking website  www.itsmyturntocooktonight.com  and has published cookbooks.

The programme helps parents achieve the Ministry of Health Food & Nutrition Guidelines for children and young people (age 2-18), which encourage kids to cook and families to eat together.

“But many parents are at a loss to know what to do next,” says Glenda, who is also food education consultant for Potatoes NZ, “so this programme is a win-win. Parents can sit back and have their dinner cooked while their children learn healthy food skills and children get to have great fun learning how to cook while hanging out with other kids online.”

“For many of us, food is at the centre of our childhood memories, but in today’s modern world we don’t have time to teach our children how to cook and then to enjoy the results as a family around the table. The programme is a chance for parents and grandparents to address that by passing on the ‘potato cooking legacy’.

“Potatoes are consistently voted as kids’ favourite vegetable, so if your kids participate, start with the known favourite, and over time introduce other vegetables,” recommends Glenda.

“We encourage kids to start with simple and healthy dishes. Mashed potatoes with spices or herbs, baked potatoes with corn and onion or oven baked potato wedges with salsas and salad are all good examples.”

The live online sessions are highly interactive with the mother-daughter team giving step-by-step instructions direct to children. A range of activities encourage sharing and creativity through live-chats and competitions such as movie-making and “over-the-top” table setting.

“It’s not just about cooking,” says Claire, “we include lots of other foodie things like how to make food choices, read labels, kitchen safety and helping children gain confidence both in the kitchen and on the computer.”

Originally trialed as a pilot in April 2012, the response was overwhelming with children having fun while learning about teamwork and technology and their parents thrilled with the skills their children gained.

The program is supported by 5+ A Day and has even been hailed by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver who has blogged about it.

Running 2-4 October, parents and caregivers can find more information and register online at  www.foodsavvykids.com

Media release

Potatoes NZ

Monday 10 September 2012

For more information contact:

Glenda Gourley, Potatoes NZ, 027 428 1646

Amanda Woodbridge, Ideas Shop, 021 715 499

It’s official, the best nutrition and education brains in the country have made a recommendation*, parents are advised to involve their kids in food shopping and cooking family meals. (Especially those involving POTATOES!)

This is a trump card for any parent. It is not just you nagging to get your kids to help – evidence from the experts actually backs you up!  Your kids are likely to be healthier if they help with dinner because study after study shows that a child who has practical food skills makes better food choices.

The challenge, as always, remains to convert guidelines into action. Juggling the demands of work, school and family mean many parents struggle with the practical reality of making it happen.  For example, most of us know our kids should eat more fruit and vegetables but get stuck on the ‘how-to’. An innovative online cooking program, supported by 5+ A Day, addressing this may be what you are looking for.

Utilizing the inspirational skills of food educator Glenda Gourley and her teen daughter Claire, the mother-daughter team created It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program. It harnesses the power of role models by using a teen to inspire children. Running 2-4 October this program gets your children cooking your dinner, in your home, using your food.

Originally trialed as a pilot in April this year, the response by participating parents and kids was overwhelmingly positive**. The program is also gaining international attention, the Jamie Oliver Foundation recognized, praised and blogged about it on their website. Closer to home, the positive impact of Claire’s cooking strategy was the major question in NCEA Home Economics level 1 final exam last year.

The children learn to cook while they hang out with other kids online. It’s not just cooking, they slip in all sorts of other foodie things – like making food choices, reading labels, kitchen safety, plus they gain confidence both in the kitchen and on the computer. Activities and competitions encourage the children to share, contribute, be creative, create an occasion to eat together and do something nice for other people.

So here is a clear action plan to implement the new guidelines. Enroll your kids in the It’s My Turn to Cook Tonight Bosch School Holiday Program at www.foodsavvykids.com and sit back while your kids have fun, learn food skills and cook your dinner. The ultimate win;win, for parents. No, you are not being lazy insisting your children cook you dinner – you are encouraging your kids to get food skills that will last a lifetime.  The school holidays could well be a holiday for you too!

*The Ministry of Health released Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Children and Young People (aged 2-18 years) were released on August 6th. Full details may be found on www.healthed.govt.nz There are a range of recommendations including eating together as a family, eating from the four food groups daily, drinks, ensuring food safety and physical activity.

** Feedback from parents and children who particiapted in the April cooking program may be viewed under ‘rave reviews’ http://cookingprogram.itsmyturntocooktonight.com/rave-reviews

 ENDS

For more information:

Glenda Gourley

Mob 0274 281646

glenda@foodsavvykids.com

skype; glendagourley

The 2011 National Chip Survey revealed some great results for The Chip Group particularly with regards to sodium content. In June 2011 they measured a range of objectives in takeaway outlets throughout NZ and compared results to earlier surveys in 1999 and 2007.

Their best results came with Sodium as most retailers were achieving the target of a maximum sodium level of 170mg per 100g of chips.  This is brilliant news as a high intake of salt (sodium) increases the risk of heart disease/stroke- the single most common cause of death in New Zealand. Since 2007 sodium levels have significantly decreased. So customers asking for chips with less salt, or operators providing salt sachets seem to be the best ways to reduce this sodium content. Let’s hope we can all keep up the good work!

One aspect that was not achieved was the display of training certificates in takeaway outlets. In fact only a small number of certificates were visible so it seemed very few current retailers appeared to have trained. Hence the focus for The Chip Group this year is to offer FREE TRAINING throughout NZ for all takeaway outlets keen to up-skill their staff and improve their business.

Potatoes New Zealand are proud members of The Chip Group so we are always looking for ways to support the work they do. Keep a lookout for training opportunities in your region, encourage your local fish and chip shop to get involved in training and to contact Kate if they are interested in getting their staff chip-savvy! The Chip Group are here to help NZ businesses and most importantly ‘Work together to make Better Chips’.

This week is Food Week – an initiatve from the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation encouraging Kiwis to ‘just get in the kitchen and cook’. Food Week aims to build back confidence in homes that a home-cooked meal with basic ingredients and seasonal produce is inexpensive, easy and tasty. (more…)