Our philosophy

The aim of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation is to introduce pleasurable food education into as many Australian primary schools as possible.

Our Program emphasises the flavours as well as the health benefits of fresh, seasonal food.

Dishes cooked reflect the vegetables, herbs and fruits grown, season-by-season, by the children in their organic gardens.

Our Kitchen Specialist instructors emphasise balance and moderation, and endorse the concept of preparing fruit-based desserts ‘sometimes' only.

The Program is designed to be fully integrated into the primary school curriculum as it offers infinite possibilities to reinforce literacy, numeracy, science, cultural studies and all aspects of environmental sustainability.

In addition, the Program delivers observable social benefits to all students, including those with special needs.

Recipe Guidelines

Our preferred cooking fat is Australian-grown extra virgin olive oil in most recipes. Where butter is used in recipes, we recommend 100 per cent butter, not compound spreads or margarine. The aim is to have no more than 15 grams of butter per person in any recipe, preferably less.

Our recipes encourage the use of low-fat styles of cheese e.g. ricotta or feta. If cheese is used in a sauce we recommend no more than 25 grams per serve.

Where milk is used in recipes we recommend fat-reduced milk or standard milk, giving the Kitchen Specialist or home cook the option.

Whenever fried food is being cooked, ensure the food is well drained on kitchen paper.

Fruit-based desserts either use fruit in its natural state (e.g. fruit salad) or are prepared using the minimum amount of sugar possible (e.g. poached in light sugar syrup).

Click here to download the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation's philosophy in print friendly format.

The published results of the Victorian Program evaluation by Deakin University in concert with the McCaughey Centre at the University of Melbourne showed that this Program positively influences the behaviour of children. Those children in the Program were more willing to try new foods than those in the control group, and while transfer of Program benefits to the home environment was not one of the goals of the Program, it is emerging as a flow-on benefit.