Kitchen Garden Program graduate story: Giulia

It’s so special to see how the Kitchen Garden Program shapes children’s ideas and habits around food. However, we often lose touch with graduates, and don’t witness the later part of their food journey.

As such, we were very lucky to meet and interview Giulia Fiorentini – who took part in the Kitchen Garden Program at Elwood Primary School back in 2009 and 2010, while in Grades 3 and 4. More than a decade later, Giulia still feels the impact that the Program had on her as a child and how it influenced the way she now experiences and interacts with food. Today, Giulia is undertaking postgraduate studies in medicine, after completing a biomedicine degree in 2021. During her undergraduate degree, she also elected to take two nutrition subjects to combine her passion for food with her interest in medical science. 

 Header photo: Elwood Primary School kitchen garden, 2023. This image: Elwood Primary School kitchen garden, 2010.

Food has always been an integral part of Giulia’s identity. Growing up in an Italian household, meals were a time for bonding and solidarity. When she took first took part in the Kitchen Garden Program in Grade 3, she saw how it drew on the same values that her family held.
“The Program focused on each class growing good quality fruits and vegetables to prepare and eat together,” said Giulia.

As she learnt more in the school kitchen, she took those skills home with her and started recreating those meals she had learned, with her family – slowly but surely making her a  less picky eater. “The Program provided a space where I was slowly introduced to all sorts of new fruits and vegetables in the garden, which made me more inclined to try them in the kitchen and broaden my palette – much to my parent’s delight!”

This image: Elwood Primary School kitchen garden, 2010.

Reflecting on her time in the Program, she recalled being part of a video shoot with our founder Stephanie Alexander AO who came to Elwood to film recipes for her cookbook. Giulia remembered having a great time at the shoot, “it highlighted the importance of the program we were a part of and how fortunate we were.”

“The program expanded my palate and gave me the confidence to continue cooking at home – trying to make new dishes and teach myself new cooking techniques. Since the days spent in my primary school kitchen, cooking has now developed into a multifaceted love; be it a simple pastime, a procrastination tool when I should be studying or even a fun way to challenge myself.”

Gardening and harvesting produce at school also allowed Giulia to find a connection with her family and culture. “Growing up, I had always heard the stories of my Nonno and Nonna’s garden and their prized plum tree,” she said. “Learning how to garden made me feel closer to them in many ways.” 

This image: Elwood Primary School kitchen garden, 2010.

When she’s not studying, Giulia works at her local organic health food shop – just around the corner from her old primary school. The store helps supplement produce for the Kitchen Garden Program at Elwood Primary School, which Giulia sees as a true full-circle moment. 

“Parents from the school will often drop in and the Program is always a shared love,” said Giulia. 

It’s amazing to see how the Kitchen Garden Program has stuck with Giulia after all this time, in both the way she approaches her studies and her own cooking as well – she still has the Program cookbook and the rhubarb and apple crumble recipe within it has become a family favourite. 

This image: Giulia's Program cookbook, from 2009-2010.

Interested in the Kitchen Garden Program for your school or service? Check out all the details on our Membership pages.

Members can access our Rhubarb recipe collection on the Shared Table.