Stanley Tucci has backed a campaign calling for all children at U.K. primary schools to learn to cook.
On Thursday, the Oscar-nominated actor joined food industry icons, Prue Leith and Delia Smith, outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London.
The trio teamed up to promote a new initiative at Leiths, the culinary school founded by the former The Great British Bake Off judge, which offers a set of video-led cookery education resources to non-fee paying pre- and primary schools across the country.
Reflecting on the project, Tucci insisted it's important for each and every child to know how to cook a dish from scratch.
"Being a passionate foodie, I do try to instil the same passion in my children. So we cook together a lot and make sharing a meal as a family a priority. It does seem a failure of our education system that so many children are leaving school without the skills to cook delicious healthy meals from scratch," the Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy host commented. "When children don't learn to cook, they miss out on basic skills but also on some of the greatest joys and pleasures of life. A passion for food and cooking, an understanding of ingredients and nutrition, they're all essential to develop happy, independent, joyful, healthy children and future adults."
According to a poll conducted by the team at Leiths Education, 75 per cent of primary pupils do not receive regular cookery lessons.
And legendary cook and TV presenter Delia noted that it's important that schools have the resources needed to teach children to cook from as early as four.
"When a child learns to make a simple meal, they're learning far more than a recipe," the 84-year-old shared. "They're learning about nutrition, about where food comes from, about self-sufficiency. They're learning they can feed themselves properly, which is one of the most empowering things we can teach."
