TAKE AWAY MY TAKEAWAY

PROGRAMME 4: CHINA

ACTIVITIES

Guidance

The programme can be used as the focus of a stand-alone lesson. These activities support a variety of individual, paired and group work and can be chosen and adapted to suit the needs of the students involved.

For further information, websites and other resources, see Find out more.

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Before viewing

Do some preliminary work to develop students' understanding about healthy diets. You can use information and activities from the downloads available here:
www.foodinschools.org/curriculum/foodtech_pshe.php

Students can prepare for the first activity by looking at the label of a supermarket sweet and sour chicken dish and making a list of the ingredients. Try to find out more about what the different additives are for. Note the amount of fat and salt in the dish.

Before undertaking the second clip-related activity, read the Background information about how snakes are used in Chinese cuisine, and look at the website in Find out more about strange foods of the world.

Before undertaking the activity related to Clip 4, study the statistics about using fresh ingredients in this download:
www.bmesonline.org.uk/resources/downloads/
pdf/consumerattitudes.pdf

After viewing

To view 4Learning video clips you will need Windows XP/2000 and Windows Media Player 9, 10 or 11. Unfortunately, the clips are not supported on Macintosh computers.

The video clips may contain a few seconds of extra material at the beginning and end. We have therefore included opening and closing descriptions to help identify the intended scene.

Which version of sweet and sour is healthier?
Clip 1: 08:20 – 10:34

• In: (Vivi) 'Now we need to make the sauce, that's the really crucial part.'
• Out: (Adam) 'I think this experience could reduce the revenue of the Chinese takeaways in St Albans.'

As soon as they taste authentic Chinese food, Adam and Danny notice a big difference from the takeaways they eat at home.

List the ingredients Vivi uses. Then from your research done before viewing, make a second list, of the ingredients used in a supermarket sweet and sour pork in the UK. Does the UK dish include all the ingredients that are used in a traditional version? What cooking methods are used? What other ingredients are included? Why is the authentic dish 'less stodgy' than a takeaway? Why are those ingredients used? Which of the dishes is healthier, and why?

Would you eat a snake?
Clip 2: 13:35 – 17:21

• In: (Dave) 'Back in Sha Tin, the boys are going to collect the next ingredient for the stir fry.'
• Out: (Danny) 'Snake is definitely… nice.'

At first the boys don't fancy the idea of eating snake one bit, but in the end they discover that it tastes pretty good.

Would you like to sample snake? Give your reasons. How strong are cultural influences in determining what people will and won't eat? Is it less acceptable to eat a snake than, say, a fish? Give your reasons. Think of examples of foods from other countries that are not usually eaten in the UK. Would you eat these foods if you travelled to those countries? Give your reasons.

How to resolve an argument
Clip 3: 18:32 – 21:19

• In: (Dave) 'Adam and Danny are finally on their own.'
• Out: (Adam) 'I'm sorry Danny.' (Danny) 'That's all right mate. The argument has ended.'

Adam and Danny fall out over the cooking instructions for their dish, and for a while it looks as if there won't be any cooking done at all.

How well did the boys handle their disagreement? What could either one of them have done differently? Adam can't agree with Danny, because he's taken up a position and risks losing face if he agrees that he's wrong. What would be the best result for both of them? What do you think of the way they eventually 'made up'? Role play the same argument, but experiment with different ways of handling the disagreement, so that a) it's resolved faster, and b) it ends in stalemate. What tactics do you need to use to get the best result for everyone?

Is fresher better?
Clip 4: 22:38 – 23:00

• In: (Adam) 'Before I came here I was quite narrow-minded.'
• Out: (Adam) '…from scratch.' (Danny) 'From scratch, yeah.'

Now they've found out how good fresh food tastes, the boys want to cook from scratch more often.

According to the statistics given in the download you studied before viewing, people under 25 are the least likely to prepare food using fresh ingredients. Does this fit in with your own experience? How often do you eat freshly prepared food, and how often do you prepare it for yourself? List five advantages and five disadvantages of preparing fresh foods. Which do you think are more nutritious? Why? 'Lack of time' is the main reason that people give for not cooking from scratch. Is this a valid argument, in your opinion?