Food Studies

Purpose

The Food Studies course is designed to help students develop practical food preparation, organisational, and technical skills as they learn to work confidently and responsibly with food. Students apply principles of nutrition, food science, and sensory evaluation to plan and prepare meals, recognising food as part of God’s good creation that sustains and nourishes life. They explore the many factors that influence food choices, including culture, health, and lifestyle, and consider how these choices impact individual and community well-being. Students also learn to evaluate the accuracy of nutritional information, developing discernment to navigate food trends, diets, and media influences with wisdom. In addition, they research and discuss the economic, environmental, and ethical dimensions of food systems, encouraging a sense of stewardship and responsibility as they consider how their choices can contribute to justice, sustainability, and care for others and creation.

Structure and Content

The integration of theory and practice is fundamental to learning in the Food Studies course. Areas covered in this course include: 

• Physiology of eating and digesting and the absorption and utilisation of macronutrients 

• Implications of food choice on physical health; diet related diseases 

• Biological reasons for differences in dietary requirements 

• Food fads, trends and diets and discerning their accuracy 

• Dietary recommendations and guides that assist in making ethical, sustainable and healthy food choices 

• Sensory and functional properties of food and the physical and chemical changes that occur during preparation and cooking 

• The use of various equipment and techniques appropriate to the preparation, cooking and presentation of food 

• Fulfilling the requirements of a design brief.