Teaching 1,000,000 Kids to Cook by 2030

INTRODUCING 10 COOKING SKILLS FOR LIFE, BY JAMIE OLIVER

BACKGROUND

Jamie Oliver has always been the world's culinary teacher, and The Firebrand Company is helping him teach 1,000,000 kids how to cook by the year 2030 – with a special focus on new US markets.

Because learning about food and how to cook it has the potential to change life outcomes for generations to come — Jamie

Jamie's been at this for awhile, championing the power of food to shape healthier lives for over 25 years. From transforming school meals in the UK to a Food Revolution in the US , Jamie teaches us that cooking is a life skill as critical as reading and math. In 2021, he designed the 10 Skills program—a flexible curriculum and support materials that teach young people how to cook real food from scratch, wherever they live and whatever their starting point.

In 2024, Firebrand designed the first U.S. pilot of the 10 Skills program, working with educators from Bellflower Unified School District in Los Angeles County. One hundred high school students participated in a multi-week, classroom-based experience that blended cooking instruction with food knowledge and nutritional guidance for overall wellness. Students harvested ingredients, prepared meals, tried unfamiliar ingredients, and came together around the community dining table for meaningful conversation and reflection.

Survey results from the US pilot program indicated:

• 98% reported improved cooking confidence

• 100% reported greater enjoyment of cooking

• % of students cooking weekly from raw ingredients: 32% → 64%

• % eating vegetables 4–5x/week: 14% → 39%

• % eating junk food 2–3x/week or more: 77% → 60%

• 48% made voluntary dietary changes

WHY WE LOVE THIS PROJECT

We are foodies, like lots of folks, but more importantly, we believe that our relationship with food has the power to change life outcomes for us and for the generations that follow. To connect with food – to know where it comes from, how it nourishes us, how to cultivate it, cook it, and enjoy it with family and friends – is to nurture ourselves, each other and our planet. Like Jamie, we are believers in the transformative power of food:

I profoundly believe that the power of food has a primal place in our lives that binds us to the best bits of life — Jamie

WHAT WE DID

Firebrand is Jamie Oliver's strategic impact partner in the US. Our role is to:

• design the cross-sector strategy for US rollout and growth of the10 Skills program

• design and coordinate training and logistics for Bellflower pilot

• develop the early evaluation strategy and synthesizing outcome reporting

• co-create the 10 Skills brand story for US markets, including message frameworks and visual design

• lead business development and strategic collaboration for US markets

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Does this project interest you? Reach out to learn more, contribute, and bring it to your community. Say hello@thefirebrand.co.

Download our full deck here.