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      Eat local to taste the world

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can locate the origin of ingredients for different worldwide cuisines.

      Key learning points

      1. There are a wide range of cuisines, ingredients, cooking techniques and equipment used around the world.
      2. 58% of food consumption comes from the UK, 23% from the EU and 19% worldwide, due to season, cost, climate and variety.
      3. Ingredients produced in the UK can be used to prepare a range of dishes, although some ingredients need to be imported.
      4. There are advantages to buying food locally and seasonally in the UK, such as reduced environmental impact and cost.
      5. Reducing the amount of food wasted at each stage of the farm to fork journey has financial and environmental benefits. 

      Keywords

      • Cuisine - a style or method of cooking (in a country, region or restaurant)

      • Import - bring goods in from another country for sale

      • Export - send foods to another country for sale

      • Cooking technique - the way food is prepared and cooked

      Common misconception

      The UK produces all of its own food.

      The UK produces 58% of the food it consumes, 42% is imported from other countries. This is due to season, cost, climate, and to add variety to the diet.

      Teacher tip

      Exploring cuisines around the world is a great way to focus on different cultures, history and customs. Find out what cuisines your pupils know and use these as examples in their learning.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      What is the list of food used in a recipe called?

      commodities
      equipment
      Correct answer: ingredients
      method

      Q2.
      Which of these are types of food production?

      Correct answer: rearing
      milling
      drying
      Correct answer: growing

      Q3.
      Match the country to its traditional food.

      Correct Answer:Italy,pizza and pasta

      pizza and pasta

      Correct Answer:Japan,sushi and miso soup

      sushi and miso soup

      Correct Answer:Mexico,tacos and burritos

      tacos and burritos

      Correct Answer:UK,fish and chips

      fish and chips

      Q4.
      What might influence what we eat consciously?

      role models
      Correct answer: religion
      advertising
      Correct answer: food preferences

      Q5.
      Packaged foods have food which inform us where the food comes from.

      Correct Answer: labels, label

      Q6.
      A cuisine is ...

      a type of ingredient produced and processed from a country.
      a style of a piece of equipment from a certain country.
      Correct answer: a style or method of cooking (in a country, region or restaurant).

      5 Questions

      Q1.
      True or false? The UK produces all of its own food.

      true
      Correct answer: false

      Q2.
      Food grows seasonally and, when not in season in the UK, is __________ so consumers can easily buy what they want.

      exported
      produced
      Correct answer: imported
      processed

      Q3.
      Match the ingredients to the country:

      Correct Answer:India,spices

      spices

      Correct Answer:Japan,rice and fish

      rice and fish

      Correct Answer:Nigeria,cassava

      cassava

      Correct Answer:Italy,pasta

      pasta

      Q4.
      Which of these shows tandoori cooking technique?

      Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
      An image in a quiz
      An image in a quiz
      An image in a quiz

      Q5.
      Which piece of equipment is used to steam food, such as vegetables?

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
      An image in a quiz
      An image in a quiz
      An image in a quiz
      Q5 image 4 "tortilla press 001" by tokyofoodcast is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

      To help you plan your 8 cooking and nutrition lesson on: Eat local to taste the world, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...