Pre-School's trip to Pizza Express

As part of our food festival week at Daisykins Nursery in Rugby a group of children in Pre-School became little chefs at Pizza Express.

A group of 12 children were invited to learn how pizzas were made and to have a go at making their own. The children walked from our Whitehall Nursery along to Pizza Express and upon arrival the children were greeted and given their own chefs hats. The children were gathered around in a horse shoe shape, sitting at tables, and one of the pizza chefs eagerly explained what they were going to do and what pizzas were made from. He then demonstrated each stage of the process as the children watched, mesmerized by what he was doing.

Finally it was the children's turn to get stuck in. They were each given a piece of dough and were encouraged to kneed it on to the floured surface in front of them. Next they had to stretch the dough and flatten it to form a circle shape. The children were then given a round tin and a pastry brush. They were told to use a flour and water mixture to grease round the edges of the tin and to make a smiley face in the middle. One of the children said "I'm drawing my mummy's smiley face". Next the children put their circle dough into the tin and made sure it reached the edges with the help of a practitioner. They were then given a spoon of tomato purée onto their dough and encouraged to spread it around using a spoon. Finally it was time to add their topping. The children picked out a handful of mozzarella and sprinkled it onto their pizza bases.

Dietary requirements were also taken into consideration and Pizza Express supplied a gluten free base and an alternative topping to accommodate the needs of a child with a dairy and gluten allergy.

Once they had finished their masterpieces were taken away to be cooked in the special pizza ovens. The children were allowed to watch this process from behind the counter, ensuring a safe distance was kept.

It was then time to return to nursery and everyone waved goodbye and thanked Pizza Express for the experience. Once the pizzas had been cooked they were delivered to Nursery and the children were able to take them home to show them off and share them with their families.

Here at Daisykins Nursery in Rugby we like to provide the children with different experiences outside of the nursery setting and we have been invited back any time so another trip will definitely be organised in the near future!