PUPILS from a school in Thornbury have had the chance to take part in a cooking masterclass with a top chef to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Thornbury Castle head chef Stu Martin visited the Sheiling School to demonstrate the art of Chinese cuisine for the students to support one of their class projects.

During the session, the four students aged from eight to 15 helped to prepare duck breasts on Pak Choi with stir fried vegetables and Wontons.

Chef Stu Martin said: “Today was a great success and immense fun with the kids. I was pleasantly surprised of the level of involvement and the hands on approach. They, in reality, did most of the cooking.” 

Teacher Anna-Marie Perry said: “I found the experience to be extremely pleasurable and valuable to allow the pupils to be hands on.

“They learnt skills such as knife cutting, health and safety around food, especially why it is important to wash hands after handling duck or other meats. 

“They learnt how to plate up food to look attractive and they learnt how to make Wontons in the Chinese style, asking lots of questions and demonstrated a keen interest throughout the whole process. Overall I think the session was a huge success.”