Baking queen lends a hand

She didn't turn up on the paper, but celebrity baking queen Rachel Allen gave an unwitting helping hand to Junior Certificate Home Economics higher level students yesterday.

There was a 'lovely question' on home baking and raising agents, said teacher Maura McCaul of the ASTI and Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, Dublin.

It was 'very topical because of the renewed interest in home baking' and 'a lot of my students made a direct link to Rachel Allen because of the way she has involved the family in her programmes'.

Overall, Ms McCaul said her students were 'delighted' with the paper, which covered a broad range of topics. 'Students who worked hard would have been rewarded,' she said.

She said the questions were fair and the terminology straightforward. However, not everyone was familiar with the term 'brine', which featured in three of the six parts of a question on tuna.

Ms McCaul welcomed the return to the traditional question on the assessment of the food value of a given food. She said that, at higher level, teachers wanted a thorough assessment of dietetics.

She added that ordinary level was straightforward and well-received.

By the time of yesterday's written exam, students had already completed their cooking practicals and course work, which account for around half of the total maximum marks.

- Katherine Donnelly

Irish Independent