Aberdeen primary school pupils’ meal to be served up at Tony Macaroni

The Gilcomstoun Primary School pupils were invited to a cooking class at Tony Macaroni.

By Ellie Milne

July 3 2023, 1:55 pm

General manager Raffaele Monda and head chef Rafael Pacheco with some of the pupils from Gilcomstoun Primary School. Image: Tony Macaroni.

A group of 20 school pupils have donned chef whites to create their own signature dish at an Aberdeen restaurant.

The youngsters from Gilcomstoun Primary School were invited to take part in a one-of-a-kind lesson at Tony Macaroni to learn about the art of cooking.

Pupils from P3 and P4 were taught about the importance of fresh ingredients by general manager, Raffaele Monda, and head chef, Rafael Pacheco, before getting stuck in to help create their own pasta dish.

The Gilcomstoun pupils with general manager, Raffaele Monda, and head chef, Rafael Pacheco, outside the Aberdeen restaurant. Image: Tony Macaroni.

Gilcomstoun dish available at Toni Macaroni all summer

The final creation, Gilcomstoun Pesto Penne, will be available to purchase at the Aberdeen restaurant from Saturday, July 8, until Thursday, August 31.

The dish has been described as a “tasty twist” on a classic featuring fresh pesto sauce made with basil, peanut, parmesan and pecorino, topped with crumbled Italian sausage.

School pupils at Tony Macaroni — Pupils from Gilcomstoun Primary School learning about Italian cuisine. Image: Tony Macaroni.

Mr Monda, from Tony Macaroni in Aberdeen, said: “We are passionate about the importance of cooking and eating well at a young age and so we were delighted to have youngsters from Gilcomstoun Primary School join us and learn about the flavours of Italian cuisine and try their hand at creating their own dishes.

“The kids had a fantastic time, and it was a brilliant experience for us to meet more of our young community here in Aberdeen. We hope to extend the invite to more local schools and pupils in the future.”