Manchester City and Vermillion Team Up

MANCHESTER City Football Club has signed up a top restaurant to help strike home a vital healthy eating message to local youngsters.

Chatchai Jamjang, Vermilion’s highly-acclaimed Thai chef, went into the classroom with the Blues to give children lessons in healthy food as part of the club’s Strike a Balance initiative.

He showed the children of St Brigid’s RC Primary School in Beswick, how to prepare balanced, healthy meals and the youngsters got a chance to join in the cookery master classes.

Coaches from the club’s City in the Community team were also involved in the special lesson and the Year 5 youngsters got special Blue MCFC aprons to wear.

MCFC and its near neighbour Vermilion, on Hulme Hall Lane, plan to take the idea of cookery demonstrations out to other schools in their community. Both the club and the restaurant have played a major role in the regeneration and revival of New East Manchester.

The owners of the renowned Thai and Indian restaurant are delighted to be involved in Strike a Balance.

Manzur Ahmed, managing director of Vermilion, said: “We are very excited to be working with Manchester City on a project that can make a real difference to young people in the community.

“Our team is really looking forward to going into more classrooms and working with the children to show them how good, healthy food can easily be prepared. They have put together some really interesting dishes that the children help them make.

“Vermilion and our parent company Seamark have made New East Manchester our home for 20 years and it is great to be able to work in the community and to help youngsters make informed, proper choices about their diets – lessons that they can also take back to their families and friends.”

Two of the most popular dishes on the Vermilion menu were cooked for the children of St Brigid’s – Ginger and Garlic Thai Chicken Stir-Fry and Pla Yang, poached cod with Thai dipping sauce served with Cucumber and Asparagus.

Lisa Kimpton, CITC’s Healthy Schools Project Manager, said:” As part of Strike a Balance we normally get the young people to help prepare a pasta dish.

“Working with the chef from Vermilion has helped us introduce a new and healthy cuisine to the young people and hopefully will help to make them understand that eating healthy food can be exciting and tasty.”

Since CITC launched the Strike a Balance project in February 2011, 72 primary schools in Manchester have taken part in the scheme.

It is aimed at young people in year 5, and is a partnership between CITC and Manchester Healthy Schools that offers primary schools the chance to take part in a free five week programme.

Using examples of Premier League footballers such as Joe Hart and Gareth Barry, each session covers a different area of healthy eating and is followed by a football session. 

Topics covered include the balance of good health, the importance of physical activity and cooking healthy, balanced meals.