Matt Potts believes our sweet tooth is getting out of hand. The head chef at Farnham's More House School shows Samantha Laurie how he's cutting back on childrens' sugar intake, along with three great recipes
As head chef at More House School in Farnham (and one of the head chefs at Holroyd Howe), Matt Potts feeds a total of 600 boys and teachers each day. Earlier this year, he began a covert campaign to revolutionise the food leaving his kitchen by halving the sugar content in recipes. Four months later, not a single teacher or child had noticed that mashed banana flapjacks and butternut squash cookies had replaced more familiar fare.
Potts’s Half Measures campaign removed 20 kilos of sugar a week from pupils’ diets without recourse to artificial alternatives.
"We live in a world where the biggest drug for children, sugar, is completely unregulated in UK schools," he says. "Many kids spend all day in a state of constant sugar craving."
Of particular concern to Potts is the sugar inflation in everyday recipes.
"When you look at a 1980s recipe for a basic sponge, it has barely changed since the earliest recipe books of the 1860s – equal measures of sugar, flour, eggs... but today the sugar content is 30-50% higher. Most parents, even chefs, have barely questioned this."
The feelgood reaction from sugar, believes Potts, encourages us to rave about high sugar recipes, thus perpetuating a survival of the sugariest. An alarming thought, and one that has whetted his appetite for ridding many recipes of sugar completely.
Half-Measure Sugar Recipes
Chocolate Pots – 25 Portions
Ingredients:
2.5l double cream
1kg callebaut dark chocolate callets
10 eggs
100g muscavado sugar
A splash of vanilla essence
Method:
- Place the chocolate callets in a food processor but do not turn on!
- Place the cream, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and gently bring to the boil.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and turn the processor on.
- After 20 seconds, add the eggs one by one and mix for another 10 seconds.
- Pour in to the ramekins/expresso cups and chill for 2 hours minimum.
- Try placing cranberries or chopped oranges in the mix for a fruity taste – or top with granola!
White Chocolate and Peach Blondie – 24 Portions
Ingredients:
280g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
2 eggs
150g white chocolate chips
280g chopped fresh peaches
225g butter
155g light brown sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
150g desiccated coconut
Method:
- Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, baking powder and eggs until fluffy.
- Add flour, chocolate chips, coconut and peaches, and incorporate in to the mix.
- Spread mix into a parchment-lined dish.
- Bake at 150°C for approximately 35 minutes
Blueberry and Sour Cream Loaf – 2 Small Loaves
Ingredients:
350g unsalted butter at room temperature
6 eggs
450g plain flour
280ml sour cream
175g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
3 level dsp baking powder
250g fresh blueberries
Method:
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time whilst still whisking.
- Beat in the flour, baking powder and vanilla.
- Add the sour cream and mix well.
- Stir in the blueberries gently.
- Place in non-stick loaf tins and bake at 170°C for 40 minutes.
Matt Potts is @chefmattp on Twitter
