Tartiflette Making

Overview

This 90-minute lesson engages Year 6 students in a practical cooking activity—making Tartiflette—while integrating cross-curricular skills aligned with the UK National Curriculum. By the end of the session, students will have developed practical cooking skills, nutritional understanding, and persuasive communication techniques.

Curriculum Links

Design & Technology (Cooking and Nutrition):

Cooking and nutrition: understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet (Statutory requirement).
Understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught, and processed (NC KS2 DT).

English (Writing):

Plan, draft, and write for a range of purposes and audiences (English KS2 Writing).
Use persuasive language and devices to influence the reader (English KS2 Writing).

Science (Animals, including humans):

Identify and describe the functions of different parts of the digestive system (Science KS2) linked to nutrition.
Recognise the impact of diet and exercise on the human body (Science KS2).

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Prepare Tartiflette using basic cooking techniques safely and hygienically (DT).
Create a persuasive advertisement or poster to promote Tartiflette, using key persuasive language features (English).
Explain the nutritional content of Tartiflette and discuss its place within a balanced diet (Science/DT).
Work collaboratively in small groups to complete tasks effectively (Personal, Social and Health Education).

Resources Needed

Ingredients and cooking equipment for Tartiflette (potatoes, reblochon or alternative cheese, onions, bacon, cream, etc.)
Cooking utensils and oven access
Paper, coloured pencils/markers, glue, scissors for poster making
Nutritional information sheets or tablets/computers with approved websites for nutritional research
Persuasive writing template or guide sheets
Whiteboard and markers

Lesson Structure

1. Introduction & Safety Briefing (10 minutes)

Recap the recipe and essential food hygiene and safety rules. (Health and Safety Statutory requirement in D&T).
Brief pupils on the tasks: cooking Tartiflette, making a persuasive poster, and completing a nutrition worksheet.

2. Practical Cooking Activity (40 minutes)

Pupils will work in groups of six (5 groups total). Each group prepares the Tartiflette: peeling and slicing potatoes, sautéing onions and bacon, layering ingredients and baking.
Teacher circulates, modelling safe knife usage and hygiene practices.
Emphasise real-life cross-curricular links: following instructions (English) and understanding ingredient origins (DT).

Curriculum notes: Develop students’ practical skills and knowledge about seasonality (e.g., potatoes and cheese), and food provenance.

3. Filler Activity 1: Persuasive Advert/Poster Creation (15 minutes)

Groups design a persuasive poster to advertise their Tartiflette dish using key persuasive techniques such as emotive language, rhetorical questions, and strong slogans.
Provide examples of persuasive language and structural features on the board.
Pupils use coloured pencils to create eye-catching posters.

English curriculum focus: Writing for a purpose, understanding audience, using persuasive devices.

4. Filler Activity 2: Nutritional Value Exploration (15 minutes)

Using nutritional information sheets or digital tablets, pupils investigate the main nutritional components of Tartiflette (carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins).
Complete a worksheet matching nutrients to their role in the body and evaluate Tartiflette’s place in a balanced diet.
Discuss as a class: How could the dish be made healthier? (e.g., swapping bacon for leaner meat, adding vegetables).

Science + DT curriculum focus: Understand nutrition, health, and diet; reflect on the effect of food choices.

5. Plenary & Reflection (10 minutes)

Each group briefly presents their poster to the class, explaining their persuasive choices.
Teacher leads a discussion on the importance of balanced diets and cooking skills.
Reflect on teamwork and learning outcomes.

Assessment Opportunities

Formative: Observation of safe cooking practices, group teamwork, and engagement during activities.
Written: Completed persuasive poster and nutritional worksheet evaluated for accuracy and creativity.
Oral: Presentation of posters assessed for use of persuasive language and clarity.

Differentiation

Support weaker writers with sentence starters and vocabulary banks for posters.
Challenge advanced learners to include specific persuasive devices and scientific terminology in their nutrition explanations.
Provide practical support during cooking for pupils with fine motor skill difficulties.

Extension Ideas

Research and compare Tartiflette to other regional or international potato dishes.
Create a healthy recipe variant of Tartiflette incorporating more vegetables.

WOW Factor

Use tablets/smartboards to show a video demonstrating the origin of Tartiflette in the French Alps, linking cultural food traditions to global citizenship and geography.

This lesson plan delivers a rich, curriculum-aligned experience that integrates practical cooking skills with literacy, science, and health education, making food education dynamic and impactful for Year 6 pupils.

Teaching Instructions