“ A mouth watering comedy with cooking and live music”

In September, over 300 East Lothian children came along to see the Licketyspit Theatre Company’s production Magic Spaghetti at the Brunton Theatre.

The show tells the story of Strega Nona – Granny Witch – who has returned to her hometown of Plain in Scotaly after years of travelling and tasting food from all over the world. She is dismayed to find that the people of Plain now eat only very plain food, Mayor MacBerto’s pies, plain spaghetti and tatties out a tin, as they consider it to be the modern way.

With a few adventures on the way, one by one the townspeople succumb to Strega Nona’s tasty cooking, as they tuck into lovingly prepared dishes created from fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices, declaring it to be “deliciouso!”

Supported by a teacher’s resource pack, the show conveys healthy eating messages in an entertaining, fun, non-judgemental way and encourages youngsters to experiment with new foods and flavours.

To keep the themes highlighted, a Magic Spaghetti lunch was held at Prestonpans Infants and St Gabriel’s earlier this month to celebrate the joy of healthy eating as well as the cultural and social links between Prestonpans and Barga in the Tuscan hills.

On the menu was minestrone soup followed by Strega Nona’s special tomato sauce, spaghetti and meatballs, served with crusty bread and a mixed salad, provided by ELC suppliers, Total Produce. For dessert, the children enjoyed local producer Di Rollo’s ice cream and fruit salad.

Serenaded by Italian music and surrounded by Italian themed decorations, nearly 300 children – for some, their first experience of a school meal – tucked in with gusto.

Their verdict? – “Deliciouso!”

Many thanks go to kitchen supervisor, Lorna Cunningham and staff for their hard work and enthusiasm in making the event such a success.