Chemical Kitchen
Chemical Kitchen, a part of the Imperial College London Pedagogy Transformation Project, is an original, interdisciplinary practical course that introduces students to the mindset and fundamental skills needed in a laboratory setting through a non-threatening parallel of cooking. It aims to teach practical laboratory skills, planning, creativity, safe working, precision, dexterity, making and recording observations, and the application of knowledge.
It was created as a collaboration between Professor Roger Kneebone (Imperial), Professor Alan Spivey (Imperial) and chef Jozef Youssef (Kitchen Theory).
The initial rollout of the Chemical Kitchen programme is aimed at 1st year Chemistry students. The course was developed by Luke Delmas and Jakub Radzikowski together with Student Shapers for the 2019/2020 academic year.
See below for a series of videos discussing different aspects of Chemical Kitchen from its creation, through what it teaches, to how it embodies the Learning and Teaching Strategy.
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What is Chemical Kitchen all about?
Alan, Jozef and Roger discuss how they came up with the idea.
Alan Spivey, Jozef Youssef and Roger Kneebone discuss how they came up with the idea and what it encompasses.

Welcome to Chemical Kitchen at Imperial College London
Luke and Jakub discuss the concept behind the course.
Luke Delmas and Jakub Radzikowski discuss the concept behind the course and what they have prepared for the students.

Chemical Kitchen and the Learning and Teaching Strategy
Simone, Roger, and Alan discuss the allignment to the learning and teaching strategy
Simone Buitendijk, Roger Kneebone, and Alan Spivey discuss how Chemical Kitchen fits into the Imperial College London Learning and Teaching Strategy.

Chemical Kitchen: an innovation in education
Emma, Roger and Alan discuss Chemical Kitchen and its innovative approach.
Emma McCoy, Roger Kneebone and Alan Spivey discuss Chemical Kitchen and its innovative approach in the context of education.

Chemical Kitchen: a multidisciplinary approach to teaching
Roger, Alan, Jozef, Luke and Jakub discuss their multidisciplinary approach to teaching
Roger Kneebone, Alan Spivey, Jozef Youssef, Luke Delmas and Jakub Radzikowski discuss the multidisciplinary approach to teaching used in the development of Chemical Kitchen

How is Chemical Kitchen inclusive?
Roger and Luke discuss how Chemical Kitchen is inclusive in catering to students' needs
Roger Kneebone and Luke Delmas discuss how Chemical Kitchen is inclusive in catering to students' needs.
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Chemical Kitchen and safe work
Alan and Jakub discuss how Chemical Kitchen teaches safe work practice
Alan Spivey and Jakub Radzikowski discuss how Chemical Kitchen teaches safe work practice by exploiting the overlap between kitchens and laboratories.

What led to the creadion of Chemical Kitchen?
Alan, Roger and Jozef how the idea of Chemical Kitchen came to life.
Alan Spivey, Roger Kneebone and Jozef Youssef discuss how the idea of Chemical Kitchen came to life.

Teaching observation skills and using all senses
Alan, Roger and Jozef discuss the importance of good observation skills and using all your senses
Alan Spivey, Roger Kneebone and Jozef Youssef discuss the importance of good observation skills and using all senses in kitchens and laboratories.

Exploiting the overlap between kitchens and laboratories
Alan, Roger and Jozef discuss how similar laboratories and kitchens really are.
Alan Spivey, Roger Kneebone and Jozef Youssef discuss how similar laboratories and kitchens really are.

Inclusivity in a non-threatrening environment
Alan, Roger and Jozef discuss how Chemical Kitchen creates a non-threatening learning environment
Alan Spivey, Roger Kneebone and Jozef Youssef discuss how Chemical Kitchen promotes inclusivity and creates a non-threatening learning environment.
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Contact us
If you are interested to learn more about the project, you can contact Jakub Radzikowski and Luke Delmas.