On Friday, May 1, 2026, a classroom at Admiral Westphal Elementary School was transformed into creative food studios as students used edible flowers, fruits, and colourful toppings to “paint” their own yogurt bowls.

The workshop marked the launch of Taste Lab, a new food literacy initiative by Off The Eaten Path that brings hands-on food experiences into schools through collaborations with chefs, educators, and community partners.

🍓 Paint Your Yogurt Bowl

The featured activity of the workshop was called:

👉 “Paint Your Yogurt Bowl”

Inspired by a Halifax local food topping brand - Boutique Eatery’s signature edible flower toppings, students were invited to create edible artwork using yogurt as their base and healthy toppings as their creative materials.

The ingredients included:

• dried edible flowers
• chocolate quinoa puffs
• rice cereals
• fresh fruits

Each ingredient became part of the artistic process, encouraging students to experiment with colour, texture, and composition while also learning about healthy food choices.

To celebrate the students’ creations, the team also set up a mini photo station where every yogurt artwork was professionally photographed. The photos will later be displayed at the school as a celebration of student creativity and participation.

🌼 Learning from Boutique Eatery

The workshop was led in collaboration with Boutique Eatery founders Naana and Daren, whose business is inspired by the idea of experiencing food as if it came from the Garden of Eden — full of flowers, herbs, fruits, and natural beauty.

Students learned:

• what edible flowers are
• which flowers are safe to eat
• how flowers and herbs can be used in cooking
• how food presentation can become a form of creativity and expression

More importantly, students had the opportunity to meet local entrepreneurs and hear firsthand how a passion for nature and healthy living can grow into a business idea.

“Food should be an experience that connects people to nature, to culture, and to joy. Seeing the students engage with the ingredients — not just eating, but creating — is exactly why we do what we do.”

— Chef Naana, Boutique Eatery

Throughout the sessions, many students showed incredible artistic instincts — transforming simple ingredients into imaginative designs and playful edible scenes.

🌱 Connecting Food Education to Real Learning

While the workshop may have looked playful on the surface, the experience was intentionally designed by Off The Eaten Path to connect with the learning already happening inside the school community.

This pilot project was made possible by corporate sponsorship from Atlantic Lottery, funding dedicated to supporting community initiatives. Their support enabled Off The Eaten Path to work closely with schools in co-designing programming that reflects their unique needs and educational goals.

At Admiral Westphal Elementary School, Teacher Erik Garf has built strong experiential learning opportunities for students through gardening, planting, and student-led business initiatives. Students have already been growing herbs indoors, tending vegetables in the school garden, and participating in business activities where they learn how to create products and organize mini market events.

Rather than introducing a disconnected one-time activity, Off The Eaten Path designed the workshop around a larger question:

How can food education connect creativity, agriculture, entrepreneurship, and cultural learning together in one experience?

That thinking became the foundation of the pilot.

From Off The Eaten Path’s perspective, food literacy is not only about teaching students what to eat — it is about helping them understand the broader world around food and inspiring curiosity about how food connects to culture, community, creativity, and future possibilities.

🎒 A School-Wide Experience

Over the course of the morning, the team facilitated five consecutive workshop sessions, reaching students from Grades 1–6 across the entire school.

Each session welcomed approximately 15–25 students, creating an engaging and highly interactive learning environment where students could touch, taste, experiment, and create.

“This was one of the most engaging activities we’ve had. Students were excited, focused, and proud of what they created — and they were learning without even realizing it.”

— Erik Garf, Child and Youth Care Practitioner, Admiral Westphal Elementary

🌍 What is Taste Lab?

Taste Lab is a creative food literacy initiative by Off The Eaten Path that brings hands-on food experiences into schools and community spaces. Through workshops co-designed with chefs, educators, and local partners, students explore the connections between food, culture, creativity, sustainability, and entrepreneurship.

The program is currently in Pilot Phase 1, focused on developing meaningful programming and building strong relationships with schools, chefs, and community collaborators. This phase explores how hands-on food experiences can best support different learning environments, while creating workshops that are engaging, culturally diverse, and accessible for students of all ages.

In Pilot Phase 2, Taste Lab will expand into a mobile learning platform featuring a modular demo kitchen and traveling food cart that can bring programming to more schools and community spaces across the region.

As the project grows, Off The Eaten Path will also be opening new opportunities for partnerships with:

• schools
• chefs and food businesses
• sponsors and funding partners
• community organizations

who share the vision of making food education more creative, collaborative, and accessible.

🌟 Looking Ahead

Following the success of the first pilot workshop, Off The Eaten Path and Boutique Eatery are also exploring the development of a school-friendly yogurt topping product that is nut-free, gluten-free, and safe for school environments.

This pilot may have started with yogurt bowls and edible flowers, but it also opened the door to something much bigger:

a new way of thinking about food education — one that encourages students to create, explore, connect, and imagine.