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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

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Fruit kebabs

Use all your senses to explore some new fruits as you make your own tasty treat.
Plan a session with this activity

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You’ll need

  • Wooden skewers
  • Plates
  • Different types of fruit
  • Food storage containers

Before you begin

  • Check whether anyone has any allergies or dietary requirements and choose fruits that everyone will be able to enjoy.
  • Choose a range of different fruits, including some that people might not have tried before. You might want to avoid bananas, apples and pears, as these turn brown quickly – they won’t look very tasty by the time people have made their kebab. You might decide to explore local, seasonal fruits that will be planet friendly as well as delicious, or you might decide to give everyone’s taste buds a tropical treat with fruits like kiwi, mango, or dragon fruit.
  • Cut up the fruit into bite-size chunks that could fit on a kebab skewer. You could put the same selection of fruit on different plates so people can split into small groups and share a plate.
  • If you can, keep one of each fruit whole so you can show everyone what the fruit looks like. If you haven’t got fruit to spare, you could show everyone some pictures instead.

Story time

  1. Everyone should sit in a circle.
  2. Someone should read Ffion's Favourite Fruit by Annabel Rose. This story is about helping each other and making some snacks to eat.
  3. After reading the story, everyone should take some time to reflect on it as a group. We’ve included some questions to help you reflect in the pink box below.

Almost everyone had arrived at cookery club. They were taking it in turns to show everyone their ingredients – this week they would be making a dessert with fruit.

Jack had lots of plump, juicy blueberries. ‘I’m making muffins,’ he explained. ‘The recipe is a secret ­– I got it from my dad, and he got it from his dad!’  

‘That’s very cool. I have bananas to make akwadu,’ said Maria. ‘Akwadu is a sweet baked dessert made with banana and coconut. It comes from Equatorial Guinea, in Africa.’

Kendra showed off her red and green apples. ‘I’m going to make my own pastry for an apple pie,’ she said.

Patrick and Kris had both brought big ripe mangos, but they were making different desserts. ‘I’m making mango lassi,’ said Patrick. ‘It’s like a yoghurt that you drink – it’s really tasty’.

‘That does sound good. I’m making mango sticky rice,’ said Kris. ‘It has coconut in and it’s my favourite.’

‘I’ve got peaches to make my favourite dessert,’ said Shanti. ‘I’m making chajá – it has lots of layers of cake and cream and sweet milk and the peaches go on top.’

As Shanti finished, Ffion rushed in. Her face was bright red, and she was breathing really fast.

‘It’s a disaster!’ she cried ‘I left my bag of ingredients on the bus, and it drove away. I had raspberries and eggs and everything else I needed to make my favourite meringues and now I have nothing!’

‘Oh no! But it’s OK Ffion,’ said Patrick. ‘You can have some of my mango if you like?’

‘And mine!’ said Kris. One by one, everyone offered to share their fruit with Ffion. But what could she make with blueberries and banana and apples and mango and peaches?

Suddenly, Ffion had an idea.

‘Are there still some skewers in the cupboard?’ she asked. ‘I could make rainbow fruit skewers.’

Everyone had a great time chopping and whisking and stirring and cooking and baking their desserts. Ffion was really proud of her rainbow kebabs.

‘I like them because they have all of the fruits,’ she said. ‘Some of them are crunchy, some of them are soft, some of them are juicy… but they’re all delicious.’

By Annabel Rose


Get to know your fruit

  1. The person leading the activity should show everyone the whole fruits. Everyone should talk about what the different fruits are. Has anyone tried any of them before?
  2. Everyone should carefully pass around the different whole fruits and think about which ones they’d like to try.
  1. The person leading the activity should show everyone the chunks of fruit. Everyone should try to match up the whole fruits with the pieces. Can they tell which ones are which?

Make your fruit kebabs

  1. Everyone should wash their hands.
  2. The person running the activity should make sure that everyone has a clean plate or surface to use.
  3. The person running the activity should explain that the skewers are sharp. They should show everyone how to safely put fruit on the skewer.
  1. Everyone should decide which fruits they’d like to put on their skewer. They should take one of two pieces of each fruit they’d like to use and put it on their plate, making sure there’s enough fruit for everyone to try everything.
  1. Everyone should put their fruit onto their skewer, one piece at a time.
  2. Everyone should count many pieces or fruit (or how many types of fruit) they’ve got on their skewer.
  3. Everyone should use any spare pieces of fruit to make fruit kebabs for their parents and carers, or anyone else they live with.

Enjoy your tasty treat

  1. Once the kebabs are finished, everyone should sit down and enjoy their fruit kebabs together. It’s OK if some people would rather save them and take them home.
  1. Everyone should talk about what the different fruits taste, smell, and feel like. What do they feel like in their mouth? Are they soft or crunchy? Are they smooth or rough? Are they sweet and juicy?
  2. Everyone should wash their hands and help to tidy everything away.

Reflection

This activity encouraged everyone to enjoy exploring food and to try something new.

Ffion's Favourite Fruit

  • How did everybody help Ffion? Why is it good to help other people?
  • Were there any snacks in the story you haven't tried before? Would you like to try any of them?

Make fruit kebabs

  • Did anyone find it tricky to put the fruits on the skewer?
  • Were some fruits more difficult than others?

Enjoy your tasty treat

  • What did people think about trying new foods? People could think about how they felt before and afterwards.
  • Why is it good to try new things? Why is it good to eat fruit?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Sharp objects

Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

  • For an extra challenge, people could have a go at chopping up some of the fruit, with help and close supervision from an adult.
  • Everyone could explore the colours of the rainbow by making rainbow fruit kebabs. Can they think of a fruit for each colour?
  • Some people made need extra support putting their fruit onto the skewers.
  • Some people might not be comfortable trying new foods, especially in front of a group. Make sure no one feels pressured to do anything they don’t want to do. They can still explore using the senses they feel comfortable using. People could always take their kebab home if they’d feel more comfortable trying something new at home instead.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Squirrels Super Chef Activity Badge
Squirrels Exciting Experiments Activity Badge

You could make fruit kebabs at home with the people you live with. You could also have more fun trying more new foods at home – why not try different types of bread, or nibble on some vegetables that are cooked in different ways?

  • You could show everyone pictures of different fruits in the session before you make your kebabs. Let them decide which new fruits they’d like to try.
  • It’s up to each young person to choose which fruits they want to put on their skewer, and how they want to explore any new fruits they want to try.