JUNIOR chef Grace had what was arguably the most envied job in this cooking class - pouring maple syrup over pumpkin for celebrity chef Tim Bone to roast.
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As one of the now-less secret ingredients for Mr Bone's toastie layer, there was plenty of interest among Grace's cohort in the versatility of one of their favourite pancake toppings.
The focus of the school holiday class was to pick and use fresh ingredients from the Sebastopol Library garden and try new flavours in a school holiday favourite, the humble toastie.
Sebastopol Library's community garden is grown in partnership with Food Is Free and a team of youth leaders to guide the project and workshops.
Part of the aim is also to help families explore food options amid the rising living costs crisis.
Stacey Widdison brought her sons Jack, aged 13, and Max, seven, to Tim Bone's mini MasterChef class for inspiration.
The boys told The Courier their dad was a big fan of Tim Bone, who now stars on Channel 10 program Good Chef, Bad Chef, and a big fan of Tim's Toasties.
"We wanted to come along and see what Tim does," Ms Widdison said. "We have a veggie garden at home and want to know what else might be possible."
Jack said his favourite toastie ingredient was melted tasty cheese while Max recommended tuna and avocado melts.
Another young class participant was hard to shift on anything beyond tomato sauce sealed inside the bread.
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Mr Bone, with a few junior helpers, demonstrated how herbs could transform a dish, such as when added to mayonnaise or to his not-so-secret roast pumpkin toppings. Children also added fresh salad leaves from the garden to their toastie creations.
City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson said this was further demonstration that libraries were a changing place, especially in education.
"Using a community garden can especially save costs or finding space in the backyard that you can turn into a productive garden with a few veggies can make a difference," Cr Hudson said.
"It can be as simple as adding a bit of flavour and there's something great about eating something from the garden that you've picked and nurtured from putting your hands in the dirt.
"Tim Bone connects well with the community and his toasties are about adding flavour and gourmeting-up and building on the basics.
"...I hope in the long term this will help steer people away from relying on fast food and convenient foods."
Cr Hudson said Stephanie Alexander kitchen gardens in schools were fun and helped promote a love of cooking and he hoped the Sebastopol Library garden could inspire in a similar way.
