“Great food, new friends, and skills I use every day — the Community Kitchen has been a game-changer!”
‘Sarah’, a regular attender at community cookery classes, including recent Batch Cooking & Community Cook Up sessions, has kindly shared with us her experiences.
Sarah loved attending them and found both sessions “relaxed, friendly & hands on”. Attending the sessions has helped her learn new skills, eat a more varied diet, connect with her community & improve her confidence.
“I’ve learnt knife skills, how to use spices confidently, and how to cook balanced meals on a budget.”
Sarah, who is disabled and receives a means tested benefit, told us how getting hands on and cooking along with our community chefs, made the lessons more engaging and helped her remember the skills to be used again at home.
Before attending our sessions, her cooking skills were “quite basic…making simple meals such as toast, sandwiches or frozen meals” and she didn’t “often cook from scratch and felt unsure about trying new recipes”.
However, since attending her confidence in the kitchen has transformed, she told us how she regularly makes the recipes from the sessions. Our veggie curry, lentil dhal and homemade granola are now favourites in her household.
Although she often cooks for herself, she now feels “more able to share meals with others” and her family & friends “love them”. The combinations of replicable recipes, new cookery skills and more confidence have helped her eat more veggies, waste less food and save money.
“I feel more independent, connected to my community, and confident trying new activities.”
The benefits of the sessions also go beyond cooking; boosting her confidence, improving her time management, providing new ways of approaching challenges and giving her a renewed motivation to continue learning. Sarah has also heard about a local gardening group from Community Kitchen team and has since started attending. “The group has been a wonderful way to enjoy gardening in a way that suits my physical abilities and spend more time outdoors.”
“It’s something positive to look forward to and has helped me feel less isolated. Cooking together is a real mood-booster.”
A huge thank you to Sarah for speaking to us and sharing her experiences. Our Batch Cookery Class was supported by Sussex Community Foundation & the Community Cook Up is part of the Food Use Places project (funded by The National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund).
Make a donation to support this vital work in our local community.