“It helped me feel part of the community”
Stephanie has felt motivated, learnt new skills and felt connected since coming to the Community Kitchen.
We love hearing from and speaking to participants at the Community Kitchen. Learning from them helps us better tailor our cookery courses to meet the needs of our community. Stephanie attended our multi week course Food Foundations, which teaches people essential cookery skills, improves confidence in the kitchen and helps people connect. She loved socialising at the kitchen, learning how to use low-cost ingredients and cooking the recipes she learnt at home. Hear about her experience in her own words below.
Why were you interested in joining the Food Foundations course?
“I used to cook a lot but my circumstances changed, my kids moved away and I lost my job so I let go of cooking for a while. I was interested to start again and to learn how to use cheap and low-cost ingredients.”
What did you enjoy the most about the sessions?
“It was great to meet other people and socialise. The teacher and the volunteers were so helpful and full of knowledge. The equipment provided was new and clean, there were a lot of available ingredients, all the dietary requirements were met and no washing up!”
Have you learnt any new skills?
“How to chop an onion professionally, how to properly prepare garlic and herbs. It was very helpful to use cupboard ingredients like lentils and rice for amazing recipes.”
Have you used the recipes you learnt to cook at home (either for yourself or someone else)?
“I have! I invited home my kids after a long time of not cooking for them and they really enjoyed the food, they were so surprised. Now I’m cooking a lot for my lodger, he eats a lot of meat so whenever he needs to implement something vegetarian we eat together. I have been making a lot of the carrot cake overnight oats (they are just brilliant) the kitchari now is in my weekly diet and I always cook the vegetarian lasagne when someone is coming over because it is so simple to cook and full of flavour.”
Has coming helped with your mental or physical health in any way ?
“It helped me be on time, knowing that I had to get up and get dressed to attend a class motivated me a lot. It helped me feel part of the community and more connected. With the cookery classes I definitely feel more organized in the kitchen and with the food shopping.”
Would you recommend the Community Kitchen to other people?
“Yes definitely! It is local and very accessible. I actually recommended it to some friends who live in Hassocks and Portslade.”
Help us continue to provide our community cookery groups:
- Donations: Your financial support can help ensure the kitchen’s continued operation and reach more individuals in need.
- Attend a class: Buy a ticket for one of our evening and weekend classes and learn new cooking techniques from some of Brighton & Hove’s best chefs and cookery teachers.
- Hire the space: Host your next event at the Community Kitchen and contribute to its mission. We host Team Building events, hen do’s, community groups and parties.
