Alex and their adopted daughter have explored diverse cuisines, gained confidence and bonded through cookery
Alex has attended our cookery courses and classes at the Community Kitchen for 5 years now, first attending a 6-week Community Cookery course ‘Cooking on a Budget’. Since then she has attended a number of our classes on her own, with friends and alongside her adopted daughter Sophia, with their cookery skills and confidence in the kitchen going from strength to strength. These classes have been a brilliant place for her and her child to strengthen their relationship and have fun during the school holidays through our school holiday “HAF” sessions.
As their situation has changed Alex has also started attending our evening classes, this has been a welcome chance for her to meet new people, catch up with existing friends, experience a diverse range of flavours and cuisines and ‘give back to the wider community‘.
“A few years ago, I had just become a single parent and I was really struggling, I wanted to do things to help connect with groups, and I love food. So, I applied for and started a 6-week course at the Community Kitchen called ‘Cooking on a Budget’. Those six weeks really helped me as a single parent with limited disposable income, allowing me to connect with people through food and make delicious homemade meals from scratch.
Since then I have attended multiple courses at the kitchen on my own and alongside my adopted daughter. Additionally, as my financial situation has changed I have been able to attend evening classes at the kitchen with chefs from around Brighton, cooking a variety of dishes from all over the world.
The classes I’ve attended have really given me my confidence back in the kitchen, allowing me to be inventive and find joy in cooking again. During COVID lockdowns for example I really leaned on the skills I had learnt in a batch cooking class. Having recipes, I could just pop in the oven from the freezer, during challenging days with my daughter was brilliant and it made it so much easier. Additionally, we always integrate the recipes from sessions into our week allowing us to have healthy homecooked food we can make together all week.
We are very fortunate as my daughter is adopted, we can access HAF activities, it is a blessing, it’s very intense being a single parent, but being a single parent with an adopted child can at times be overwhelming. One thing that always bonds us together and really helps her to relax is cooking. It is a way for us to build confidence with other children and build up our relationship. She ordinarily like to control a lot, but when we’re in the kitchen with the familiar team she knows and a consistent safe space, she lets me take over which is just a blessing. So, it’s a really good time for us to connect and bond over our love of food.
The Community Kitchen is such a safe space for her, whenever she comes in everyone says hello and she feels really important, I’ve seen her confidence and self esteem grow. It’s also a safe space for her to learn new skills and take healthy risks, like using a knife and cooking with a frying pan. Knowing she can try these things but she will be safe and build trust is invaluable.
This is helped by the volunteers who really support her, as she is often one of the youngest present, sitting close and checking in. They check in with her and offer support when she needs it. Ultimately these sessions bond us together as parent and child and provide us with a fun activity in the school holidays that we always really look forward to together and can get excited about together.
With the evening classes I have come by myself and sometimes I come with friends using it as an opportunity to catch up. Either way I find it really social. I love it every time, there’s always a brilliant group and a lot of camaraderie, joking around and chatting. When paired up with different people, there’s a lovely buzz about it, especially at the end I love sitting down and eating together with the group. It makes a lovely alternative to going down the pub.
I love the ethos as well. The fact these classes mean that other people can access the community classes during the day time, to learn new skills, improve their wellbeing and mental health. I like to pay back as well, as someone who has attended community classes, it balances out and gives back to the community. I think it’s really, really important and essential, particularly for people struggling, that they’re able to receive those cookery classes. I just think it’s brilliant I’ve spread the word a lot!
Overall I have gained so much from the kitchen there is so much variety; from all over the world, which I love, with classes for kids, kids and parents together and for adults.”
