Sandra and her husband Stuart have found a ‘fun, positive and supportive environment’ at the Time for Tea classes at our Community Kitchen.
Time for Tea is one of our cookery clubs supporting people living with mild to moderate dementia who would enjoy cooking together in a sociable atmosphere. At our cookery club, participants get involved in preparing a light meal, with different dishes each session. We then eat the food together as a shared tea. We spoke to two of our wonderful attendees who described their experiences at the class.
“I can’t quite recollect how my husband Stuart and I found out about Time for Tea… After his Dementia symptoms were diagnosed, I think I went on a bit of a spree of applying for things. I had a knee replacement shortly after the diagnosis, and was walking aided, so I was feeling low and needed to find some activities for us to do.“
“I absolutely love cooking, so this was a perfect opportunity to attend a sociable group with Stuart, whilst doing an activity we both really enjoy. Stuart only started cooking when he retired, and he isn’t capable of cooking alone at home anymore, so it was great to be able to come to a space where he was supported to cook a recipe. A couple of days after one session, I found a proud Stuart enthusiastically recounting to a friend of ours how he had made Tiramisu. Stuart remembers and talks about the food, and is very pleased that in his retired age, has learnt some new knife skills, especially ‘the claw’ and cross-chopping.”
“Doing things as a couple is so important to us, and we have both loved all the conversation and group work. As a carer you can get very down – regularly meeting with people in a similar situation to us, in such a fun, positive and supportive environment, has been uplifting. Neither of our mental health was in great shape after he was diagnosed – getting out to the kitchen (and not sitting in front of the TV), has greatly improved both of our wellbeing. Stuart seems happier and his mood has improved, especially right after a session. “
“We have loved the recipes we’ve made. Some dishes, like the mezze dips, we’d never made before. Our absolute favourites, that we now regularly make at home for ourselves, and for our family, include – sodabread, smoked mackerel pate (our new go-to special occasion starter!), chocolate olive oil cake and pretty much all the soups! I noticed that there was always something green on offer, and that has made me think more about what we are eating at home – we are certainly eating more green veggies.“
“We are looking at joining the gardening activity that is on offer – we are thinking of attending with another couple that we met at a different Dementia friendly club in Brighton. I’ve recommended Time for Tea to them too!“
