To complement the delicious nutritious meals provided at Nourish Hub, there is an outstanding online and face-to-face educational programme available, covering all aspects of food, nutrition and food waste. Nourish Hub customers always appreciate the meals created for them, but it can be challenging to recreate a nutritious menu at home, whilst being mindful of food waste. The cost, the skills and the confidence needed to use unfamiliar produce can create barriers. Nourish Hub aims to close the gap by making their expertise accessible to all, to help increase confidence in the kitchen, encourage home cooking, offer support around meal planning and ultimately reduce the amount of food waste created in the home.
This summer, Nourish Hub has conducted an inspiring adult cooking course, run over five consecutive weeks directly from our community kitchen. The course is designed and run by Nourish Hub’s in-house nutritionist Grace Alliott (Head of Education) and expert chef Oli Way (Head Chef).
“Oli and Grace shared some great techniques to improve the way I cook and what I cook with. The classes are practical, well packaged with educational content, great ‘show and cook’ demonstrations and delicious food at the end as a reward.” –Adult Cookery Course Attendee
Nourish Hub’s Adult Cookery Courses are inspirational for many reasons; seeing the enjoyment of cooking grow for attendees, hearing everyone sharing ideas and food together, and creating pathways to new foods. However, an overriding observation is the incredible communities and group support that grows from working together with eager and talented novice cooks. The buzz in the kitchen is palpable. “The social aspects of meeting new people and learning from others was unexpected and really welcome.” -Adult Cookery Course Attendee
Building resilience when cooking is an important part of the journey. Trying new ingredients and cooking techniques can be intimidating. Through guided demonstrations, the Nourish Hub team alleviate those barriers and encourage everyone to explore new processes in the kitchen, and to use food that might otherwise be thrown away. Thanks to those attending the course, one attendee shared that “I am more confident with pulses, made my own dough and lots of gluten free adaptations for recipes. I’ll be more aware of food waste, meal preparation/planning and the nutritional profile of the food I make.”
Throughout the course, each attendee is taught how to use the utensils correctly, how to operate the cooking equipment safely and how to prepare food hygienically to create a delicious meal, ready for sharing. The team offers helpful and practical solutions to help reduce food waste in the home. One attendee said, “I am wasting less fruit through better storage.”
The increase in confidence is not solely with cooking skills but is also seen in how attendees interact with one another. As an all-inclusive space, Nourish Hub encourages all to use and access the Hub for eating, as well as cooking and sharing. Grace shared “The sense of connection between everyone on the course is as important as the meals that are prepared. We are privileged to witness new friendships develop during our courses.” The staff at the Hub work closely with individuals to allow their confidence to grow when working with one another.
An attendee from this summer’s course wanted to thank Grace and Oli, and wrote “Thank you, Grace and Oli and the lovely volunteers. Honestly, it’s been super informative and interactive. You are both kind and patient. UKHarvest are lucky to have you!”
We have two brand new 5-week sessions running before the end of the year.
- 3.30 – 5.30pm every Thursday from 21st September to 19th October at Nourish Hub
- 3:30 – 5:30pm every Wednesday from 8th November to 6th December at Nourish Hub
If you or anyone you know would like to join us to learn how to cook some incredible dishes, eat healthily and reduce food waste in your home, sign up to reserve your space.
