Jane Garvey discovers Cook For Good’s recipe for changing lives
When broadcaster Jane Garvey paid a visit to the social enterprise Cook For Good, she expected to learn a few new recipes, but went away with so much more.
Jane said, “I left feeling a million times better. It’s just a really good life enhancing idea that is quite evidently making a huge difference to lots of lives.”
Jane visited the North London headquarters of the National Lottery-supported project to record a very special episode of Off Air … with Jane and Fi, the hit podcast she hosts with Fi Glover. Chatting to Cook For Good’s co-founder Karen Mattinson MBE and staff member Amel, she soon learned that food is only part of the organisation’s incredible story.
Cook For Good offers cooking classes to residents on and around the Priory Green Estate near King’s Cross station and allows them to buy affordable produce at its surplus food pantry. But that’s just the start. It also runs team-building cooking classes for companies and distributes the food that’s made to local residents, shelters and charities.
Cook For Good, which has received more than £18,000 of National Lottery funding since 2021, also helps people get back into work by offering them training as volunteers or as a student on its 6-month hospitality course.
Karen said, “Food is the way in, that’s why people join us. They can do a cooking course or shop for food at the pantry on a Thursday, but once they’re here there are all sorts of other services they can access. There’s tea and coffee, pastries donated from local businesses; they can stay for soup and chat to friends.
“I’ve always believed in the power of food and cooking to bring people together. It’s a way to build great relationships.”
Asked how important National Lottery funding has been to the success of Cook For Good, Karen said, “It’s put us on the map really. We were really lucky that when we set up we knew we had to do really meaningful outreach work and the funding allowed us to employ a community coordinator.
“And we’re thrilled that last week we heard we’d got a National Lottery grant for this year. That makes an enormous difference to us in what’s going to be a tough winter.”
Jane was able to see just how powerful Cook For Good’s approach can be when she met Amel, a mother who moved to the UK from Algeria in 2015. Although Amel was a teaching assistant in her home country, the demands of caring for her disabled husband and a son who has ADHD, made it almost impossible for her to return to the classroom full time in London.
But Amel, who loves cooking, found her feet at Cook For Good. As a volunteer, and more recently an employee of the social enterprise, she has rebuilt her confidence, made friends and gained valuable new skills on the hospitality course.
Amel said, “When I started at Cook For Good I was terrified to speak to people even though I was an English teacher. I used to joke that I preferred talking to dishes than people and stayed in the kitchen. Now, I feel so much more confident.”
And the best thing about Cook For Good? Amel said, “Having fun. We talk about everything, we’re like a family.”
You can listen to the special episode of Off Air … with Jane and Fi here.
15th December 2023
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