Jamie Oliver recently attacked Theresa May’s government for not putting enough in place to tackle obesity. One third of children in the UK are overweight or obese by the age of 11.
Central Street Cookery School, a double award winning cookery school linked to St Luke’s Trust, is one organisation working to improve this. The community based school opened in 2012 and has had continued success; their aim is to improve the living conditions of the local community through education and support.
The school – whose classes are primarily for residents with the EC1 postcode – offer cookery classes which are led by one of the schools chefs and include tips and techniques for cooking healthy meals at a low cost. Not only this, but pupils are allowed to take home everything they cook in the lesson, making the classes even more rewarding. The classes also provide a social environment, perfect for building new friendships and integrating into the community.
The success of the school is shown through the positive feedback of its students. Denise Aruldoss (a student) praised it, saying “When life is so hectic, stressful and crazy the cooking classes at St. Luke’s are such a bright spot in my week. The classes remind me that the simple pleasures in life with people are important.”
Due to the success of their weekly Wednesday family classes, the school are now going to additionally run the ‘Family Cook and Eat’ classes every week on Mondays, starting from the 7th November. The classes, aimed at children aged 5+ and their parents, involve a hands on approach and allow both children and adults alike to improve their knowledge of food and cooking, in a fun and engaging way.
The school also offers Monthly Cookery Club classes, which are only £5 for EC1 residents and are open to non-EC1 residents for the price of £30. This month there is a theme of ‘Thai Street Food’, which includes foods such as: Thai Curry, Fishcakes, Beef Salad and Sweetcorn cakes.
Tom Mitchell, a member of St Luke’s community centre attended one of the cookery lessons and said “I was quite surprised at the high standards they worked at. The kitchen is newly fitted with separate cooking stations… the money paid for the ingredients and we ate what we cooked and it was a very enjoyable experience.”
To book on to one of the classes or for more information you can visit the cookery school’s website or to view the calendar click here (please note: the calendar is for EC1 postcode residents only). Due to popularity, classes must be booked in advance.