What Is The Cookery School All About?

Last week I gave a talk to a group of students on the University of Southampton’s Enterprise programme about the journey I have been on with the cookery school from in-person cookery school to being fully online and teaching teens from all over the world. One of the things we talked about was having the confidence to show up online (which I have to admit is something that often sits at the bottom of my to do list). So, in the spirit of practising what you preach, here I am! I have an hour in a coffee shop to catch up on some emails, which is a luxury in the school holidays. The talk made me think a lot about the cookery school, the journey it has been on and what I am trying to achieve. Ultimately we are about inspiring young people to cook food that is relevant to them and giving them the skills and confidence to do that. We have lots of DofE reports to file at the moment and it is hugely rewarding when you put together a student’s portfolio and see what they have achieved cooking once a week for 3/6/12/18 months - I am constantly so impressed. We have had around 500 students complete the skills section for their DofE Award with us for the academic year 24-25. That is 500 young people who now have a really good set of practical kitchen skills to take forward into life and the confidence to cook independently. That, for me, is what it is all about.