ANDREA JENKYNS
Andrea joins local tots at School of Cook

Andrea was delighted last Friday to take part in a cookery class for pre-school children offered by the School of Cook at Churwell Community Centre in Gildersome.

School of Cook was founded in October last year by Rachel and Sophie, two local mums with a passion for cooking. The class aims to teach children about nutrition and give them the opportunity to get a little messy and explore food in a safe environment with their parents and friends. 

The sessions start with the children introducing themselves and then singing a song together about cooking. They then explore the recipe of the day by talking about the ingredients they will need and where they come from, this is followed by a taster session which the children seemed to enjoy. 

On Friday Andrea and the children made Gnocchi and tasted different types of bread. At the end of the session the children wash the utensils and take home what they have made. Throughout the class the children learned to engage with their surroundings, try new things and be patient with each other. 

They also used math to weigh out their ingredients and practiced the methodology behind cooking, all examples of the skills to be gained and developed during a simple cooking class.

Andrea said:

“It was a real pleasure to be invited along to get my hands dirty and experience the session from the children’s perspective, Rachel and Sophie do a fantastic job in organizing and delivering the classes.

“During summer School of Cook have kindly agreed to work with me on a ‘Let’s Get Cooking!’ Initiative. We hope to find sponsorship to offer subsidized sessions for those families who may not be able to afford it and so that we can offer the classes across the constituency through various pop ups”

Rachel said:

“Some of the children wouldn’t touch things or try new foods initially but the positive peer pressure has encouraged them to become more involved and try foods like prawns, crab meat and mussels. it is rewarding to see their confidence grow as the weeks go on.”

Sophie said:

“Last term we produced a wipe clean cookery book that the children could use at home featuring some of the recipes they had made.”

If you would like to find out more about School of Cook you can get in touch with them by email at [email protected]. If you would like to sponsor the Let’s Get Cooking! Initiative please contact Claire on [email protected].