Every Thursday afternoon, our offices here at CARAS are filled with the wonderful smells of our healthy eating workshops.

 

Run by Tom Waterfall, these workshops offer a space for young people to learn and improve some vital cooking skills. The idea is to learn about the importance of eating well, to familiarise themselves with the ingredients found in the UK, and together to cook delicious, easy, healthy food – all whilst saving money and reducing waste. 

 

Each course runs for six weeks and helps young refugees and asylum seekers prepare for independent living, where cooking healthy can otherwise easily be forgotten. Entering a country with lots of different and new ingredients can also be daunting, so the course helps to introduce some useful, easy, and cheap recipes that they can make at home. It is also a fantastic opportunity for the group to get together and have great fun cooking and share recipes from around the world! 

 

 

“It is such a pleasure to teach the groups. After learning some important staple recipes, we try cooking dishes from the various countries of the group, so I am learning as much as they are! We recently cooked Kabuli Pulao, a traditional Afghan dish, and one of the students finally showed me how to cook rice perfectly every time! I am really proud of the young people who come along – they are all such fun and it’s great to see them appreciate the importance of eating healthily.”

– Tom Waterfall 

 

 

 

Since the healthy eating workshops started in January, young refugees and asylum seekers from numerous countries have been getting together on Thursday afternoons and cooking up a storm! The course continues to run and help equip young people with the skills they need to cook and eat healthily.

 

Look out for more delicious meals from our workshops on our Facebook and twitter!