Cooks in Dartford have been teaching people to prepare healthy and affordable meals with help from Tesco and Jamie Oliver.

The second phase of Tesco's Cookery School was launched earlier this year to train chefs to teach practical cooking skills to families in their communities.

Because of pandemic restrictions, the virtual lessons were streamed online, with the lessons developed and delivered by Jamie Oliver-trained community cooks and nutritionists.

Working in association with food redistribution charity FareShare, easy recipes such as chilli, tinned salmon fishcakes and vegetable soup were designed to encourage people to add more vegetables to their everyday meals.

The recipes could be adapted to include a wide variety of foods typically donated to food banks.

Among those taking part was Debbie Dickinson, from the Healthy Living Centre. She taught a number of families, who will now be able to share their new-found knowledge with others so that as many Dartford people as possible benefit.

She said: “I really loved being part of the Tesco Cookery School and passing on the fantastic recipes to our community. The recipes were delicious and nutritious.

“Showing our families how easy healthy meals and snacks can actually be to make is a really important factor in ensuring they will make them again and again.

“They were also great opportunities to share personal food tips and encourage the families to think about how they could adapt recipes to suit their family needs and likes.

“We had 15 families register for the cookery school, although not all could make every session – but we are in the process of recording the sessions to send out so those families don’t miss out.”

The courses covered everything from knife skills to basic nutrition.

Oonagh Turnbull, Tesco head of health campaigns, said: “We're so proud to have provided food education, inspiration and support to vulnerable families across the UK over the last few months. The past year has highlighted the need to focus on nutrition and it’s great to have played a part in supporting healthier communities.”

The Cookery School initiative launched in 2019 with the aim of training 1,000 community cooks how to make meals with food typically donated by Tesco, a target which was achieved by January 2020.

Katherine Hale, food education manager at Jamie Oliver Group, said: “This year’s programme is focused on the importance of cooking balanced meals from scratch by offering ideas and recipes to increase the use of fruit and veg in everyday meals.

"We’re thrilled to have been able to reach so many community cooks digitally this year, despite the challenges we’ve all faced this year.”

Lindsay Boswell, chief executive at FareShare, said: “The Tesco Community Cookery School has offered cooks an excellent opportunity to further their knowledge and provided inspiration for new meals they can make using food they receive through FareShare.

"This fantastic partnership between Tesco, Jamie Oliver and FareShare has resulted in thousands of families across the UK learning about the importance of nutrition.”

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