For the last four years, St. Peter’s Church has hosted ‘Cook & Eat,’ after-school cooking sessions. Since their successful pilot in 2020, they have provided local families with school-age children the opportunity to cook and share a meal together.

On June 15th, previous Cook & Eat attendees were invited to a reunion session to make homemade pizzas and fresh garlic bread. Following the session, an open day was held to attract more families to the joys of cooking with their children. With the help of local culinary expert Livvy, they made vegetable Bolognese and shared a meal around a large table.

Cook & Eat provides families with time to teach and learn cooking skills like peeling, chopping, grating, and slicing—skills for a lifetime. Instead of asking, “What’s for dinner?” children now ask, “Can I help make dinner?”

Comments after the reunion included:

• “I love it there.”
• “Why isn’t it on more often?”
• “My 12-year-old gained so much confidence from being there” (Clare).
• “My son looks forward to cooking a roast dinner on Sunday so he can help peel and chop vegetables. We both made new friends there” (Kym).
• “It’s really good, all four of my children love it. It makes cooking fun, and we enjoy the time together” (Heather).

We are grateful to Surrey County Council for helped fund our reunion and open day, and to the Bishop of Guildford’s Community Fund for the initial funding. A big shout-out to Livvy, who led us through her excellent veggie Bolognese recipe. More of Livvy’s cooking expertise can be found on her Instagram page @livvyshomemade

By Donna Sexton