Helping youngsters cook up healthy meals

Cooking tasty, healthy food is a vital skill for life, which is why Tameside Council has launched a free Kids’ Cookery Club.

A taster session delighted the palate of the first young participants, so Ashton Market has scheduled the free monthly events.

Bookings are also being taken for sessions which will run well into 2020, teaching children up to the age of 12 just how to make healthy dishes using only fresh, natural ingredients – including pizzas, veggie burgers and fish cakes.

Traders at Ashton Market have served up 90 per cent of the ingredients for the sessions, which will be delivered by local demo chef Joan Burage. 

Joan brings years of experience of cooking with communities - working as a demo chef with local authorities and the NHS, with markets and at events such as the Bolton Food and Drink Festival, plus running sessions in children’s centres, and supporting Age UK in raising awareness of malnutrition amongst older people.

Joan said: “Working with children in the local community can help educate them about nutrition as well as how to cook fresh delicious food, and perhaps also try foods they might not have seen or tasted before. If this helps people to make some small changes and fosters good habits that’s a box ticked for me!”

Anyone interested in booking for the sessions is asked to contact Luke Mirfin at Ashton Market, by emailing markets@tameside.gov.uk or calling 0161 342 3268, with the prospective young chef’s name and age, a contact number and/or email address, and the preferred dates.

There will be several 30-minute sessions on each of the following dates: October 19, November 23, December 21 2019; January 11, February 22 and March 21, 2020.