Pad Thai to Lemon Drizzle

We’ve had another busy few weeks here at Cooking at The Storehouse, putting together recipe bags and running Easter cooking classes.

We’ve again worked with Bradford Inclusive Disability Service (BIDS) to distribute recipe parcels to families in need, this time with a choice between shepherds pie or keema curry. Since it’s spring and we’ve been enjoying some brighter weather, we also sent out 40 lemon drizzle cake and 80 zesty lemon biscuits bags. The feedback has been great and we’ve got more bags planned for the coming weeks.

Easter saw the return of classes and, with funding from Bradford Council’s Holiday Activity and Food Provision (HAF), we’ve managed to reach 61 households during the two week holiday and provided over 1,000 meals, through a combination of 13 hands-on cookery workshops, sending food parcels home with families and distributing 100 FoodChallenge21 boxes to some of our groups, containing a variety of ingredients and a challenge to make creative meals for several days.

During the first week of the Easter holidays we spent time at a primary school working with family groups, where the kids and their parents had physical activity sessions to get them moving before joining us to cook together as a family, making some really tasty dishes using fresh ingredients.

We also wrapped up warm and welcomed back families from BIDS for some outdoor cooking sessions making veggie pad Thai and omelettes.

After a well-deserved rest over the long Easter weekend we held more classes at our Shaw House venue where we made a variety of healthy dishes including sausage pasta, Thai green curry and mini burgers with salad.

We also spent a day working with families from Health Action Local Engagement (HALE) in Shipley, teaching cookery skills and the importance of eating a healthy diet, sending them home with FoodChallenge21 boxes so that they could continue to get creative in the kitchen at home.

We’ve got lots planned for the coming months including food safety classes at the beginning of June, and our summer holiday kids’ cooking activities – and hopefully the weather will be kind to us in the coming few weeks so that we can make the most of our outdoor space.

We would like to say a huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers: Tess, Ann, Abi and Nathan, who have provided us with lots of help during the holidays. We are always grateful for your help.