Fifteen adults with support needs developed essential cooking and budgeting skills earlier this month on a course at Teignmouth Community School (TCS).

Run by The Crafy Cook CIC, the four sessions covered everything from knife skills and nutrition to menu planning and food budgeting.

Participants prepared a breakfast, lunch and a Tagine dinner in the school kitchen. They focused on accurate weighing and measuring, experimented with using a range of spices and became experts at controlling the temperature of the hob so nothing got burnt.

The learners were excited about how colourful and tasty the food they prepared was and were keen to learn new techniques they could practice at home. One student said ‘I really enjoyed learning to cook food that is something else and not a cheese toasty.’

All the participants ‘enjoyed the sessions and felt they had improved their skills and knowledge on how to save money shopping’, said a spokesperson from Teignbridge Community and Voluntary Services (CVS). ‘It is great that the school was able to open its doors to others in the local community,’ the spokesperson added.

Teignbridge CVS set up the cooking skills courses for adults with global delay with assistance from HITS Foodbank, which provided the vegetables, TCS, which provided the kitchen, The Crafty Cook CIC and the Devon County Council Growing Communities Fund.

Teignbridge CVS supports local charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises to build a stronger community that works together to provide solutions to common problems.