Cookery Classes & Workshops
Food Is Fun have been creating memorable, inspiring and fun food-related events since 2008. We have created a stimulating menu of memorable, interactive food events, cookery courses and workshops, which are tailored to the specific needs of the audience. Our events and activities use a mixture of show-and-tell, cookery demonstrations, tastings, and hands-on experiences to communicate the benefits of healthy eating.
Our events are delivered in a number of locations, such as schools and community spaces. We want people to enjoy food and cooking, and by developing enjoyable activities we can create an event that is fun and educational. A typical session includes laughter, education, cooking skills, numeracy, diet awareness, sharing, interaction and contribution, teamwork and confidence building.
We believe that everybody has a right to eat good food, to have the skills to be able to feed themselves and their families, and to be respected and treated equally – regardless of their social background or financial situation.
Our Partners
We work with many partners across the city and further afield, which allows us to deliver food education, in whatever form, to those we meet. Feedback from all of our courses and workshops has and continues to be exceptional. We meet people with all skill levels and pride ourselves on supporting each and every person to improve their relationship with food, in whatever form it takes. Our partners recognise how invaluable and unique our approach is and trust that we always achieve our expected outcomes.
These are some of the activities we can create:
- Masterclasses – where professional chefs pass on their tips
- Public Cooking Demos – fun, entertaining and informative food demos in any location
- Ready Steady Cooks – using the well-loved TV format we host two chefs and invited participants to battle it out
- Healthy Eating Education – in schools or community halls
Visit our Facebook page to see pictures of some of our events and news of upcoming public events
Who we work with:
We work in partnership with local Schools, Food Festivals, Public Health staff, Plymouth City Council, the National Trust, Food Plymouth (the Soil Association) and many other organisations. We support Plymouth’s ‘Healthy Child Quality Mark’ (replacing Healthy Schools) to ensure children are educated in the benefits of healthy eating in schools at a young age. Our local chefs provide expert advice including sourcing food from local markets, top tips on healthy cooking and how to produce easy, tasty and affordable dishes.
Food Coaching for Workplace Wellbeing
We know you care about your team and want them to be happy and healthy. Not having a healthy lifestyle can have a huge negative impact on staff productivity and attendance. We can work with you and your staff to look at how improving relationships with food benefits the workplace. Contact us to discuss how we can support you as an employer.
Housing Providers and other Organisations
We have been working with residents since 2009 to help them to better manage food budgets, eat a healthier diet, cook nutritious meals for themselves and their families and have a positive relationship with food for life. Talk to us to find out how we can support to make a difference to your residents.
Why Food Is Fun?
Our intervention improves the overall wellbeing of those we work with through education. After attending our sessions attendees will improve their abilities in many of these areas:
- Improved cooking skills
- Have the knowledge to plan weekly meals
- Have improved wellbeing, health and happiness
- Have a more positive attitude to life
- Feel healthier
- Have more energy
- Have the confidence to improve other areas of their lives
- Reduce food waste
- Enjoy mealtimes together as a family
- Manage their food budget more wisely
- Enjoy shopping for food rather than it being a chore
- Have the confidence to teach their children how to cook and shop
Give us a call for a friendly and informal chat about how we can support you.
Bake And Banter
Our Bake and Banter project has been running for 3 years thanks to funding from the Veteran’s Foundation. The project sees us delivering a range of healthy cooking and eating workshops to veterans, both in person and online, to improve their skills and provide vital social connections. We use food to bring veterans together where they can cook together and learn essential cooking skills. We look at food costs and how to save money during the cost-of-living crisis by teaching how food substitutes can be made using tinned and frozen goods.
We have been collating recipes to go into a cookbook that we can give to all veterans who participate in the project. One of the veterans who attends our workshops is an artist and has offered to provide the illustrations to accompany the recipes.
If you are a veteran and are interested in joining one of our workshops call us on 07818 450968 or email tami@foodisfun.org.uk.
Shop and Cook Wise Cookery Workshops
Our Shop and Cook Wise Cookery Course is a basic cooking course, designed to teach essential cooking, shopping and budgeting skills to empower individuals to prepare their own meals. This not only saves money but also allows for healthier ingredients and portion control. Cooking at home promotes healthier eating habits and fosters a sense of accomplishment and creativity.
Cooking and sharing meals can bring people together, fostering social bonds and a sense of community. Our workshops emphasise the social aspects of dining and encourage communal eating, enhancing social well-being. All of our cookery workshops see attendees cooking a meal which is either shared as a group and/or taken home to eat later.
Most importantly, our workshops are fun and offer an enjoyable experience for all who attend. A workshop comprises of education, understanding, kindness, laughter and learning.
Currently we are delivering courses in the following areas: Estover, Leigham, Stonehouse, Devonport, Barne Barton, North Prospect, The East End and Honicknowle. We will be running a men’s course and a young person’s course (aged 17-25) in the next few months.
Our courses and workshops cover:
- Sugar Smart – what is sugar, where is it and why shouldn’t we have too much
- How to achieve a healthy balanced diet for the whole family
- A look at food budgets and how to plan affordable family meals
- How to shop wisely, where, and when
- Food preservation and storage
- How to make food stretch to make more economical meals
- Reducing the use of expensive processed foods by using herbs and spices
- Eliminating food waste by using leftovers to create affordable meals
- How to encourage children to have better relationships with food
Weight Management Workshops
We work with Livewell Southwest to deliver cookery workshops to those who are on the Weight Management Programme. Working out of Poole Farm in the North of Plymouth, we run monthly half-day cookery workshops. Small groups of no more than 6 people are invited to take part in an informal and relaxed morning of cooking lunch together with like-minded people. There is also the opportunity to meet the farm animals!
Previous attendees have described the sessions as “really good fun and so informative”, and “not what I was expecting – it was really relaxed!” One lady claimed, “you have given me back my cooking mojo!”
If you would like to find out more about these workshops, please call us on 07818 450968.
