Making a difference THE MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH GROUP
The volunteer-led cookery classes highlighting the need for friendship and good food
The classes give people the skills to make affordable meals
Left: members and volunteers get baking Below: chicken, leek & mushroom pies
Four years ago, community development workers from Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council in Leicestershire, along with hardworking volunteers, launched cooking classes – one of which became a mental health support group for men.
Rachel Duncan, who helps coordinate the community groups, explains how the classes came about. ‘The men’s group started after we were awarded some funding to set up community kitchens, to encourage people to waste less, prepare healthy meals, and learn how to store food. We were working with Leicestershire Adult Learning who were running a back-to-basics cooking course. Three men on the course were interested in continuing after the six weeks had finished, so they launched a men’s cooking group with two of the volunteers.’
‘The first thing they made was cornflake cakes. They overcooked the chocolate, so decided to mix it with the cornflakes and put it all in the oven instead – lumps of coal would have been easier to eat!’ Rachel laughs.
‘They asked to cook a Sunday roast, learning how to cook each element separately, and each week they would learn a new skill. By Christmas, they made a roast dinner, which they sat and enjoyed together – they all looked so proud.’
As the groups attracted more members, particularly following the isolation of the pandemic, Rachel and her colleagues were surprised to see how many people didn’t have basic cooking knowledge. ‘One of my first memories was of a young mum who only used packs of mashed potato because she didn’t know how to peel or cook one herself. The classes give people the skills and confidence to try more, and make affordable meals.’
‘We’ve always used the BBC Good Food website as it’s an excellent place to find easy recipes that fit our group’s abilities, and we can search for dietary requirements and meals for one. We’ve tried everything from soufflés to courgette muffins! The groups decide what they want to make – if they have a glut of something like runner beans, the group will pick a recipe to use them up. Some of their favourites are the baked raspberry & lemon cheesecake, Christmas dinner sausage rolls, and chicken, leek & mushroom pies.’ (You can find all of these recipes on bbcgoodfood.com.)
Rachel adds, ‘They’ve formed new friendships – some meet socially outside of the group to laugh and share worries between themselves. One of the things we’ve noticed from all the activities we run is that the friendships are sometimes more important than the activity itself.’