Clay Kitchen was a ten-week course from Live Better Liverpool CIC, supporting young people aged 16 to 25 develop practical cooking skills.
The project brought together young people from across Liverpool to cook, learn, create and grow in confidence together, while also supporting their wider community.
Funded by the Church Urban Fund’s Near Neighbours grant scheme and supported by Together Liverpool, Clay Kitchen was delivered in partnership with St Michael’s in the Hamlet Church, The Liverpool Gluten Free Pie Company and John Archer Hall.
Alongside learning about food hygiene, cooking skills and preparing healthy meals, participants cooked food for Micah Liverpool’s foodbank cafe, and took part in pottery sessions where they created handmade bowls and plates to enjoy their meals together.
Live Better Liverpool CIC co-founder Denise Pendleton-Snape said the project brought a long-held idea to life. She said: “I’ve always had the idea of bringing young people together to do something like this. So to be able to get the funding to do a project like this, where we’re showing people how to cook healthy nutritious meals and share them when a wider community when food insecurity is so huge. It’s a really worthy cause and something that’s really close to my heart.”
Each session gave participants the chance to develop practical skills towards a food hygiene NVQ, including learning about food hygiene and kitchen safety while preparing meals they could take home.
Alongside the cooking sessions, participants worked with ceramicist Attila of Altar Pottery to create their own handmade bowls and plates.
The course culminated in a shared community meal with volunteers from Micah Liverpool’s food bank, where participants served the food they had prepared, served in the ceramics they had made themselves – celebrating food, creativity and community together.
For participants, the project offered a chance to prepare food in a welcoming environment and learn skills that could be used beyond the sessions.
One said: “It’s very good to cook for the week ahead. So, it’s always good to have food that’s already made that I’ve made in like a nice place with people in a nice environment,” adding: “It’s really great for building community and it’s good to just be with people to be honest. I think it’s like it helps with kind of loneliness and like feeling down or depressed. It’s good to just come out and hang out with people.”
The project also helped bring together people who may not otherwise have met.
Matt Snape co-founder of Live Better Liverpool CIC and the Liverpool Gluten free Pie company said: “This project is important to me because it brings people together. It’s doing a kind thing by making food for the food bank.
“No one should be suffering food insecurity. So, the fact that some of the funding has tied into that to make some provision as well as people learning to cook, pick up new skills and meet each other, I think is a real bonus.”
Matt said feedback from participants highlighted the impact of the project, with people saying they had enjoyed meeting others, improving their cooking skills and gaining confidence.
“Some people have said that they’ve picked up knife skills. Some people have said that they enjoyed eating the food and they enjoyed cooking the food. And other people have told me that they’re looking for part-time jobs in hospitality and the NVQ will really benefit them in that.”
One dad, who came along with his son and daughter, who is disabled, reflected on the importance of creating opportunities for people to come together. he said: “The benefits would be the confidence within themselves and getting out and meeting people, because a lot of the time they’re stuck inside and they’re isolating themselves because they haven’t got work at the moment. So it’s motivation to go out and get some exercise and meet people as well.”
