Chefs cook up plan to change how we deal with food
"Nowadays people are finding it difficult to cook fresh food I think, and it's pretty simple really."
The words of Nicky Whitfield, one of hundreds of people who have joined a project teaching them how to cook from scratch.
Organisers of Cook24 say they hope to expand across Wales to help "transform the nation's relationship with food" by cooking affordable meals using fresh, raw ingredients – and most importantly, local vegetables.
The initiative in Carmarthenshire has attracted nearly 1,400 students of all ages in the past year, and is the brainchild of award-winning restaurateur and food writer Simon Wright, who said it gave confidence to "take more control over the way that you eat".
Nicky now works part-time, but said things had been difficult for her after her job contact finished last year.
She was "really grateful" for what she had learned on the course: "I think it's really lovely that this is being offered to the community and it's free and all the ingredients are fresh."
She said the course has improved her cooking skills and made sure her meals were affordable: "We've got all the help and we can take it home and eat."
Lisa Davies, a mother-of-five, said the courses have helped her cook on a budget.
"I've always cooked from scratch," said Lisa. "But like a lot of us the budget is getting tighter and tighter. This was amazing because there was no meat involved so it’s a much cheaper meal.
"I've never cooked with just veg - today, doing the vegetable bakes and everything has been brilliant because it's so much cheaper than cooking with meat."
It is supported by the further education college Coleg Sir Gar, the local council and the UK government
"It brings a resilience and a resource and a skill to people that they might not have, and that confidence means that you can take more control over the way that you eat," said Simon.
"You've got more choices available to you because you can cook and I think that's particularly important where communities are struggling."
He said the organisers have been working with food banks and schools because the next generation "are facing a lot of challenges around food".
Users of a local food bank in Llanelli have joined the courses.
One, Jane Patricia Sinclair, said they could use ingredients from the food bank in the recipes demonstrated on the course: "I really enjoyed it because they showed you different foods."
Paul Scofield, who has retired for medical reasons, said his "income has plummeted from when I was working" and the course was also teaching him where to buy food.
"I've always eaten processed stuff, so to come on this course, is something interesting for me," he said. "This just gives me a broader spectrum of cooking things differently."
Carol Williams, the assistant food bank manager, said some people were now managing to live without its help after the course. They also learned to cook better and use ingredients more efficiently.
"We had eight guests that we'd been supporting through food bank for quite some time," she said.
"By the time we'd finished the course six out of the eight were no longer needing food bank support because their skills had been increased."
"We'd been helping with the wraparound support and then they felt confident to be able to provide for themselves healthy, nutritious meals."
The project will end next month, but organisers said there was more demand for help.
They have launched a crowdfunding appeal to set up a new charity, Cegin y Bobl / The People's Kitchen, which they hope will replicate across Wales what has been happening in Carmarthenshire, using chefs as tutors.
An expert in regenerative food and farming, Dr Nathan Einbinder of the University of Plymouth, described it as a blueprint project "which helps on many different levels."
"Teaching kids how to cook is potentially giving kids a lot of empowerment to take power over their diets," said Dr Einbinder.
"It also can ripple out into the community into their homes and there is a chance for a big change."
