Square Food Foundation supports an early love of cooking and community

Jaque Taylor (pictured left) reports on Square Food Foundation’s latest Easter holiday programme for young cooks – a joyful, skill-building initiative that nurtures confidence, community and a lifelong love of food. Discover how to get involved or support their work.

Over the Easter break, Square Food Foundation held a special Easter cooking programme for five- to eleven-year-olds that ran over four sessions. This programme started in 2021 and has been running ever since, with this year being another great success. A total of 46 children attended, a healthy mixture of new and returning students who enjoyed the added benefit of passing their knowledge down to the new attendees. 

“Food is so powerful for memory-making,” said Jenny Smith, Square Food Foundation Mentor Programme Manager. “The fact that they’ve retained that knowledge shows how engaged they are.” 

To keep them so engaged, the children participated in a variety of activities, including gardening, harvesting as well as cooking up some rather sophisticated meals, including a honey and sesame chicken poke bowl. The children were encouraged to plate and present their dishes however they wished, with a medley of carrot swirls and diced radishes for garnish, which allowed them to feel a great sense of pride and ownership over their finished dishes. 

“When the kids come here, they’re encouraged as much as possible to be themselves. Food is the vehicle for confidence, empowerment, and a sense of safety,” said Jenny. Throughout the programme, the children are taught a range of hard skills such as proper knife use and general kitchen safety, but there’s so much more to it. The children learn how to collaborate in the kitchen, working together and learning from each other, how to be open to trying and tasting new foods, and ultimately sharing a meal together around the table. 

“That’s the power of food,” said Dan Ford, Square Food Foundation Kitchen Manager and Cookery Teacher. He stresses the importance of hard skills picked up in the kitchen, but when everyone is working together, that’s a benefit that extends beyond the kitchen and lasts far longer than the four-hour session. 

The children were also taught that while it’s okay to not like things, it’s important to try them. They found that there was a bit of a herd mentality going on when it came to trying the new foods, which was interesting to see. If one of them said they liked it, more would then say they did, too. 

“I would never have eaten this usually, but I want to eat it because I made it,” said one of the children who participated in the programme. Everyone who participated was very friendly and kind, and they all would learn from each other. Another child from the programme went on to say, “I was scared to come and now I’m really enjoying myself and making friends.” 

Nine children per session received free school meals, whose spaces were funded by Square Food Foundation’s Holiday Activity and Food (HAF), and another three children per session — who are just above the free school meal threshold — had their spaces funded by The Nisbet Trust. 

One of Square Food Foundation’s aims is to bring people together through the power of food and cooking, which is why they also run a mentorship programme that supports 16- to 25-year-old graduates who have recently completed their How to Be A Chef (HTBAC) course. Each graduate is matched with a mentor who then guides them as they navigate their next steps. Read more about the mentoring programme on the Bristol Good Food blog. 

Both Dan and Jenny agree that it wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of possibilities to imagine that the children now attending the Easter programme could one day be the same young adults who join the mentoring programme. 

“That’s the goal really,” said Dan, who says that with all their programmes and classes, Square Food Foundation is supporting people from age five to 85. 

To find out more about Square Food Foundation’s classes and programmes throughout the year, including an upcoming five-week summer session held during the summer holiday, please head over to www.squarefoodfoundation.co.uk. 

Last month Jenny Smith at Square Food Foundation shared how their mentoring programme is helping How To Be A Chef graduates build confidence, set goals and explore new opportunities with the support of mentors on this blog. Find out more. To stay updated on future events, job opportunities and news, don’t forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter at bristolgoodfood.org/newsletter.