New book aims to help youngster attain cooking independence

Dudley Council has worked with youngsters aged from 12 to 25 in the Dudley Young Commissioners Group to devise healthy, easy to make dishes for teenagers and their families and for young adults who are taking their first steps to living independently.

The group works regularly with the council and partners to influence, shape and develop concepts to support the commissioning of services for children and young people and the book was their idea.

Based on their own personal experiences, the group wanted to develop a resource that alongside being a family cookbook would help young people living on their own to cook for themselves and eat a healthy diet.

They recognised that young people living on their own often face barriers to eating a healthy diet, such as limited cooking equipment, living on a low income and a lack of cooking skills.

They came up with a list of recipes which are simple to follow, low-cost and require minimal ingredients and equipment.

And, to ensure that all tastes and preferences are catered for, young people were consulted with about what types of dishes they would like to see in the book.

The simple, low budget and healthy choices range from basic explanations on how to cook pasta, or a boiled egg, to more complicated fakeaways, including curry, or chow mein.

Each recipe has been given a difficulty rating so that every young person feels capable of cooking their own meals at their own pace.

The creation of the recipe book has been supported by the Alliance Partnership, care leavers and apprentices, while Harry’s Café in Brierley Hill offered their venue to support the development of the recipe book.

Councillor Ian Bevan, cabinet member for public health at Dudley Council, said: "This recipe book is a great idea as it contains tasty, healthy, affordable and most importantly, achievable dishes.

"It’s perfect for children, families and especially young people who may be living independently for the first time and getting to grips with budgeting, meal planning and cooking.

"The book is for everyone which is why we have a free download on the let’s get website."

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children’s services said: "So many people have given up their time, expertise and in some cases kitchens to help us produce this book.

"It’s been a team project from the beginning and has helped to give our young people the opportunity to show just what they can do.

"The whole project has been well over a year in the making and has resulted in this simple, healthy and tasty dishes that anyone can make even with limited kitchen equipment. If you’ve got a kettle and a bowl, you can get cooking."

Meg Tuesday Frances Smith, from the Dudley Young Commissioners Group, said: "I am honoured to have been involved in the development of this book, it’s something I know that other young people will find helpful. It’s simple to follow."

The book also contains shopping, food hygiene and cooking tips, healthy eating and cooking on a budget.

The recipes are also useful to anyone wanting to eat well on a budget and the book can be downloaded from lets-get.com/16-19-years/cooking-made-easy-for-young-people