Not only is cookery a vital life survival skill, which we shouldn’t rely on others for, but it’s a great hobby to help with mental health. Child obesity rates grow more and more because young people are not taught the importance of a balanced diet from a young age. Jayne McGhee feels this should be taught to primary aged children and not left until late teenage years.

Set up in 2014 Cook Grow Enjoy’s aim is to teach children and adults how to grow their own food, and about where food comes from. Jayne, the business owner, promotes sustainability and eco-friendliness. She believes cookery supports “learning in a different way” which engages people and is good for maths, English and following instructions along with chopping, bakery, decoration, and nutrition.

In Cook Grow Enjoy classes, a range of savoury and sweet dishes are cooked. She adapts her recipes to suit children. By making her own recipes she can limit the use of the hob and focus on mixing chopping and decoration. She also adapts recipes to address allergies, for example nuts are never used in schools.  

The owner of Cook Grow Enjoy commented that children will often “try new things” when they see the raw ingredients, and this helps children with having a balanced diet. As obesity is a big problem, she feels by showing how much sugar or fats go into a dish or dessert, children can gain perspective and understand why this particular item is a treat. Sonja Begaley, part of the Cook Grow Enjoy team, commented that children can learn “kinetically”. They both feel as children have a short attention span, practical cookery classes, as opposed to theory lessons are more effective.  

In the latest pasta making class, 11 children aged 5 to 13 learnt how to make pasta from scratch. During this class three types of pasta were made along with a veggie style sauce. Attendees were fed information on the history of these ingredients and taught knife skills along with pasta shaping.

“Very good fun and engaging however I think more time was needed,” said Carlos Rey father to Frey and Zachary aged eight and five.

Like most of us, Jayne discovered Zoom during lockdown, this allowed her to expand her session and open them to people all over the country. Her Duke of Edinburgh sessions currently hosts members in South End on Sea. She finds both adult and teenage sessions work best online but younger children prefer in-person sessions. She spent her lockdown learning new skills and taking a marketing course to enhance her business. She does a lot of advertising through schools. She has plans to franchise her business following eight years of successful teaching.

Cook Grow Enjoy offers ‘grow a meal’ boxes including all ingredients. It Includes compost and everything you need to create your chosen meal. It comes in different meals such as Singapore noodles, rainbow salad, pinwheel pizza, Gin and lovers infusion. Posted straight to your house with eco-friendly packaging it’s very convenient.