Hi, I’m Maxine, a member of the Working Age group and a volunteer at Croydon Vision. On 17^th July some of the group attended Good Food Matters, for a cookery class in New Addington; organised by CV.

When we arrived, there was a very large, open-plan kitchen. The staff showed us where all the utensils, pots and pans were. After our guided tour, it was time to prepare our meal. Henry, our group leader and Croydon Vision member, gave each person a task to prepare for the meal. On the menu was chicken, fish and coconut rice. We had to make two types of chicken and fish, with jerk or lemon seasoning.

Some people had the duty of cooking the fish while others cooked the chicken. These had to be cooked on separate sides of the kitchen. We were also told that the chopping boards were colour coded the red board was for meat, green for vegetables and blue for fish.

We chatted about how we do our own cooking while chopping and washing various ingredients. It was fun learning from Henry and other people. I’ve never had coconut rice before – it was interesting to see how this was cooked. I had the task of basting the chicken with jerk seasoning. I was concerned about how much to put!

When the food had finished, we all sat down to enjoy the results of our work. I was relieved no one complained the meat was too hot and went rushing for a glass of water. I enjoyed sitting on a wooden bench on the veranda. At the end, we all worked together to clear up. The day taught me about cross-contamination and the use of different chopping boards. I feel more confident when in the kitchen. I would recommend joining our cookery session, to learn to cook and pick up cooking tips.

Thank you Henry – you are a great teacher.

Maxine Plowden – Volunteer and Member