The Coexist Community Kitchen in Easton, Bristol, is hosting a series of summer cookery workshops for young chefs aged from 8 to 15 years.
The 2.5 hours long sessions are a great way to introduce your young person to the kitchen environment and explore the world of cooking and baking. Whether it’s a technical topping for a cupcake or a simple pasta sauce, there will be something for all levels and ages. The young chefs will work 100% hands-on to make a baked good and then sit down for a lunch to share together, with plenty of leftovers to take home.
This is a kids only session, so you can drop your young chef off and collect them at the end. Each session will focus on something different so book into them all!
The Community Kitchen team is also offering unwaged ‘pay what you can’ and free spaces depending on circumstances and available upon enquiry, just email email hidden; JavaScript is required.
The Coexist Community Kitchen
The Coexist Community Kitchen is a non-profit cookery school and kitchen in Easton, Bristol. Its aim is to use food as a vehicle to work with people who experience social marginalisation in society. The team believes that everyone should be able to have spaces in which they can share food together, learn and teach skills, and create strong connections with others.
The team is made up of an incredible team of chefs, co-ordinators, supporters and volunteers that bring the passion behind the kitchen to life and make sure every visitor is greeted with a warm welcome. It runs cookery classes and events as a way to bring people together and create a space where people feel dignified and valued.
Community Outreach Sessions
Weekly outreach cookery classes are run in partnership with Bristol-based drug and alcohol services, refugee and asylum seeker groups, and mental health organisations. The programmes consist of six weekly sessions that cover a range of different culinary skills and cuisines, and provide an opportunity for people to build connections and feel at home.
While the kitchen is open to everyone, the outreach sessions are specifically for those accessing support services in the city. They work with organisations such as Second Step, Young Carers, 1625 Independent People, One25, Migrateful and Bristol Refugee Rights.
Food Provision
At the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, in line with government requirements, the team halted all of its primary services, cookery classes and events at the Kitchen. They started working with Caring in Bristol, Bristol Food Union and National Food Service, providing an emergency kitchen service, preparing and cooking nourishing meals every week to be packed and delivered to hundreds of people and families.
This has continued past the pandemic and is now one of the Kitchen’s main activities; every single Wednesday the Kitchen team, as well as a group of volunteers, cook delicious food for anyone who may need it. Food donations from Edible Futures, Elm Tree Farm and St Werbergh’s City Farm, as well as several local allotments, help to make up the meals that can be frozen or eaten straight away.
Since it started, the Coexist team has prepared and cooked over 30,000 nourishing meals that have been packed and delivered to people who need them within our community.
Fundraising
The programmes and food provision are funded in a variety of ways, including fundraising and donations from the public, alongside running cookery classes that are open to the public. These classes are run by a host of local specialist chefs and cooks from all around the world sharing their knowledge and passion. From pasta making, to Caribbean Cook-Ups, to Anatolian Mezze, there’s something for everyone.
As well as the classes, the team offers a full catering service for corporate and private events, including weddings. The menus are designed bespoke for each event and are always beautiful, colourful, nourishing and locally sourced.
The kitchen itself is also available to hire, along with the cosy dining room. The space offers a full commercial kitchen and seating for up to 24 people which can be hired out for events, classes or kitchen prep.
How you can help
If you’d like to support the kitchen, you can do so by making a donation, booking one of its services, coming to a cookery class or volunteering some of your time.
Or if you’d like to find out a bit more about what they’re all about, just pop by and say hello!