Five Children and Families Trust set up Can Cook Will Cook as a response to requests we received from parents wanting to improve their cookery skills and try new foods. So the team managing our cafes set about creating a training programme that would capture the attention of everyone taking part and ensure that the all of the learning was fun and easy to adapt to.

Can Cook Will Cook exists to teach basic cookery skills and introduce food to people in new and imaginative ways. Our approach is all about practical demonstration, believing that the best place for people to learn about cookery is in the kitchen, at a stove with food within grasp and in their pans.

We take people through a number of easy steps: Introducing equipment and a few techniques, then we concentrate on the exciting stuff which is getting stuck in with the food.

Our chef has created a real-hands on training environment and right from the first session our trainees are preparing and cooking foods that often they have never done before. We concentrate on first getting some staple food right, so the first couple of sessions are all about making bread and fantastic soups.

Once everyone is comfortable with these first few steps it's then on to the salads, main courses and desserts. All together, the course takes only 5 half day sessions and because it is all fast and furious, the sessions are fun and stimulating.

We are passionate about introducing the joys of cookery to the widest possible community - so working with schools, community groups and businesses is the natural next steps, read on.....