Inside a Knowle West kitchen making a big difference 

The hustle and bustle of the busy working kitchen halts temporarily as people gather around the vast rectangle table for lunch.

Ladles of steaming fresh pasta are piled onto waiting plates to be accompanied by a vibrant mozzarella, tomato, basil and peach salad created just moments before by some of the latest cohort from Square Food Foundation’s How To Be A Chef course.

Everyone sits together, discussing their morning work, collaboration with a nearby community garden and more.

A freshly-prepared restaurant-standard lunch may seem like an added perk of participating in the course but it’s all part of the Square Food ethos, which centres around food education, reducing poverty and bringing people together through food and cooking.

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“One of our mottos is everyone has a place at the table, so it’s really just encouraging people to cook from scratch,” explains Charlotte Fife, head of community cookery at Square Food Foundation.

“It’s important to us to not be preachy, it’s much more ‘come and cook, come and sit together and eat and see the benefits that come from there’.”

Square Food Foundation runs its How to be a Chef programme in partnership with Bristol24/7 and past participants have gone on to jobs in hospitality venues across Bristol and beyond.

With the latest 12-week course now drawing to a close, registration is already open for the next programme, which starts on September 14.

Alex Montgomery and Lilia Chedzey are among the latest How To Be A Chef cohort – photo: Ellie Pipe

Having spent the morning making pasta from scratch, as well as preparing panna cotta and salad, some of the most recent cohort take a break from the kitchen to talk to Bristol24/7 about their experience.

“We’ve been learning lots of different things, covering all bases and it’s been really good so far,” says Alex Montgomery, 24, adding that some of the skills learned range from fish and meat preparation to talks from small business owners on fermentation and other food preservation techniques.

“Especially at the moment with the cost of living crisis and the way food habits have changed, a lot of it’s moved to processed and pre-packaged food so learning to cook for me opens up a whole world of opportunities.

“The course is run in such a way that you get a lot of professional support – I’m not sure exactly yet what I want to go into but I know there will be opportunities to try placements and get involved in the food industry.”

Alex and fellow participant Lilia Chedzey sit in the sun-soaked garden of The Park Centre on Daventry Road, just outside the new purpose-built facilities that Square Food recently relocated to. The paved area is populated with raised beds brimming with thriving salad, veg and herbs that are regularly harvested for use in the kitchen.

Reflecting on the course, Lilia says: “I’ve always enjoyed cooking but when you look online for recipes, it can all be so varied and overwhelming so I just wanted that hands-on experience and instruction. So many things are much more simple than I thought they would be. It’s all really attainable – it’s not pretentious. I think it’s really great to have someone show you how to make these things and show you what went wrong.”

The 23-year-old adds: “With cooking, you can get a bit stressed out but I’ve realised it doesn’t have to be like that – it can be a real community thing and about eating together. Also thinking about waste – they’re really big on zero waste here.”

Barny Haughton (left) says the work of Square Food Foundation has never been more important – photo: Ellie Pipe

The latter point is also at the heart of what Square Food does. As well as the How To Be a Chef course, the charity runs a whole range of courses and community initiatives, with paid-for masterclasses and catering subsidising work with schools, communities and marginalised groups.

Founder Barny Haughton says the work of Square Food Foundation – and that of others like it – has never been more important.

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Read more: The man on a mission to reform food education in Bristol and beyond 

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“Behind it, there’s a far bigger, more serious and important agenda than just learning how to cook, which is about preparing society for the future – we’re up against climate change and escalating food prices and all the other things in the world, which are unsettling,” Barny tells Bristol24/7.

“That’s why part of my work is to bring food education to the fore, within the community and within the context of the curriculum in schools.

“There is a serious gap now – and it’s going to get worse – for people who are already experiencing food insecurity and poverty in general – it’s tough and it’s going to get tougher.

“But we can give them the resources and skills and, behind that, the confidence to build on these skills to deal with having less than they possibly need.

“We can narrow that gap between people being in really serious deprivation and being able to manage – it’s not perfect, the Government needs to step in and understand what the cost of living really is and the current price increases, which are so much worse for people facing really serious deprivation.”

Focusing back on the How To Be A Chef course, Charlotte says one of the most rewarding things is seeing participants grow in confidence over the 12 weeks.

“Because of the variety we do, hopefully they can find what they really like and what they want to focus on because there are so many routes into the hospitality industry, it’s not just becoming a chef,” says Charlotte.

“We hope they find their passion for an industry that is suffering. If we can get young talent in now, it’s only going to benefit the Bristol food scene later.”

Applications are now open for the next How To Be a Chef course, which is open to people aged 16-25 not in full-time employment, education or training.

The 12-week course starts on September 14 and runs to December 8. Find out more and apply via: www.squarefoodfoundation.co.uk/how-to-be-a-chef.

Main photo: Ellie Pipe

Read more: Students join forces with Square Food Foundation to tackle food inequality 

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