How a hot, home-cooked lunch can help change the world
Discussions around dinner tables can open up ways to tackle inequality, isolation and other problems
I opened the Cyrenians Flavour and Haver Cook School in Leith in 2018. Having worked as a chef for several years, I felt drawn to use those skills to do something that went beyond cooking in a restaurant.
It is still, shamefully, the case that thousands of people in Scotland struggle to access healthy, home-cooked meals. At its most basic level, the cook school is a place for people who live in the area to come and either have a hot, home-cooked lunch on a Thursday or take part in one of our skills-building courses that give them the ability to cook healthy meals on a budget. But really, it’s much more than that.
I’ve always been keenly aware of the cultural – and sociological – importance of food. It can connect people, bridging diverse communities to foster cohesion, understanding and connection. Often we meet individuals who are disconnected from support networks or have limited access to social activities – barriers of inclusion predicated by poverty.
Bringing people together
Food is the first step, but it isn’t the last. We won’t feed you and then forget you. At Cyrenians, we often find that if you are experiencing food insecurity, you are likely at risk of homelessness and vice versa. We’re there to help you access whatever support you need to get a better future.
The Cook School was recently awarded major funding as part of the National Lottery Community Fund’s ‘Extended Table’ project – a UK-wide partnership using food to bring people together, tackle isolation and build community resilience in collaboration with other UK charities.
With our share of the £4.8 million, thanks to the players of the National Lottery, we’ll be increasing the number of social eating spaces available for people on low incomes across Edinburgh over the next five years – creating opportunities for people to come together around good, nutritious food and free spaces to enjoy our masterclasses and supper clubs.
We’ll also be working in collaboration with other third-sector organisations across the city, helping them to develop their own community-led eating spaces and embed social eating into local life.
A catalyst for change
As the cost of living gets more expensive every year and we see division between communities get even wider, it is vital that places like the Cook School exist. We can’t put more money in people’s pockets, we can’t stop people charging more for housing and power – but we can strengthen our communities and that is vitally important.
The real power of our food-centred work lies in its ability to connect people and catalyse systemic change. Discussions in kitchens and around tables open up ways to address broader challenges such as inequality and health. From First Ministers and their Cabinets to MPs and senior members of national banks, all sorts of people come to share a meal and lend a hand.
The Cook School turned eight years old this month and I look forward to at least another eight at its helm. We need something to eat – and someone to eat it with – more than ever.
Sue O’Neill-Berest is the manager of Cyrenians Cook School
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