Gateshead: Mindful Cooking Course

A free cooking and food education course to 16-25 year olds experiencing poor mental health.

The Mindful Cooking Course will give young people in Gateshead the skills, knowledge and confidence to cook and eat in a way that benefits their mental health and mood.

Launching in March 2025, this free and accessible course is adapted from the national Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food programme and will take place in community venues across Gateshead.

Read on for more information about the course and the eligibility criteria.

The course is a pilot programme funded by Gateshead Council and delivered by Nourish Food School.

It is part of a study with the The Foundation for Young People’s Mental Health and evaluated by University of Reading.

COURSE OUTLINE

Over 8 weeks, participants will take part in weekly cookery classes at a venue in Gateshead.

They will learn how to cook familiar midweek meals, with a focus on cooking from scratch and tweaking old habits to make sure every meal is good for mood, health and wellbeing.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Classes are super friendly with no expectations or pressure, where everyone is supportive of each other.

We recognise that some people may have little cooking experience and some may have more - there's something for everyone to learn every week no matter what.

WHAT IS INCLUDED

Each of the 8 cookery classes will feature:

At least 2 Jamie Oliver recipes that are low cost, quick to make and demonstrate a nutritious meal
Everyone will cook at their own workstation following step-by-step instruction from the Nourish Food School Trainer
Basic principles of nutrition will be incorporated into every class allowing participants to pick a small challenge for themselves to complete over the next week.
A quick end of class feedback form or chat with the trainer will make sure participants are getting everything they need from the course.

All participants will take home at least 2 servings of the meal made that day, recipe cards for the recipes cooked and any nutrition guides that can be checked back on at home.

ELIGIBILTY CRITERIA

To take part in the Mindful Cooking Course, we are looking for young people who are:

aged 16-18 (or up to 25 if they have additional learning needs)
a resident of Gateshead
are experiencing poor mental health including depression
willing to take part in all 8 cookery classes
interested in learning about food, cooking and nutrition

Furthermore, we hope everyone who takes part can help us understand if the cooking skills programme makes a difference so that we can evaluate it, improve it and make sure more young people across the country can access it to. Therefore we ask that participants are:

Willing to take part in our evaluation (this could involve completing evaluation forms, attending friendly chats with our team, giving us feedback as often as possible, touching base with us every now and again after the 8 week course completes)
Able to put into practice learning in the classes at home (i.e you need to be able to either cook for yourself or have a say in the food that is bought and cooked for you)

Finally (and most importantly), everyone who takes part must be super willing to give it a go!

If you, or someone you are referring, meet this criteria (or most of it) then register your interest today.

Interested in joining the programme or would like to refer someone you support already? Click to register your interest and we'll be in touch with further details.

Why the Mindful Cooking Course?

Everyone deserves to be happy, healthy and have the tools, knowledge and confidence to make really great choices for themselves - especially when it comes to what we eat!

The food we eat can have a big impact on our mood and our resilience in tackling mental health concerns such as depression. Studies have shown that a following a Mediterranean Diet can reduce and sometimes remove altogether the symptoms of depression.

How cooking courses can make a difference

Many people may not feel they have the skills or confidence to cook from scratch or understand what a mentally healthful diet looks like.

We believe that an increase in cooking skills paired with nutrition education can make all the difference - boosting confidence and motivation to make small changes gradually to food behaviours.

We want young people to be able to make informed choices that allows them to thrive and confidently reach towards their goals where the stresses and strains of mental health don't hold them back.

Register Your Interest

Check the eligibility list and complete the form to register your interest in the course. You can complete the form for yourself or refer someone you know.

Please note: dates and venues are yet to be selected so we are currently only collecting information for people who are interesting in keeping informed of dates and further information.

Eligibility

Are you or the person you are referring:

aged 16 - 18 (or up to 25 with additional learning needs)?

a resident of Gateshead?

willing to take part in as many of the 8 cookery classes as possible?

willing to take part in our evaluation? (including completing simple forms, talking with our evaluator to give feedback, touching base with us after the 8 week course is completed)

willing and able to put into practice new skills at home? (i.e. you need to be able to cook for yourself/or cook with support from someone in your household on a daily basis & have a say in what food is purchased by you or for you)

Participant details

Please provide the following details about yourself, or the person you are referring.

All personal details will be kept confidential and only used to contact you in relation to this course and will not be shared with organisations outside of this project.

First name

Last name

Phone

Address (please include postcode)

Anything you feel we should know about you to ensure the classes meet all your needs and wants?

Referrers only

If you are referring someone else and completing this form on their behalf please provide your contact name, email, phone number and the organisation you work at (if applicable)

If you would like to be kept up to date with referral opportunities from Nourish please sign up to our referrals mailing list.