I discovered an incredible Come Dine With Me experience at a Wolverhampton youth centre

I've been fortunate enough in my life to have enjoyed some good and well cooked meals over the years at restaurants, pubs and cafes in this country and further afield.

However, one thing I never get to see is the work being done to prepare the meal, from the preparation to the cooking and the people who are doing all that work.

That's what I was intrigued when I spoke with members of The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton about the Come Dine With Me experience that they invite guests along to take part in.

What the centre, which is open to children aged between eight and 18-years-old, or up to 25 with a learning disability, does is provide a cooking session every Thursday evening for either junior or senior children to come in, learn about cooking and provide the invited guest with a three-course meal.

The idea behind the sessions were that the youngsters would be able to learn about the process of cooking, from the safety aspects of being careful with sharp items to cleanliness, preparation and presentation of the meals, all while still having fun and learning some new skills.

I arrived at The Way on Thursday, January 23 and after signing in, was met by the marketing and communications manager Clare Knowles and led up towards the kitchen through the different activities which were taking place.

I'd been to see the centre during the day, but it's a much different thing with more than 100 youngsters in there playing pool, working out in the gym, using the climbing wall, playing a video game or table tennis, using the sensory room or playing music.

The kitchen sits at the back of the centre and, upon entry, I met the first of my cooks for the evening in eight-year-old Layla, who was mixing up a bowl of mixture for red velvet cupcakes with head of youth development work Rebecca Bunger.

I was told what would be happening, with three of the junior group taking part in cooking my meal, which consisted of a starter of cheesy garlic bread, a main course of spaghetti carbonara and dessert of the red velvet cupcakes.

It also sounded great and it was clear to see how Rebecca was making it fun for Layla by encouraging her to spoon the mixture into the cups and making sure Layla knew that there were no mistakes and if the mixture missed, then that was ok as it was how you learned.

She was then joined by 10-year-old Aoife and 12-year-old Isiss, who was talked up by Clare and Rebecca as a rising star at The Way, having been a presenter during a recent family day, as well as a budding goalkeeper for the women's football team.

The emphasis was on fun while cooking, with a dance and chant of "cheesy garlic bread" still running around my head now, and it made for a nice atmosphere where they could ask me questions and I could talk to them about the centre and ask them what they liked about it.

The work of the four was also being documented by a member of The Way's social media team, who filmed them excited saying they were doing Come Dine With Me, while I was also being filmed for my reaction to the three dishes I was being presented with.

I got the impression that the cooking classes were very popular as well, with several other youngsters coming to the door to ask what was going on and being told that while this week was already filled, they could come back another week.

There was also a rather sweet moment when one boy asked about it and was a little bit crestfallen when he was told it was already full and said that he was already doing gym next week, but his face then lit up when he was told by Rebecca that he could do both.

You could tell that Rebecca was a natural at getting the youngsters to enjoy what they were doing, but also getting them to focus on the recipes and watch what they were doing, with Layla a picture of concentration as she prepared the cheesy garlic bread.

This led to my first course, with the added task of speaking to the camera and saying what I thought the score out of 10 was for each course, so no pressure there.

Luckily, the garlic bread was really nice and crispy, with lovely melted cheese and a nice zing of garlic, not too powerful, but enough for you to know it's there, so I scored it as 9 out of 10, a score which led to big cheers.

While I enjoyed the garlic bread, Aoife and Isiss were busy at work preparing the carbonara, separating the egg whites and yolk and ensuring everything was well cooked under Rebecca's supervision.

That work paid off as the carbonara was a tasty meal, creamy and rich, with the ham nice and soft, as was the spaghetti, so I gave it 8 out of 10. They also took it as a compliment that I finished my plate.

Finally, the red velvet cupcakes were a real treat, covered in fresh cream and with a nice bit of artwork on the plate, so good mark for presentation and for taste, even if my beard ended up covered in it.

That scored 8 out of 10 as well, giving Layla, Aoife and Isiss 25 out of 30. 

It was a novel and fun experience to have the meal prepared in this way and just see the fun they were having doing it and which I think other youngsters will enjoy doing if they want to learn new skills.

To find out more about the services provided by The Way Youth Zone and to find out more about the Come Dine With Me experience, go to The Way's website.