Free cooking classes for tasty, budget-friendly meals thanks to Trent & Dove partnership

Together, they’ve launched a partnership to promote healthy eating through free masterclasses that teach people how to prepare affordable, nutritious meals at home.

At Trent & Dove’s Warm Spaces café on Short Street, Stapenhill, participants have been learning to chop and peel vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and garlic. They get to take their prepared ingredients home in a container, along with a free slow cooker, to create a warm meal.

Central Co-op hosts these classes and generously donates all the ingredients, guiding attendees through every step of the meal preparation process. Staffordshire County Council funded the slow cookers as part of a £15,000 initiative aimed at encouraging healthy, budget-friendly cooking.

The most recent class taught participants how to make a hearty sausage casserole. Using fresh ingredients, the recipe costs just £7.20 to serve four people—only £1.80 per person. The dish includes six portions of vegetables, such as onion, carrot, potato, bell pepper, and garlic, plus lentils, paprika, and stock.

During the session, James Knight, Member & Community Relations Officer at Central Co-op, shared tips and surprising facts:

A slow cooker uses less energy than boiling a kettle once. A slow cooker uses 200 watts per hour on a high setting. A kettle uses 1500 watts per 30 seconds of boiling.

Red and yellow peppers contain two to four times more vitamin C than oranges.

Nutrients are concentrated in the outer layers of carrots and potatoes, so there’s no need to peel them.

One participant shared that it was their first time in seven years trying vegetables because their previous carer didn’t like them and did not cook them.

Another attendee, Val Archer, said: “I’ve really enjoyed this. It’s inspired me to start cooking again. I used to rely on frozen foods like oven chips.”

Participants were also invited to try a sausage casserole prepared in the café earlier.

Rachael Hughes, Head of Customer and Community at Trent & Dove, expressed her enthusiasm for the initiative: “The Slow Cooker Sessions have been a fantastic way to bring people together and teach practical skills that truly make a difference. It’s amazing to see these sessions inspiring healthier eating habits while strengthening our community. We’re so grateful to Central Co-op and Staffordshire County Council for their support.”

This initiative is part of the Trent & Dove Community Connections project, which received £15,510 in funding from Staffordshire County Council. It supports local communities through programmes like Supportive Communities, Better Health Staffordshire, and the 5 Ways to Wellbeing, all of which aim to improve health, wellbeing, and independence.

Money awarded to the Community Connections project is also used to fund Trent & Dove’s Coffee Connect van, Warm Spaces and Community Fridge initiatives.

Paul Northcott, Cabinet Support Member for Public Health and Integrated Care at Staffordshire County Council, added: “Staffordshire has a vibrant voluntary and community sector, and it’s vital we support it. We’re proud to fund this project with Trent & Dove, which will benefit hundreds of families in East Staffordshire. The slow cookers are a practical tool for making healthy, nutritious meals on a budget. Combined with cooking lessons, this initiative will make a real difference to people’s lives.”