SOFEA, a charity based in Didcot and Milton Keynes, celebrated the start of its 10th Anniversary year since being constituted on 13th December 2013.
Following a site redevelopment after the pandemic, a new training kitchen has been installed in the education space thanks to funding from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Magnox, the latter of which now known as Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS).
The kitchen design and build team along with invited guests were welcomed to SOFEA to watch representatives from NRS cut the ribbon to open the kitchen before lunch was served by Alex Mackay.
Alex, ex-Cookery School Director at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, has helped SOFEA create a kitchen that enables learners and trainees to develop new skills and creative talents, building personal credentials suitable for the catering and hospitality sector.
The cookery school has been designed to bring the local community into the heart of SOFEA by working with members of the Didcot Primary Care Network, Community Larders, voluntary sector partners and others through local community groups, supporting people who have never been taught to cook healthy and nutritious food for themselves and their family.
The Nourish and Flourish kitchen project, led by Kerry Lock, has been realised with the generous support by Brendan Mullard of Object Place Space, Chris Noys of CNS Builders and many local and sustainable suppliers.
Special thanks also go to Bouygues who donated the steel furniture and large equipment from disused kitchens at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The kitchen would not have been possible without the support and funding and generosity from the NDA, NRS, FareShare UK, Sainsbury’s Foundation, South Oxfordshire District Council and Bouygues. The local opening by the funders follows an official opening by King Charles III and Queen Camilla when they visited SOFEA on Tuesday 14th November to launch the Coronation Food Project.
Alex Mackay, Nourish and Flourish Chef said:
“The SOFEA Nourish and Flourish kitchen is open. We rescue food that would otherwise go to waste; to teach people to feed people. While we chop, sauté and steam, we cook up a circle of care - for ingredients, minds and bodies. We look to make the process as enjoyable as the results as we provide a feast of inspiration, education, nourishment, and fun”.
Kerry Lock, Nourish and Flourish Programme Lead said: “I am thrilled to be launching the SOFEA Nourish and Flourish Kitchen – a key part of the overall Nourish and Flourish Programme –developing free nutritional support within the community and addressing barriers to healthy eating.
"It has been so emotional to see the first SOFEA young people enter the kitchen and start their cooking adventures with our amazing Nourish and Flourish Kitchen Magician Alex Mackay.
"I am extremely excited for all the future learning opportunities we can develop with this fantastic kitchen resource – this is just the beginning of a fantastic culinary journey.
"We are extremely appreciative for all the resources we have had donated from partners and our incredible funders who value the aspirations of this programme."
Bill Hamilton, Nuclear Restoration Services External Affairs Director said: “We are delighted to support this next phase of SOFEA’s development. It is really heartening to hear of the work they do with vulnerable young people.”
