Putting together a cookbook is no small feat.
So, we roped in a few of our celebrity pals, along with some wonderful carers at Foster Wales who contributed recipes to help us create Bring Something To The Table.
Inspired by our campaign of the same name, the new cookbook has been produced on behalf of Foster Wales – the national network of local authority fostering services – to show that many people already have the skills needed to support a young person through local authority fostering.
And what better time to officially launch the new book, than Foster Care Fortnight.
For the launch, we asked celebrity cook Colleen Ramsey, to host a workshop at Fitzalan High School in Cardiff, where care-experienced young people could try their hand at cooking a meal from scratch.
With Colleen’s guidance, these young people knocked up a pasta dish and a batch of Oreo brownies, that were enjoyed by everyone at the event.
Following speeches from head of Foster Wales, Alastair Cope, and the minister for social care, Dawn Bowden MS, guests left with full bellies and hearts, after what turned out to be a nourishing and uplifting event.
The cookbook was developed after research found 61% of carers had fostered at least one child experiencing food insecurity and a quarter had faced challenges when cooking quick and healthy meals.
Bring Something To The Table is packed with more than 20 recipes, from celebrities including athlete and foster care campaigner, Fatima Whitbread; foster carers, comedian Kiri Pritchard Mclean and GBBO contestant Jon Jenkins; alongside Celebrity MasterChef Winner Wynne Evans; and Young MasterChef Judge Poppy O’Toole.
Our campaign director, Beth, who’s led the project, said: “Working with the fostering community and involving care-experienced people is at the heart of all Cowshed’s work with Foster Wales.”
Beth added: “The research we conducted as part of this campaign found 3-in-5 foster carers had fostered at least one child experiencing food insecurity. 1-in-4 face challenges when cooking quick and healthy meals for the children in their care.
“The idea behind the Bring Something To The Table cookbook is to provide foster carers with ideas for simple flexible meals while also highlighting the importance of regular mealtimes and access to food, something many of us take for granted.”
And the best bit about the new cookbook, is that it’s completely free to download.
If you’d like a copy, visit: https://fosterwales.gov.wales/bringsomethingtothetable/
