Aiming to reduce food poverty

Cooking Up is a charity aiming to enhance the health and wellbeing of people facing challenging circumstances in the London Borough of Richmond and neighbouring boroughs, by enabling them to cook healthy, tasty food for themselves and their families.

We run cookery lessons for groups of 6-10 people who prepare a meal for four to take home with the help of our trained volunteers. All our meals are cooked on the hob to save energy costs and we aim for all ingredients to cost under £1.50 per head.

We have a fully mobile kitchen which means that we can deliver the sessions throughout Richmond upon Thames and are currently working with partners in Ham, Hampton, Twickenham and Whitton.


Our recent partners include:

Crossroads Care, Ham Youth Centre, Ham Children's Centre, Inspired Hub, Multicultural Richmond, Richmond Aid, Richmond Carers, Skylarks, United Response, Whitton Community Centre

Testimonials

  • "Cooking was fun as well as learning and inspiring"

    Cooking class particpant

  • “Everyone has said that they learned so much during these amazing cookery sessions”

    Crossroads Care Richmond & Kingston

  • "I love volunteering for Cooking Up and just wish I had time to do it more often!"

    Cooking Up Volunteer

  • “I have enjoyed every minute of each week. Felt very inspired. The course was very well presented and all volunteers AMAZING. Will be doing lots more cooking - Thank you”

    Cooking class participant

  • "The 5-week program provided by Cooking Up had a real beneficial impact on our clients, exceeding our expectations"

    Richmond Aid

  • "If you love cooking, then this is the volunteering role for you! It’s so rewarding to watch participants grow in confidence as they learn the joy of making their own food"

    Cooking Up Volunteer

A few more from the team making Tomato, Leek & Pea Risotto/Pilau. We improvised the recipe by swapping out the type of rice used, turning it into a pilau! You too can improvise our recipes at home. Some ideas from us: Swap leeks for a large onio
A few photos from our day at Whitton and Hampton cooking the perfect winter comfort food - Tomato, Leek & Pea Risotto 🍅🧄🧅🥑🥘 It's creamy and warming which is exactly what we need to feel cosy as temperatures dip. Huge thanks to our dedicate
A great first session with our clients from Enable at our Whitton Cooking Up hub. These clients have been on a 12-week course run by Enable to manage their weight through exercise and diet. We cooked our lentil-based bolognese which is healthy an
We had an excellent taster session at Hampton Hub last week. We had a full house with some capable cooks from the local area! 🤩 Back in a few weeks with a full set of new chefs and some of our delicious and hearty recipes, that are sure to keep you
Our final week at Ham and Whitton this term, making the ever-popular Potato, Pea and Spinach Curry 🍛 It was a full house in our kitchen, lots of smiles, chatter and community cooking 🧑‍🍳 We are taking a short break but will be back very soon
Potato, Pea & Spinach Curry 🍛 Made of simple, easy-to-source ingredients, this hearty curry is a real crowd pleaser. Serve with rice or flatbreads. This curry freezes well and tastes even better the next day! Scroll to see some photos from ou
What's your favourite pasta shape? I love a penne or farfale, I find the shape does well to pick up lots of pasta sauce (which is really my favourite part of pasta) ☺😊 Last week our team in Whitton made our veggie bolognese, a rich sauce that combi
In Hampton, our Veggie Bolognese 🥘 put together with 2 types of lentils, was a hit with all our cooks this week! 😍 This recipe serves 4 and comes down to under £1 a head, a great option to put down a healthy, wholesome meal at a friendly pri
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What People Are Saying

“Our members in Ham had a wonderful time at their cooking session with “Cooking up” today. It was lovely to cook a nutritious recipe with the help of the amazing team of “Cooking Up” including their dedicated and friendly volunteers. Everyone had so much fun and the “Smoky Bean Fajitas” were just so yummy.Thank you Janet, John, Belinda and the entire team @ Cooking Up”

— Multicultural Richmond

“If you love cooking, then this is the volunteering role for you! It’s so rewarding to watch participants grow on confidence as they learn the joy of making their own food.”

— Christine, a volunteer

“It was lovely seeing the whole Cooking Up session in action. I’m mega impressed and hugely grateful. THANK YOU!”

— United Response

“The 5-week program provided by Cooking Up had a real beneficial impact on our clients, exceeding our expectations. Their team of fantastic volunteers demonstrated great passion and professionalism, creating a supportive and inclusive environment for our clients to develop their culinary skills and gain confidence in the kitchen. The feedback from our clients was overwhelmingly positive, and we are grateful for Cooking Up's dedication to making a difference in the lives of the individuals we serve at Richmond Aid. We can’t wait to put on more programs with Cooking Up in the future.”

— Josh Fisher, Richmond Aid

 Cooking Up is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation that aims to reduce food poverty by providing easy access to cooking skills and cooking facilities in the community.

We are supported by

Contact

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Email
info@cookingup.org