A pilot cookery course for the bereaved organised by Rowans Hospice and Havant & South Downs College (HSDC) has given students ‘a new reason to cook’.
Eight members of a Rowans Friendship Group who have lost a loved one were given the opportunity to learn new skills and recipes in a class taught at Havant & South Downs College.
The eight-week course was taught by HSDC lecturer Laura Skye, who showed the students a range of new dishes and taught them how to cook smaller meals.
On Friday 15 June, the students brought family and friends to an afternoon tea at the College to showcase some of their bakes and to mark the end of the successful course.
Sheila Bayliss was one of the eight who took part in the new class. She said: “Rowans signed us up through our friendship group, they told us they had arranged for us to be a part of this course.
“We all decided to join up and we are so glad we did, it has been fabulous – we wish it was we could keep doing it!
“This course has helped us in so many ways, we have made so many friendships from it, it has been lovely.”
Sheila added: “It has encouraged us to get up and go out. When you are home alone and have lost a partner, you don’t have the wherewithal to cook. This has encouraged us to cook for ourselves.
“It has really given us something to look forward to. I always used to cook in the evening when my children lived at home, this has given me a new reason to cook.”
Sheila said that she learned a variety of new dishes from the class, including a risotto which she has never made before.
Tracy Jeffery, Living Well Centre Manager at Rowans Hospice, said: “We have had eight people on our pilot programme of this cookery course and it has gone brilliantly. It has been a lovely experience for the students and the College has been fantastic.
“Laura has been excellent, and she’s listened to their requests of what they want to learn to cook. It has been an absolutely fabulous partnership and we are looking forward to the next course.”
Lecturer at HSDC, Laura Skye, said: “It has been brilliant. It’s been different from what I normally teach!
“We all gelled really quickly, and they were willing to cook anything that was suggested. They have been brilliant.
“The importance for them is being able to learn how to cook smaller meals for themselves and teaching them new techniques. I’m really looking forward to the next class starting in October.”
At the gathering on Friday, student John Murrant gave a speech thanking Rowans Hospice giving them the opportunity to do the course.
He said: “I would like to thank Tracy for giving us this opportunity and thank you to Laura for teaching us so many new recipes.
“It is a sad day because this class has come to an end, but we are all very grateful we had the chance to be a part of this group and for proving that you are never too old to learn!”