Marathon cook off for caring pair

Tuesday 14 February 2017

They might say that, “too many cooks spoil the broth”, but a group of local cooks are hoping to prove why that’s not the case - by cooking up 100 meals per month for the Island’s most disadvantaged families.

In a weekend whirlwind of chopping, spicing, stirring and frying, Kathy Berry and Keith Allenby whipped up a huge menu of chicken casserole, beef casserole, chilli con carne, pasta bolognaise and cottage pie destined for freezers across Jersey to help support children who may not get a lunch.

The foodie feat came as a result of a collaboration with Caring Cooks of Jersey – a charity that has been working to make nutritious food a part of islanders’ daily life.

At present, their work ranges from a weekly meal service for families in need to teaching school children how to grow their own food from seed in the Roll Out of the Kitchen Garden project – and now, a monthly pledge from Kathy and Kevin.

Mr Allenby told Express about why he decided to help.

“I’m a cook at heart and do it from the heart, so this is right up my alley! My company closed our office and took a day off work last year and cooked a load of meals for Caring Cooks and the Grace Trust and this was really an introduction to cooking for people who were in need.”

But the preparation for the cooking was an, “…immense challenge” with discussions starting before Christmas.

The planning process took two weeks, he says, and involved the creation of a “master list” with everything from ingredient purchasing to supersized 8-litre saucepans.

“We did make a base tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes a week before so this was in the freezer ready for the day. I’ve never seen 8kgs of tomatoes in my kitchen before!” Mr Allenby commented.

“Our kitchen looked like a car boot sale in a rush hour! Like most things in life, preparation is king and this certainly helped us. A massive thank you to Valley Foods and Lucas Bros for their help.”

Although he described the experience as, “…an overwhelming challenge”, Mr Allenby said that the team appreciated, “…the quality time to spend together.”

“We had lots of laughs along the way and all for the benefit of people who are in need. Life is all about having variety I think and giving something back so what better way to pass a day.”