Cordon Bleu chef to open community cookery school

A Cordon Bleu chef is to open a community cookery school and café where families will be able to learn about healthy eating on a budget and cooking with fresh produce.

Chef Taz Khan MBE, the founder of zero waste food charity London's Community Kitchen, is due to open the Grand Union Hub at the Grand Union development in Alperton near Wembley, north London, early next year.

The café will be run by students from the College of North West London in Brent to give them employment and training opportunities.

Any proceeds made through the hub will be reinvested back into the charity and its work on zero waste food systems and food insecurity.

Mr Khan said opening the space would allow London's Community Kitchen to continue its work preventing food from going to landfill and redistributing it to communities where people are experiencing food insecurity or lack reliable access to nutritious, affordable, and healthy food.

The charity intercepts roughly 75 tonnes of food destined for landfill and supports 25,000 people each week, delivering community courses to more than 2,000 people and providing employment pathways for about 500 more.

Mr Khan said: “We currently run the largest single-day food operation near Alperton on Wembley Road helping around 1,000 families every single Saturday, many of which join our short-term cookery courses, and so it is important for us to have a permanent base here.”

The hub was gifted to the community under the stewardship of another charity, the Grand Union Development Trust, which will oversee the project in partnership with developers St George.

The trust was established to help build stronger communities across Alperton and Brent, while providing spaces where people can come together to make connections, learn new skills, socialise and have fun.

Brian Wilson, chair of the trust, said: "The Grand Union Community Hub plays a key role in making this happen, and forms part of St George’s shared commitment in regenerating and improving the area by merging the existing and new communities.

"Taz and his team share our vision for creating a really exciting, community-focused neighbourhood at Grand Union and we can’t wait for them to get started."

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