Last month I had the pleasure of traveling to Liverpool to visit with a group of students who were preparing for a very special dinner. I was invited by the staff of the Merseyside Fire Station who have started a fantastic cooking project with a select group of the students with learning difficulties. Gary, a fireman at Merseyside, and Joanne, a community fire safety advocate, were so inspired by Jamie’s Ministry of Food that they set up their own ministry at the Fire Station. The story of how this project became a reality is a simple one and by writing about the story here I hope that others will be inspired to start their own Ministry campaigns wherever they are.

Gary and Joanne (both avid foodies themselves) were very keen to start cooking lessons at the Fire Station. The first hurdle of finding a space to do this was not a challenge at all as Merseyside has a fully functional kitchen and dining area for the fireman to use whilst on duty. The next step was to find a willing group of students and so with the full support of the Chief Fire Officer Tony McGuirk, the ministry crusaders approached the Hugh Baird College to see if they could teach some of Jamie’s recipes to the students. The college was very receptive and a group of fifteen students were selected to join the class.

The students are taking classes at the college in how to gain independence and learning to cook is a major step forward for them to achieve this goal. On the Saturday that I visited they were preparing for a dinner that they would cook to thank everyone who has been involved with the project. I certainly was not prepared for the attention that I received when I arrived. Clearly the students were thrilled to have someone from Jamie’s company visiting with them and seeing how they were learning to cook his recipes. The attention was short-lived though, for shortly after I arrived Gary started to demonstrate to the students how to cook a Chicken Korma dish from Jamie’s Ministry of Food. I was very impressed with how engrossed the students were in learning.

Not long after we all got to taste Gary’s delicious Chicken Korma it was time for the students to teach the cooking of the dish to one other student and then for that student to teach another as well. The Pass It On model was the foundation and success of Jamie’s Ministry of Food and I am pleased to say that it worked really well for the students on the day. They were so proud that they had mastered the cooking of the dish and were only too happy to teach their fellow students. I must admit that I was quite moved as I walked around the room as I witnessed a group of exceptional people putting all personal challenges aside to ensure that their colleagues really learnt how to prepare the Chicken Korma. There were no complaints and what made it even more inspiring for me was the fact that the students had the confidence and energy to cook something very special indeed!

This is an outstanding example of how a simple idea generated by two people can grow into something that is very worthwhile and making such a difference to fifteen very unique individuals. The success of this program can also be attributed to the support that Gary and Joanne have received from their internal staff, the Hugh Baird College, the local camping store that supplied the burners to cook on and Sainsbury’s who supplied the food. Well done to you all!

For more inspiration to Pass It On
Selected recipes from Jamie’s Ministry of Food
• Chicken chow mein
• Beef and ale stew
• Meatballs and pasta
• Quick salmon tikka with cucumber yoghurt