What Our Weekly Sessions at YMCA Northamptonshire Are Teaching Us

Food, confidence and a bit of organised chaos in the kitchen

We realise that the best learning sessions are usually the ones shaped by the young people themselves. At YMCA Northamptonshire, where we’re now running weekly cookery workshops, that’s becoming clearer every time we step through the door. The energy shifts depending on who’s there, what they’re curious about, and sometimes what they’ve been craving all week.

One Tuesday, we found ourselves knee-deep in flour, rolling pasta dough and trusting our senses rather than a set of scales. The group made a fresh tomato and sausage sauce that smelled so good people from the corridor kept poking their head in. A few days later, it was breaded chicken three ways with air fryer chips, which felt a bit like a friendly competition even though no one actually said it out loud.

Then there was the homemade lasagne session. Proper layers, slow-cooked flavours, and that moment when everyone hovers around the oven to see if the top has browned enough. It was messy in the best way. You could feel the pride as each tray came out, steaming and golden.

This week, someone requested chicken curry, so that’s exactly what we’re making. There’s something grounding about cooking a dish someone chose because it reminds them of home or simply because they’ve always wanted to try making it themselves. It shifts the room a little. People lean in more.

What’s becoming obvious is that these sessions aren’t just about recipes. They’re about showing that you can create proper, satisfying meals with a bit of guidance and a willingness to try. And each week, the confidence grows. You can see it in the way someone picks up a knife for the second time, or how they start tasting the sauce and adjusting it without being prompted.

We’re grateful to YMCA Northamptonshire for trusting us with this work, and even more grateful to the residents who keep turning up, bringing their stories, their appetite, and their sense of humour. It’s a small kitchen, but it’s full of possibility.